By Rebecca Olds | [email protected]

July 1 was the official unveiling of the bigger “child-friendly” passport office in Sandy City Hall at 10000 S. Centennial Parkway. 

A remodel to expand the 13-year-old office allows the city to accommodate the stark increase of passport applicants in recent years and be a more organized “one stop shop” for passport needs. New procedures come with the new space, requiring residents to make appointments while also providing check services and a family-friendly setting to make the process smoother, said Wendy Downs, city recorder in charge of the passport office, at the event. 

From 2011 to 2023 the office went from processing 787 passport applications to 6,600—a 800% increase in 12 years. 

The bulk of the uptick in passport applications came after COVID-19 when numbers rose “exponentially” as people began traveling again, said Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski. 

“This is the first step to getting back to the world, right here in Sandy City Hall,” Zoltanski said.

With more passport applications and only walk-ins being available, it made the space a tight fit with more than 30 people coming in at times, Downs said. Not to mention part of the crowd were children who came in as part of the application process requirement demanding all applicants be present.

With appointments and bigger space the office will be a more “private, quiet, and comfortable setting” for residents to get their passport paperwork filled out, even with kids. 

“You can just feel that tension, that anxiety, of [parents] having to come to a governmental entity to do this with all of their kids because all applicants have to be present,” Downs said. “It was important to create a new space that would be welcoming, warm and comforting so we can help the family [and] help those kids.”

The new office space is equipped with all the necessary equipment to help residents apply for their passports, including a well-lit photo cubicle for good pictures, waiting space and a kids’ corner with coloring books, a TV and mini play passports. 

“We do the best we can so the parents don't feel as stressed or anxious having to do all this legal paperwork,” Downs said. “Keeping [kids] entertained is one of the things that's pretty vital.”

Another upgrade the passport staff is excited to announce was sparked by Zoltanski.

The facility now has the capability to create checks and money orders right in the passport office during the process, instead of sending applicants away to get one from an outside agency like they’ve had to do in the past. 

“We truly are a one-stop shop,” Downs said. 

Residents can make an appointment online and find more information at sandy.utah.gov/passports. Two full time staff members run the passport office from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.