Renew Your U.S. Passport Online: Eligibility, Fees, and Timing

You can renew your U.S. passport online at travel.state.gov if you are 25 or older, are physically inside a U.S. state or territory, and hold a 10-year adult passport that is expiring within a year or has been expired for less than five years. The online system handles routine processing only, and the moment you submit, your current passport is cancelled. That single detail decides whether online renewal is right for you or whether you should renew by mail or in person.¹

Who Qualifies

Every one of these has to be true. Miss any of them and the online path is closed to you:

You are 25 or older.
The passport you’re renewing was issued as a 10-year adult passport, not a child passport or a limited-validity document.
Your passport expires within one year, or expired less than five years ago.
You still have the physical passport. It is not lost, stolen, or badly damaged.
You are physically located in a U.S. state or territory when you submit.
You are not changing your name, sex marker, or other personal information.
You have no international travel planned within six weeks of submitting.¹

The six-week rule catches people. Because the online system only offers routine processing, the State Department requires that buffer before any international trip. Americans living overseas, including those using military or diplomatic APO/FPO/DPO addresses, are not eligible either.¹

One more limit on scope: the system only lets you renew the exact document type you already hold. A book renews as a book, a card renews as a card. If you want to add the other product, you have to renew by mail with Form DS-82.¹

What to Gather Before You Start

The session can time out, so pull everything together first.

Your Social Security number. Federal law requires it on every passport application, and leaving it off can delay the application or trigger a $500 IRS penalty.²
Your current passport, with the document number and issuance date visible.
A digital photo that meets State Department specifications.
A credit or debit card for the fee.¹

Photo Specifications

The photo is where most applications stall. Accepted file formats are JPG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF. File size must be between 54 kilobytes and 10 megabytes. Resolution must be at least 600 by 600 pixels and no more than 1,200 by 1,200 pixels.³⁴

The background must be plain white or off-white with no shadows or visible textures. Remove eyeglasses and hats before you shoot. The State Department does not grant an exception for prescription glasses. Do not scan or photograph a printed photo; use the highest-quality setting on your camera or phone and make sure the image is sharp. Grainy or pixelated uploads will be rejected.³

Submitting the Application

You sign in through a MyTravelGov account, fill in your personal details, upload your photo, and pay the fee by card at the end.⁵ After you click submit, the confirmation screen displays a unique application number. Save it. You will need it if you ever have to call about your renewal.

Read this before you submit: the moment your application goes through, your current passport is cancelled and cannot be used for international travel. You are without a valid passport until the new one arrives.¹ Do not submit if you have any upcoming trip that falls inside the processing window.

Fees

Renewing a passport book costs $130. Renewing a passport card costs $30. Hold both and want to renew both? You pay both fees.⁶

Passport fees are generally not refundable. Federal regulations allow refunds only in narrow situations, such as when a fee was collected from someone exempt from paying, or when the State Department fails to deliver expedited processing that was paid for.⁷ A denied application does not entitle you to a refund. Confirm every eligibility requirement before you pay.

Expedited processing ($60) and 1-to-3-day delivery of the finished book ($22.05) are not available through the online system. Those upgrades exist only on the mail-in path.⁸

Processing Time and Status

Routine processing currently runs four to six weeks.⁹ The window shifts with seasonal demand, so check the State Department’s processing times page before applying if you are working against a travel date. Finished books arrive by U.S. mail. Passport cards ship separately by first-class mail.

Automated emails will update you as the application moves. You can also check manually with the online status tracker using your last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number.¹⁰

If plans change after you submit, the State Department says you can call 1-877-487-2778 to request expedited processing or faster delivery on an application already in the pipeline.¹ Whether the call actually accelerates anything depends on where your application sits in the process.

When You Cannot Renew Online

Several common situations move you off the online system:

You need it fast. Renew by mail with the $60 expedited fee, or schedule an appointment at a passport agency for a life-or-death emergency or imminent travel.⁶
You legally changed your name since your last passport was issued. Renew by mail with documentation of the change.
Your passport is lost, stolen, or damaged. You must apply in person using Form DS-11.
Your passport expired more than five years ago. You are outside the renewal window and apply as a new applicant.
You are between 18 and 24. Renew by mail; the online system starts at 25.
You are outside the U.S. The system requires you to be physically in a state or territory when you submit.¹

1
U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
2
U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions about Passport Services – Section: Social Security Number Requirement
3
U.S. Department of State. Uploading a Digital Photo
4
U.S. Department of State. Digital Image Requirements
5
U.S. Department of State. Create a MyTravelGov Account
6
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities
7
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.53 – Refunds
8
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. Passport Fees
9
U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
10
U.S. Department of State. Checking Your Passport Application Status