How to Renew Your Passport at the Post Office by Mail

To renew your passport at the post office, you fill out Form DS-82, put it in an envelope with your current passport, a passport photo, and payment, and mail it from any post office to the National Passport Processing Center. Postal clerks do not review or process a renewal application the way they do for first-time passports. Their job is to sell you postage, take your photo if you want one there, and put the envelope into the mail stream. Everything after that happens between you and the U.S. Department of State.¹

Can You Renew by Mail in the First Place

Form DS-82 is only for people whose most recent passport meets every one of these conditions:

It was issued when you were 16 or older.
It was issued within the last 15 years, counting from the issue date printed on it, not the expiration date.
It isn’t damaged beyond normal wear and tear.
You still have it and can send it in.
You have not reported it lost or stolen. Once reported, a passport is permanently cancelled.

If any of those fail, mail renewal isn’t available to you. You’ll need to apply in person on Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility, which is a separate process with its own fee.¹

A name change doesn’t disqualify you. If your name is different now, include an original certified document showing the change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. It will be mailed back to you.²

Check Whether You Can Skip the Post Office Entirely

Before mailing anything, look at online renewal at opr.travel.state.gov. If you qualify, you complete everything on the site, pay by card, and upload a digital photo. Nothing to mail, and your old passport stays with you until the new one arrives.³

Online eligibility is narrower than mail. You must be at least 25, your passport must be expiring within a year or expired less than five years ago, and you can’t be changing your name or gender marker. You have to be in a U.S. state or territory when you submit, and you can’t have international travel planned within six weeks. Online renewal only runs at routine speed, so if you need expedited service, mail is still the way.³

What Goes in the Envelope

Form DS-82

Fill out Form DS-82 using the State Department’s Form Filler tool at pptform.state.gov and print it, or pick up a blank form at many post offices and complete it by hand in black ink.¹ Check your Social Security number and the details from your expiring passport carefully. Mismatches are one of the most common reasons an application gets sent back.

One Passport Photo

You need a recent photo that meets federal specs: 2 by 2 inches, white or off-white background, taken within the last six months. Take your glasses off before the photo. If you can’t remove them for medical reasons, include a signed note from your doctor.⁴

Many post office branches take passport photos for $15.⁵ Pharmacies and shipping stores do them too. Staple the photo to the DS-82 with four staples, one in each corner, as close to the edge of the photo as possible.¹

Payment

Pay by check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of State.” Current fees:

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

Expedited processing adds $60. You can also add $22.05 for 1-to-3-day delivery of the finished book. Card-only applicants can’t add that delivery upgrade because cards go by first-class mail.⁶

Renewals do not carry the $35 acceptance fee that first-time applicants pay. If you don’t have checks, you can buy a money order at the post office counter for $2.55 on amounts up to $500.⁷ Write your full name and date of birth on the memo line so the payment can be matched to your application if anything gets separated.

Your Current Passport

Put your most recent passport in the envelope. The State Department cancels it and mails it back separately after processing.

Mailing It from the Post Office

Use a sturdy envelope, big enough to keep everything flat. A reinforced or Tyvek mailer works well. At the counter, choose a trackable option such as Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express so you have proof of delivery.

Here’s where people get tripped up: for a renewal, the post office is essentially just a mailbox. Postal employees should not open your envelope, review your documents, or collect a $35 acceptance fee. That fee only applies to first-time applicants on Form DS-11. If a clerk starts treating your DS-82 as a new application, decline politely.¹

Where to Send It

The address depends on your state and whether you paid for expedited service:

Routine service from CA, FL, IL, MN, NY, or TX: National Passport Processing Center, Post Office Box 640155, Irving, TX 75064-0155
Routine service from all other states and Canada: National Passport Processing Center, Post Office Box 90155, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155
Expedited service from any state: National Passport Processing Center, Post Office Box 90955, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0955

For expedited service, write “EXPEDITE” on the outside of the envelope.¹

How Long It Takes and How to Check Status

Routine processing currently runs four to six weeks. Expedited service, for the extra $60, brings that to two to three weeks.⁸ Those windows are measured from when the processing center receives your envelope, not from when you drop it in the mail, so add transit time on both ends.

Many countries won’t admit you if your passport expires within six months of your entry date. Counting backward from a planned trip and building in a buffer is smart. Renewing nine to twelve months before expiration takes the pressure off.

Check status at passportstatus.state.gov using your last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. The system won’t show anything until the processing center has logged the application, which can be a couple of weeks after delivery. Tracking that shows “delivered” while the status page is still blank is normal in that window.

When Mail-In Isn’t an Option

If your passport was reported lost or stolen, or is damaged beyond normal wear and tear, you can’t use DS-82. You’ll need to apply in person on Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility, pay the $35 acceptance fee, and appear in person. If your previous passport was issued before 1994 and you can’t produce it, expect an additional $150 file search fee.¹

If you need a passport faster than expedited mail allows, the State Department runs regional passport agencies that offer same-day or next-day service. You need confirmed international travel within 14 days to book one.⁹ Call 1-877-487-2778 to schedule; appointments fill quickly and aren’t guaranteed.¹⁰

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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport for Eligible Individuals
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
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United States Postal Service. Passport Appointments, Renewals, and Photo Services
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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United States Postal Service. Sending Money Orders
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U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
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U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. How to Get my U.S. Passport Fast
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U.S. Department of State. Contact U.S. Passports