Americans can now renew their passports online.
The U.S. State Department launched its online renewal program nationally on Wednesday, after a beta phase of the program ran for about two months.
Speaking at a travel conference Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma said that digitized applications should soon account for about half of passport renewals in the U.S.
“We think in the not too distant future, nearly 50% of passport renewals will be done online,” Verma said at the Skift Global Forum in New York, according to Skift.
While the process to renew will become more seamless for citizens, that doesn’t mean passports will be renewed any quicker.
“We are back to pre-pandemic levels,” Verma said. “Six to eight weeks for a regular service, two to three weeks for an expedited service. That will continue to be the case even through the online platform. But the ease of doing it and the customer experience, hopefully will be much better.”
Renew your passport online
Passports can be renewed online via this link.
To be eligible for online passport renewal, Americans must meet certain criteria, according to the State Department:
- You must be 25 or older
- You must have a passport that is or was valid for 10 years
- The passport you are renewing was issued between 2009 and 2015, or over 9 years but less than 15 years from the date you plan to submit your application
- You are not changing your name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth
- You are not traveling for at least eight weeks from the application date
- You live in the U.S.
- You have your passport, and it is not damaged or reported lost or stolen
- You must pay with a debit or credit card
- You can upload a digital passport photo
Once you apply to renew your passport, the one you are renewing will be canceled and cannot be used for travel.
Only regular tourist passports can be renewed online, the State Department said. Special issuance passports — diplomatic, official, or service — cannot be renewed through the new program.
