Can You Renew Your Passport Online? Eligibility, Costs, and Steps

Yes, eligible U.S. citizens can renew a passport online through the State Department’s MyTravelGov portal, handling photo, application, and payment in one sitting. The catch is that online renewal only covers routine processing, currently four to six weeks, and it works only if your situation fits a specific set of conditions.¹

Who Qualifies

Every one of the following has to apply before the portal will accept your application:

You have your current passport in your physical possession. Lost, stolen, or significantly damaged passports don’t qualify.
The passport you’re replacing was a 10-year book, issued when you were 16 or older. Child passports issued before age 16 (valid for five years) can’t be renewed online.
It was issued within the last 15 years. Older than that, and you’ll need to apply in person.
Your name, date of birth, and sex match what’s printed on the current passport. No changes.
You’re physically located in a U.S. state or territory when you submit.
You aren’t traveling internationally within six weeks. Online renewals cannot be expedited.¹

That last condition is where most people get stuck. A trip a few weeks out means the online route won’t help, no matter how convenient the portal looks.

What It Costs

You can renew a passport book, a passport card, or both online.² Fees:

Passport book: $130
Passport card: $30
Both: $160

Payment goes through the portal by credit or debit card. Checks and money orders aren’t accepted online.³

What to Have Ready Before You Log In

The portal has session timeouts, so gather everything first:

Your current passport book or card. You’ll enter the document number and expiration date.
Your Social Security number.
A digital photo in JPEG format: recent, plain white or off-white background, taken facing the camera. No eyeglasses of any kind unless you have a signed note from your doctor explaining a medical reason you can’t remove them.⁴
A credit or debit card.
A MyTravelGov account. If you don’t have one, create it at mytravel.state.gov before you begin.

How the Online Application Works

After logging into MyTravelGov, you pick passport renewal, enter your passport details and personal information, and upload your photo. The system runs the photo against federal standards automatically. Before you finalize, the portal shows a summary so you can catch mistakes, then asks for an electronic signature confirming the information is true. Payment is the last step, and the system generates a confirmation and tracking number.

Nothing gets printed, hand-signed, or mailed. It’s one sitting, start to finish.

What Happens After You Submit

The State Department cancels your current passport once you submit the online application. From that moment, you cannot use it for international travel.¹ That’s the reason for the six-week travel buffer: submit on Monday with a Friday flight, and you won’t have a valid passport for the trip.

You don’t mail your old passport in. Keep it. A cancelled passport still works as proof of U.S. citizenship.¹

Routine processing is currently four to six weeks from submission.⁵ You can check status through MyTravelGov using the tracking number, and the State Department sends email updates at key stages.

When Online Won’t Work

The portal is built for the simplest renewal. Use Form DS-82 and renew by mail if any of these apply:

You’ve changed your name. Mail-in renewals accept a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order as proof of a legal name change.⁶
You need it faster. Expedited service adds $60 to the application fee and cuts processing to two to three weeks. One-to-three-day delivery adds $22.05. Neither is available online.³
You want to pay by check or money order. The portal accepts cards only.

Mail-in applicants send the current passport with the application, and the State Department returns it after processing. Checks and money orders go to the U.S. Department of State.⁶

If your passport was lost, stolen, issued more than 15 years ago, or issued before your 16th birthday, neither the online portal nor the mail-in form will work. Those cases require applying in person using Form DS-11, the same form used for a first passport.²

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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
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USAGov. Renew an Adult Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Photos
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U.S. Department of State. Get Your Processing Time
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail