How Do You Renew a U.S. Passport?

The renewal rule in one table

| Online renewal | Form DS-82 online at the official renewal site only, opr.travel.state.gov | | Renewal by mail | Form DS-82, mailed with the most recent passport, one photo, and a check or money order | | Online gates | Passport valid 10 years, expiring within 1 year or expired less than 5 years ago; age 25 or older; no change to name, sex, date of birth, or place of birth; located in a U.S. state or territory at submission; not traveling internationally for at least 6 weeks | | Mail gates | Most recent passport submittable; never reported lost or stolen; issued within the last 15 years; issued at age 16 or older and valid 10 years; issued in the current name or with a certified name-change document; not damaged beyond normal wear and tear | | Fee, book | 130 dollars | | Fee, card | 30 dollars | | Fee, book and card | 160 dollars | | Expedited service | 60 dollars extra, 2 to 3 weeks, mailing times excluded | | Fast return delivery | 26 dollars and 87 cents extra, 1 to 3 days after mailing |

What makes renewal different

Renewal has two doors, and the doors do not share one eligibility list. The online door adds gates the mail door does not have: age 25 or older, no travel for at least 6 weeks, and location in a U.S. state or territory when the application is submitted. The mail door is the wider one. It accepts a name change with a certified document, which the online door bars outright, and it measures expiry differently: issued within the last 15 years, against the online door's expired less than 5 years ago.

The second difference is what happens to the old passport. Online, the old passport is canceled when the application is submitted, and it cannot be used for international travel from that point. Do not mail it. Keep it. By mail, the old passport travels with the application and comes back in a separate mailing, up to 2 weeks after the new passport arrives.

The process, step by step

1. Pick the door. Online if every online gate holds, including no travel for 6 weeks. By mail if any online gate fails, including a name change.
2. Online: complete the application at opr.travel.state.gov only, with the passport being renewed, a credit or debit card, a digital photo, a Social Security number, and an emergency contact. No one else may sign or submit it for you.
3. By mail: complete Form DS-82 with the Form Filler on a computer, print it single-sided, and sign and date it before mailing. Staple one photo with four staples at the vertical corners.
4. Pay by check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State, with the full name and date of birth on the front. No cash. Add 60 dollars for expedited service, or 26 dollars and 87 cents for 1 to 3 day return delivery, as separate amounts where the form directs.
5. Mail to the address for the home state. Routine renewals from California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, or Texas go to the National Passport Processing Center, PO Box 640155, Irving, TX 75064-0155. Routine renewals from any other state go to PO Box 90155, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155. Expedited renewals go to PO Box 90955, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0955, with EXPEDITE on the envelope.
6. Watch the status. The first status of In Process can take 2 weeks from mailing. Routine service takes 4 to 6 weeks, expedited 2 to 3 weeks, and mailing times sit outside both windows.

Related passport guides

Online renewal cannot be expedited, so urgent travel needs the urgent and expedited track. A first passport, a lost passport, or a passport issued more than 15 years ago goes through the first-time in-person track instead. For every passport track side by side, see the U.S. Passport Guides by Situation directory.

Source

Eligibility gates, fees, mailing addresses, and processing times on this page come from the U.S. Department of State: the Renew Your Passport Online page, the Renew Your Passport by Mail page, and the processing-times page. Facts verified 2026-10-27.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer or your government agency.