U.S. Fully Launches Online Passport Renewal Program

After a number of pilot programs over the past few years, the U.S. has fully launched its online passport renewal program.

All adult Americans are now able to renew their passports online, via the State Department’s portal, at any time of the day as long as their passport has expired within the last five years or will expire in this coming year. The U.S. had the portal opened in the summer for a limited number of applicants each day to test the system, which now goes fully live.

“Today, more Americans than ever are traveling abroad, and we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for passports over the last few years,” Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter said in a news conference on Wednesday.

“Our goal is and has always been to provide Americans a secure and efficient passport service, so we are really excited that we are now making available online passport renewal.”

The service allows Americans to pay, upload a photo, and apply completely online with no need to appear in person or send anything through the mail. It’s a welcome relief for a growing number of Americans wanting to travel abroad (the State Department says 5 million Americans per year will be able to use the service).

Costs

There is no difference in cost between the online renewal option and the traditional renewal option—both will cost $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card, and $160 for the two, if you are an adult (aged 16 and older).

Wait times for renewal

Wait times for renewal via the online portal, according to Secretary Bitter, is six to eight weeks, the same as the traditional renewal process. Bitter added that while processing times are “really historically low,” the benefit of online passport renewal isn’t time, it’s convenience.

“The benefit of online passport renewal is that it’s a more convenient service. We don’t expect to have a different service standard for people who apply online versus people who apply by mail.”

Just like the pilot, there is currently no way to expedite renewal online, but that could change in the future. 

First-time passport applications

The move leaves out those applying for a passport for the first time, who still have to go through the traditional process. The long-term goal is to modernize that process, too, Bitter said.

“This is a first step in what we hope will be a much longer-term process to be able to modernize the systems that we’re using and to be able to provide a better service,” Bitter said.   

Renewals for Americans living aboard

Right now, only Americans that have a U.S. address will be able to use the service—any Americans living abroad will not be able to use the service at the moment.

“I don’t know if that’s going to expand into the future. We’ll have to see,” Bitter said.