Where do you have to go in Lake Charles to get a passport? What information do you need to get one?

The Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court’s Office, 1000 Ryan St., accepts passport and passport card applications 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

To apply for a passport, you must submit a Form DS-11, along with proof of citizenship, proof of identity and a 2-by-2-inch color photograph of yourself.

Citizenship can be proved with a certified copy of your birth certificate or copies of naturalization or citizenship certificates. Identity can be proved with a driver’s license, government ID, or certificates of naturalization or citizenship.

Both citizenship and identity can be proved with previous U.S. passports.

The photo must have been taken within the last six months, and “the image size measured from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head (including hair) should not be less than 1 inch and not more than 1 3/8 inches,” according to the application form.

“The photograph must be color, clear, with a full front view of your face, and printed on thin paper with a plain light (white or off-white) background,” reads the form.

“The photograph must be taken in normal street attire, without a hat, head covering, or dark glasses unless a signed statement is submitted by the applicant verifying the item is worn daily for religious purposes or a signed doctor’s statement is submitted verifying the item is used daily for medical purposes.”

Passport applicants age 16 and older must pay a $110 application fee and a $25 execution fee. The first fee goes to the U.S. Department of State; the second goes to the Calcasieu Clerk of Court’s Office.

For passport cards — good only for cross-border land and sea travel — the fees are $30 and $25.

The passport fees for minors are $80 and $25; for passport cards the fees are $15 and $25.

For more information, call the clerk’s office at 437-3558, ext. 147.

Other passport application sites in Southwest Louisiana, according to the State Department’s website, are the Jeff Davis Parish Clerk of Court’s Office and the DeRidder, Oakdale and Leesville post offices.

Online: www.calclerkofcourt.com; http://travel.state.gov.

Address complaints to stations, FCC

What can TV viewers do about loud television commercials besides turning the volume down?

Try contacting the station’s office to voice your concerns and ask about its compliance with the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation, or CALM, Act.

Rules established under the law require broadcasters to ensure that commercials and TV programs have the same average volume.

If you’ve talked to the station’s management and still aren’t satisfied, you can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

You can do so online at www.fcc.gov/complaints; by fax, 866-418-0232; or via the mail, by writing to Federal Communications Commission, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC 20554.

For more information, call the FCC at 888-CALL-FCC.

The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098, press 5 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com

(mgnonline.com)