The US State Department has said it will start to revoke the passports of Americans who owe significant amounts of child support.

The department announced that parents who have outstanding debt of more than $2,500 (€1,844) in child support payments could be impacted, but would be targeting those with “significant outstanding” debt.

The State Department said it is using “commonsense tools to support American families and strengthen compliance” with US laws in an approach it said would enforce parents’ “legal and moral obligations to their children”.

Those with such debt were advised to arrange payment to relevant state agencies to prevent passport revocation.

Once a passport has been revoked, it will no longer be able to be used for travel. Those whose passports are revoked won’t be eligible for a new one until their child support debt has been paid, the State Department said.

“This action supports the welfare of American children by exacting real consequences for child support delinquency under existing federal law,” the department said in a statement.

Passport revocations for unpaid child support of more than $2,500 is allowed under a rarely-enforced 1996 federal law.

Previously, the consequence was only doled out when people with such debt sought to renew their passports.

With the new policy, the State Department said it will work with the US Department of Health and Human Services to identify those with outstanding debt and revoke passports.

The department did not state when the policy would start to be enforced but the Associated Press reported it would begin on Friday. The BBC has contacted the State Department.

Those who are outside the US at the time of revocation will need to visit a US embassy or consulate to get an emergency travel document allowing them to reenter the country, the AP reported.