Mississippi County will begin accepting passport applications on June 26

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Beginning June 26, the Mississippi County Recorder of Deeds office will start accepting passport applications on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and will process passport photos onsite.

"I was eager to bring this service to our area, and happy to see our hard work pay off" said George Bays, Mississippi County recorder of deeds. "Before our office was approved, people in Mississippi County and the surrounding communities would have to drive nearly an hour to get their passport photo taken."

Bays worked with Congressman Jason Smith to become a passport accepting agency.

"The Recorder of Deeds Office in Mississippi County works on behalf of Missourians every day, and I am happy I was able to help them offer another very important service to Mississippi County and surrounding communities in southeast and south central Missouri," said Smith.

State Representative Holly Rehder put Bays in touch with Smith's office.

"I was very excited to support George's vision to be a help to the constituents of Mississippi County. I'm thrilled it has come to fruition so quickly," Rehder stated.

"Congressman Smith's office was instrumental in the process, and we could not have become an accepting agency without their help," said Bays. "I am so glad Representative Rehder put us in touch with Congressman Smith."

U.S. citizens planning international travel may apply for their passports from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Mississippi County Recorder of Deeds Office. The office is located at 200 North Main Street in Charleston.

Application forms, information on documentation required, fees and other passport and international travel information can be found on travel.state.gov. There is also a link to travel.state.gov on the Mississippi County website, www.misscomo.net.