Yes, passport planning survey letters are real

If you obtain an unsolicited letter within the mail, it would increase suspicions a couple of potential rip-off.

That was the case for VERIFY reader Karen when she acquired a letter purportedly from the U.S. Department of State asking her to participate in a passport examine. 

“The Office of Passport Services, U.S. Department of State would like to better serve the American public’s need for passport services in the coming months and years. To do this we are conducting interviews with Americans ages 18 and older,” the letter reads partially. 

Karen requested in an e mail, “Is this passport survey from the U.S. Department of State legit?”

Are passport examine letters from the U.S. State Department real?

Yes, passport examine letters from the U.S. State Department are real.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department advised VERIFY that the examine and letter are reputable. The study has been carried out by the State Department since as early as 2008, in line with a report from the Government Accountability Office.

Passport Services sends letters to a random pattern of 35,000 addresses each month asking them to finish a survey aimed toward figuring out the demand for U.S. passports, in line with the State Department spokesperson. The residential addresses are pulled from the U.S. Postal Service’s listing.

According to the Office of Budget and Management, the survey helps the State Department and Passport Services make choices about “staffing, resource allocation, and budget.” 

More from VERIFY: Yes, the Facebook web monitoring settlement is real

The survey is carried out by two firms on behalf of the State Department and participation is voluntary. People who obtain a letter can take part within the examine by way of telephone or on-line.

A sample of the letter asking folks for his or her participation within the examine, supplied by the State Department, matches the one which Karen emailed to VERIFY. 

The solely distinction between the pattern letter and the one Karen acquired is the toll-free quantity to name for participation within the examine by way of telephone. The telephone quantity listed on Karen’s letter is reputable, the State Department spokesperson stated. 

According to the letter, the survey is estimated to take lower than 10 minutes to finish. Here are the 2 methods to take part in case you obtain the letter:

• Visit passportplanning.com to finish the survey on-line and enter the passcode included in your letter.
• Call this toll-free quantity to finish the survey by way of telephone: 1-888-741-1703

Those who don’t reply to the survey will obtain a name from the State Department. People who don’t need to take part within the survey can inform the company throughout that telephone name. 

More from VERIFY: Yes, the On Point Global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission is real