This week the U.S. Department of State announced that it has implemented an online application system for U.S. citizens to renew their passports. For those who qualify, this application option will eliminate the need to apply in person at a Passport Agency or Passport Acceptance Facility (such as a post office or county courthouse), or even submit original documents by mail. 

In order to be eligible for an online renewal, a U.S. citizen must meet the following conditions: 

• The applicant is at least 25 years old. 

• The applicant lives in the United States. 

• The applicant is in possession of a previous passport, and it is not damaged or mutilated, lost or stolen. 

• The previous passport was a 10-year-validity passport. 

• The previous passport was issued between 2009 and 2015.  

• The new passport will not reflect any changes of name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth. 

• The new passport will not be a special issuance (diplomatic, official, service) passport. 

The online process will require applicants to create an account on the State Department’s new MyTravelGov system and to pay the passport fee by credit or debit card. 

The current estimated processing time for the new online application is 6-8 weeks, which is the same processing time offered with the standard mail-in application service. Expedited and urgent processing are not currently available for online applications. Passport processing times have improved significantly from the extended delays that occurred during the application surge in the previous summer, when passports took up to three times longer to be issued.  

The State Department had offered online renewal applications on a trial basis in 2024 but was forced to shut down the online system due to insufficient resources to process the high volume of applications submitted. Foster anticipates that the online application processing time may be stretched in the coming weeks, depending on how popular this application option proves to be. As always, we recommend that travelers renew their passport when it nears one (1) year of validity remaining, and that, if possible, they submit a renewal application four months prior to any intended international trip to minimize the risk of travel delays. 

Foster will continue to monitor developments in U.S. immigration law and international travel-related matters and will make future updates available via the Foster website at www.fosterglobal.com.