HOUSTON (July 23) - The Harris County District Clerk’s Office will offer a new service starting Aug. 1: accepting applications for passports.

Oil and gas companies and other firms can avoid the long lines that plague some post offices that handle passport applications by making appointments for individual employees or groups of employees headed overseas. The District Clerk’s Office will assign enough clerks to handle groups that arrive together.

“Oil and gas firms are such a key part of Houston’s economy,” said District Clerk Chris Daniel, an engineer who worked in the oil and gas field before earning his law degree. “I want to make sure that my office does what it can to help these workers get passports easily and quickly so they can get to where they’re expected overseas.”

Commissioners Court green-lighted the passport project today.

Appointments may be made by calling 713-755-7300.

Walk-in customers also may apply for passports in Room 170, the court registry section, on the first floor of the Civil Courthouse at 201 Caroline. Clerks will be on hand weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The U.S. State Department’s downtown passport office in the Mickey Leland Federal Building will be closed for renovations from Labor Day to at least Thanksgiving. The District Clerk’s passport team is ready to handle the passport needs of companies and individuals accustomed to going to the federal building.

The District Clerk’s passport team will handle all types of passport requests, unlike the office in the federal building, which accepts only requests for expedited applications.

The standard fee for passports will be $110 plus $25 for processing. Passport photographs cost $10.