- The online renewal option launched in February following an executive order from President Biden.
- Only certain citizens are eligible for the current online passport renewal program.
Frequent flyers, rejoice! A new passport renewal process will require much less paperwork than in the past.
The US State Department relaunched its online passport renewal option to a limited number of Americans Friday morning, according to an announcement on its official website.
The Department of State plans to make online passport renewal available to everyone in 2023, after months of testing the program with select groups. If you can't wait that long, another round of online renewal will open again in October, according to the site.
A pilot program for online renewal launched in February — only available to government employees and contractors — after President Biden's December 2021 executive order to improve federal services recovering from the pandemic, the New York Times reports.
The program was then opened to 25,000 members of the public in August for a two-week window, the NYT report says. It is unclear how long the current window will remain open.
Before you rush to apply for online passport renewal, you must meet these key requirements:
- You're 25 or older.
- Your passport was issued between the years 2007 and 2013.
- You're not changing your name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth.
- You're renewing a tourist passport. Special issuance passports can't be renewed online.
- Your current passport isn't lost or damaged.
For travelers leaving the country in the next six weeks, the department said online renewal isn't the best option for a fast turnaround.
Upon submitting the application, your current passport will immediately become invalid to use for traveling, so it's best to apply for renewal well before any upcoming trips.
According to a report from CNET, processing times haven't gotten any quicker, but applicants are able to pay fees and upload documents online instead of taking the time to mail physical copies.