What Do You Need to Renew Your U.S. Passport?

To renew your U.S. passport, you have three paths: mail in Form DS-82 with your old passport, a compliant photo, and a $130 fee for a book or $30 for a card; renew online through the State Department’s portal if you meet a narrower set of conditions; or apply in person on Form DS-11 if you don’t qualify to renew at all. Most adults who already hold a recent adult passport can handle the whole thing without visiting an office.

Do You Actually Qualify to Renew

Renewal is only available if your existing passport meets four conditions. It has to have been issued when you were 16 or older, issued less than 15 years ago, still in your possession and undamaged, and in your current legal name (or you can document the change).¹ Miss any one of those and you can’t use DS-82. You’ll instead file Form DS-11 in person at a passport acceptance facility, the same route first-time applicants take.²

What to Send for a Mail-In Renewal

Gather everything before you start. Missing items and non-compliant photos are the most common reasons applications get put on hold.³ Your envelope needs to contain:

A completed Form DS-82, printed single-sided from the State Department’s PDF or online form-filler, signed and dated in black ink.
Your most recent passport. It gets cancelled with hole punches and returned separately after your new one ships.
One 2-by-2-inch color passport photo taken within the last six months.⁴
A certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order if your name has changed.⁵
A check or money order payable to “U.S. Department of State” with your full name and date of birth written on it.

The application asks for your Social Security number, which is required under 26 U.S.C. § 6039E. If you’ve never been issued one, include a signed statement saying so.⁶ Use a padded envelope, keep the form and any certificates flat, and consider USPS Priority Mail Express for tracking and insurance.

Renewing Online

The State Department’s online renewal portal at opr.travel.state.gov lets eligible adults skip the envelope entirely. The eligibility rules are tighter than mail-in, though. To renew online you must:⁷

Be 25 or older and physically in a U.S. state or territory when you submit.
Hold a 10-year passport that is either expiring within one year or has been expired less than five years.
Not be changing your name or sex.
Renew the same document type you already have (book for book, card for card).
Not need the passport for international travel within the next six weeks. Only routine service is available online.

The key difference from mail: online renewal cuts off at five years past expiration, while mail-in accepts a passport up to 15 years past its issue date. If yours has been expired longer than five years, mail is the only renewal option. The State Department warns against unofficial “renewal” sites; use only the government portal.

Passport Photo Rules

Photos delay more applications than any other single item, and the standards are enforced literally:⁴

2 by 2 inches, with your head measuring between 1 inch and 1⅜ inches from chin to crown.
Plain white or off-white background with no shadows or texture.
No eyeglasses. Medical exceptions require a signed note from your doctor.
Neutral expression, both eyes open, mouth closed.
Taken within the last six months.
No uniforms or camouflage. Head coverings only for religious reasons, and they can’t obscure your face.

Most pharmacies and shipping stores will shoot a compliant set for roughly $15 to $17.

Fees

Adult renewal fees on Form DS-82, current as of 2026:⁸

Passport book: $130
Passport card: $30
Book and card together: $160
Expedited processing: $60 on top of the base fee
1-to-3-day return delivery: $22.05 on top of expedited⁹

Renewals carry no execution fee because you aren’t visiting an acceptance facility. A wrong payment amount gets your whole application returned, so add carefully. A book renewed with expedited processing and fast return shipping comes to $212.05.

Where to Mail It

The address depends on your state and your service level.⁵ Routine applications from California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and Texas go to the National Passport Processing Center at P.O. Box 640155, Irving, TX 75064-0155. Routine applications from every other state, plus Canada, go to P.O. Box 90155, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155. Expedited applications from any state go to P.O. Box 90955, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0955, and you should write “EXPEDITE” on the outside of the envelope.

How Long It Takes

The State Department currently lists routine processing at 4 to 6 weeks and expedited at 2 to 3 weeks.¹⁰ Those clocks start when the processing center receives your envelope, not when you mail it. Add a few days on each end for transit.

You can check status at passportstatus.state.gov starting 14 business days after you apply.¹¹ The tracker updates from initial receipt through printing and shipment. If your trip is more than six weeks out, routine service is fine. If it’s closer, pay for expedited and consider the fast-return shipping.

If Your Name Has Changed

You can still renew by mail after a name change, but you have to prove it. Send a certified marriage certificate, a divorce decree showing your new legal name, or a court order for a name change along with your DS-82.⁶ The document must be an original or a certified copy; photocopies are rejected. If you can’t produce one of those three documents, you don’t qualify to renew and will need to apply in person on Form DS-11.¹² Your certificate comes back to you with your cancelled old passport.

Renewing From Outside the United States

U.S. citizens abroad renew through their nearest embassy or consulate, using DS-82 if they meet the same eligibility criteria that apply to domestic mail-in renewals.¹ The online renewal portal is not available outside U.S. states and territories, so don’t count on it if you’re overseas.⁷ Submission and payment procedures vary; check your embassy’s site, since some accept mailed applications and others require in-person drop-off. Expect roughly 4 to 6 weeks of processing.

When to Renew Early

Many countries deny entry to travelers whose passport expires within six months of their planned stay. That means a passport with four months of validity left can still get you turned away at check-in. The United States applies a similar rule to foreign visitors.¹³

There is no penalty for renewing early, and any unused time on your old passport does not carry over. Your new book gets a full 10 years regardless. If you have international travel coming up, renew as soon as you’re inside the one-year expiration window.

If You Need It Urgently

When your trip is too soon for expedited mail service, the State Department runs regional passport agencies that see urgent cases by appointment. You qualify if you have international travel within 14 calendar days or need a foreign visa within 28 calendar days, and you’ll need proof such as an itinerary or hotel booking.¹⁴

For genuine life-or-death emergencies involving serious illness, injury, or death of an immediate family member abroad, a separate process can produce a passport within days. Call the State Department at 1-877-487-2778 to arrange an emergency appointment.⁹

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eCFR. 22 CFR 51.21 – Execution of Passport Application
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U.S. Department of State. Application For A U.S. Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Respond to a Passport Letter or Email
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Renewal Application 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. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities
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U.S. Department of State. How to Get my U.S. Passport Fast
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U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Application System
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USAGov. Renew an Adult Passport
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Six-Month Passport Validity Update
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U.S. Department of State. Make an Appointment at a Passport Agency