Medical authorization for a child traveling with another adult, any destination

When a medical authorization helps, and what the sources say

Who may say yes to a child’s treatment when no parent is present is decided by the law where the child is treated, and the rules differ. Inside the United States it is state law. Texas, for example, lets a grandparent, an adult brother or sister or an adult aunt or uncle consent to a child’s medical treatment when the person with the right to consent cannot be contacted and has not said otherwise, and it also lets an adult who has actual care of the child consent if a parent has given that adult written authorization. ^[1] Other states have their own rules, which we did not review.

Abroad, we cannot tell you what a given country or clinic will do. We read no foreign rule for this page, so we do not say that any country treats a parent’s signed authorization in any particular way, and we do not claim a clinic will accept this one.

What the sources do support is planning ahead. The CDC advises families to plan where they will get health care at the destination, to buy travel insurance for unexpected events and to pack a travel health kit. ^[2] Putting the child’s allergies, medications and policy number on one signed page serves the same purpose: whoever is treating the child sees it at once.

CBP’s guidance for a child traveling with an adult who is not a parent lists the custody adults’ names and contact details among the things a travel letter should give. ^[3] This authorization repeats the parents’ phone numbers and asks that they be contacted as soon as possible if the child needs care.

USA.gov tells families that the destination’s embassy or consulate can explain its entry requirements for children. ^[4] The same office is a sensible place to ask how local clinics deal with a minor who arrives with someone other than a parent.

It is a companion to a travel authorization, not a replacement for one: it says nothing about crossing a border. Our any-destination travel authorization is the matching document for that.

What the document includes

• An authorization from the parents or legal guardians naming the adult who may consent to care for this trip only, with the destination and the dates
• The scope you pick: emergency care only, or emergency and routine care for ordinary illness and minor injuries, including the prescriptions and tests a physician orders for them
• A plain list of what it does not cover: elective or non-urgent surgery and any decision outside the care described
• Allergies, medical conditions and medications for each child, if you choose to enter them
• Insurance plan, policy or member number and the insurer’s phone for use away from home, if you choose to enter them
• The child’s regular doctor and phone number, if you choose to enter them
• A request that the parents be contacted as soon as possible if the child needs care
• A signature block for each parent, a blank area for a notary public and a statement that nothing here transfers custody, guardianship or parental authority

How it works

1. Choose the scope, then enter the parents, the adult who travels with the child and each child’s health details. Leave optional sections empty when they do not apply.
2. Check the free, watermarked preview. Nothing is stored to make it.
3. Pay once ($12, no subscription) and download the PDF.
4. Print it. Each parent signs in front of a notary public with photo ID; the notary’s acknowledgment shows who signed.
5. Give the original to the traveling adult, photograph every page for the parents and keep the insurance card with it. ^[2]

Is there a free official form?

We found no standard form published by the federal government for a medical consent covering a child who travels with another adult. A pediatrician’s office, a school, a camp or an insurer may have its own, and where one exists you are free to use it instead.

Some states publish forms for authorizing a caregiver to consent to a child’s care. They are meant for an ongoing arrangement at home, while this document is limited to one trip.

Frequently asked questions