Good news, travelers: You can finally renew your passport online … probably, anyway.
After announcing its goal of bringing renewals into the 21st century more than two years ago, several short-lived pilot projects, and a recent round of beta testing, the U.S. State Department on Wednesday publicly launched its online passport renewal system. Starting today, all eligible passport holders can now apply to renew their passport online. And unlike in recent months, there's no longer a daily limit on how many applications the agency will accept.
Interested and eligible travelers can apply on the State Department's dedicated online renewal page. To be eligible, your current passport must be within a year of expiring but issued no more than 15 years ago. But keep in mind: Once you submit an application online, your current passport will be invalid until you get your new one back.
This option to renew a passport online has been in the works for years.
President Joe Biden's administration first put it on the map back in late 2021. The State Department initially targeted a full launch in the fall of 2022 but repeatedly pushed back that timeline. In the years since, the agency ran several pilot projects – first with federal employees and government contractors before expanding to a limited number of everyday Americans – but the last round of testing ended back in March 2023.
In June, the State Department launched a public beta test of the online passport renewal system, slowly ramping up the number of daily applications it would accept. Now, that test is over and any eligible Americans can apply to renew their passport online.
The State Department says there's no difference in wait times whether you renew your passport online or by mail. It currently takes six to eight weeks for routine processing – though that timeline doesn't include shipping, which can take several more weeks. However, in our experience, it's much faster. Our editor Kyle's brand-new passport arrived in under two weeks!
Read next: Application to Arrival in 13 Days: My Online Passport Renewal Success Story
It's a far cry from last summer, when it could take it could take three-plus months to get a passport. The federal government blamed the lengthy delays on lingering backlogs of passport applications due to the pandemic and insufficient staff and resources.
“Thanks to increased staffing, technological advancements, and a host of other improvements, the average routine passport is being processed today in roughly one-third the time as at the same point last summer, and well under the advertised six to eight weeks processing times,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
There's still currently no option for expedited service with the online passport renewal system, although officials have said that's something they're hoping to offer eventually.
An online system for passport renewals will be a welcome change for international travelers, who previously could only renew their expiring passports by mailing in their old passport with an application.
Not every American will be eligible to renew their passport online, though. To submit an online application, you must meet the following criteria:
- Your most recent passport is/was valid for 10 years and you are age 25 or older.
- Your most recent passport was issued over nine years ago, but less than 15 years prior to the date they plan to submit their online application (i.e., most recent passport was issued between 2009 and 2015). The most recent passport can be expired.
- You are not changing your name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth.
- You are not traveling internationally for at least eight weeks from the date you will submit their application.
- You are applying for a regular (tourist) passport.
- You live in the United States (either state or territory). Applicants do not qualify to renew their passport online if they live in a foreign country or have an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) address.
- You have your passport in your possession; it is not damaged or mutilated, or has been reported as lost or stolen.
- You can pay the passport application fees using a credit or debit card or bank transfer.
You also must digitally submit a passport photo, which was a big pain for many travelers trying to renew online during previous pilot projects. Officials said they improved that tool based on customer feedback from the previous pilot programs.
Bottom Line
After a successful beta test, the State Department has publicly launched its online passport renewal system, allowing U.S. travelers who need to renew their passport to do so online.
The ability to renew your passport online is a welcome change for travelers, who previously could only do so by mailing in their expiring passport, and one that has been years in the making.