U.S. State Department Reopens Online Passport Renewal Portal

U.S. citizens looking to renew their passports can do so now online. But the opportunity won’t last.

The U.S. State Department has officially reopened its online passport renewal option (OPR) as of June 12. The portal appears to be only open for a limited amount of time, and with limited availability, so those looking to do so should do so quickly.

“We’re conducting a beta release of an updated online passport renewal system,” the online passport renewal webpage now says.

The portal will only open for a “a limited midday eastern time window each day and will close once we reach our limit for the day.” No word on how many applications will be available each day. TMR has reached out to the State Department for clarification.

The plan is to have some openings each day over the “next several months” to keep testing how the system performs ahead of a possible full launch sometime in the future.

However, not all Americans will be able to take advantage of the portal as there are some requirements to particpate. 

Americans must have had their passport for at least 10 years and must be of age 25 or older. Their current passport must have been issued between 2009 and 2015 or over 9 years, but less than 15 years from the date of application. 

Applicants can’t be planning on traveling internationally for at least eight weeks from the date of application. The State Department says that the online portal will offer “routine service” during the limited release period, which is currently up to eight weeks.

Applicants must also be located in the U.S.—no U.S. passport holders located in foreign countries will be able to use the portal during this launch.

The reopening has always been the plan for the State Department—from February 2022 to March 2023, the U.S. State Department ran a pilot of OPR, during which time more than 565,000 passports were renewed through the system. Though the portal was expected to reopen in December 2023, it did not and the U.S. State Department told TMR last week that it was still working out the kinks. 

It is still expected to have to continue to work through issues with the system, but the opening today allows some Americans to participate in the testing.

“We appreciate your patience while we test our system and prepare for a full launch of the updated online passport renewal system,” the State Department said. 

Whenever the OPR does fully launch, an estimated 5 million Americans will be eligible to renew their passports online. The hope is that the online portal makes the process less time-consuming and more convenient.

Currently, there is a processing time of six to eight weeks to renew a U.S. passport by mail. American can expedite the process for $60, cutting the time down to two to three weeks.