Passport Agency to End Walk-In Service

Starting Thursday, the Los Angeles Passport Agency at the Federal Building, 11000 Wilshire Blvd., plans to stop accepting walk-in customers and provide service by appointment only.

In another change, it will schedule appointments only for urgent passport requests--for travelers planning to depart the U.S. within 14 days--according to Barbara Brophy, customer service manager. There is an extra $35 fee for this urgent service (in addition to the passport fee), which provides for delivery of the passport within seven to 10 working days rather than 25 days. Post offices, clerks of court and municipal offices will continue to handle both urgent and non-urgent applications.

Brophy said last week that the appointment system, already operating in New York and Miami, is an attempt to cope with the ever-increasing volume of passport applications. Walk-in customers waited in line up to four hours at the Los Angeles office in the peak spring-summer period last year, she added.

This week, the agency plans to add the appointment service to its telephone menu, (310) 575-5700, so that customers can call 24 hours a day to schedule times.