Passport controls are court-ordered restrictions or procedures governing the possession, release, or use of a child's passport. They are a preventive tool designed to reduce the risk of international child abduction.

Common passport control provisions include requiring that passports for minor children be held by the court clerk or by a neutral third party, requiring both parents' written consent before a passport is released, and prohibiting either parent from applying for a new passport for the child without a court order.

Once a child is out of the country with a passport the tools for recovery are more limited and more expensive than the tools for prevention.