By Stacy M. Brown, WI Senior Writer
Millions of Americans can now renew their passports online instead of mailing the State Department paper documents with a check. The department announced Wednesday that its online system is now open after months of limited testing and years of pilots.
“We are really excited that we are now making online passport renewal available,” said Rena Bitter, assistant secretary for consular affairs. “This is a new service that will allow Americans to pay, upload a photo, and apply completely online with no need to appear in person or send documents through the mail.”
The State Department estimates that up to 5 million Americans can use the service annually. Last year, the department renewed 9.6 million passports.
Bitter said the online service is currently limited to renewals for adult, 10-year passports that have expired within the last five years or will expire in the coming year. It is also available for those needing expedited service, anyone not living in the United States, or people changing details like their name or gender.
“We want to make sure that we get this right, so this is where we’re starting,” she said.
Bitter noted that the online option does not offer faster processing times or reduced fees compared to renewing by mail. Passport processing times, which ballooned during the pandemic, are currently below six to eight weeks.
The announcement follows months of limited testing of a public beta version of the tool. The department closed the tool after it reached certain application thresholds, making changes based on customer feedback. The state also previously piloted online applications in 2022.
Bitter noted a significant change in the number of applications the system can now handle. The department plans to expand the service to include more types of renewals in the future.
“We will expand this. This is not going to be the last thing that we do,” Bitter stated. “We want to see how this goes and then we’ll start looking at ways to continue to make this service available to more American citizens in the coming months and years.”
The update is part of the department’s broader efforts to modernize and reduce administrative barriers. The move to online renewals was included in a 2021 executive order on customer experience.
“Our goal, of course, is to get away from paper as much as we can, as quickly as possible,” said Bitter. “This is a first step in what we hope will be a much longer-term process to be able to modernize the systems that we’re using.”
Currently, only adult passports can be renewed online, and only those living in the U.S., either in a state or territory, can use the service.
“The benefit of online passport renewal is that it’s a more convenient service,” Bitter added. “We don’t expect to have a different service standard for people who apply online versus people who apply by mail. We just want to make sure that we give the American people a choice to be able to do either.”
Passport processing times have returned to below six to eight weeks after peaking at 18 weeks in 2021 due to COVID-related staffing shortages. Despite a drop in demand during the pandemic, the department reported a significant bounce-back in 2023 as more Americans resumed global travel.
“We want to make sure we provide the most efficient and modern services possible,” Bitter concluded.
