Renewing Your Passport Online Is Fast and Easy — Here’s How I Did It

Gone are the days of sending your passport off for renewal in the mail, praying to the travel gods that it doesn’t get lost or delayed along the way. Now, you may be able to renew yours online.

This process is not only simpler, it’s also cheaper when you remove some of the costs associated with passport renewals of yesteryear. Plus, in my experience, the renewal was lightning fast.

Here’s a look at my experience using online passport renewal for the first time.

Who’s Eligible for Online Passport Renewal?

U.S. passports are issued by the Department of State, and they let you once again renew passports online in June 2024 after pausing the online service for more than a year.

Applications for online renewal are available here. The website walks you through questions to determine your eligibility and then tells you whether you can renew your passport online.

Not everyone is eligible for online passport renewal, however. You must be at least 25, a U.S. citizen, and have a 10-year passport that was issued between 2009 and 2015. This means anyone with temporary or special case passports is ineligible. Additionally, your passport must either be expiring within 1 year or have expired in the past 5 years.

You also can’t use this online process if you’re applying for a passport for the first time or if you live outside the U.S. or its territories. This rule excludes those using APO and FPO mailing addresses, such as military members stationed overseas.

Lastly, you need to have your current passport with you, and it must not be damaged.

Using Online Passport Renewal for the First Time

After confirming that I could use online passport renewal, the website said to have my current passport handy and have a photo ready to upload. However, it also said that I could take a picture during the application, in case I didn’t already have one to use.

The first step required entering my passport’s inventory control number, or ICN, which isn’t the same as the passport number.

After confirming my personal details, I could choose whether I wanted a regular or large book (with more pages). This part of the renewal application also asked whether I wanted to pay extra for express shipping. I stuck with standard shipping.

Notice that there was no option for expedited processing. Online passport renewal doesn’t provide expedited or emergency rush services. If you need a passport in less than 2 weeks, the State Department has special instructions for emergency passports.

After completing the application process and agreeing to the terms, I submitted my passport renewal application. The next page confirmed that I had submitted my application but hadn’t paid yet. Payment could be done with a credit or debit card. It also provided information about enrolling in email notifications along the way, such as when the new passport was approved and mailed.

After submitting the application and paying the required fee, I got an email confirming my submission. It provided an application number, confirmed the estimated timeline for receiving my passport (4 to 6 weeks with standard processing), and provided a link to track my passport application online.

However, it took 3 days before I could track the application status. During the first few days, the tracking website said “Not Available.” On the other hand, the website said it could take up to 2 weeks before tracking information became available, so I was happy with the 3-day result.

I submitted my application on December 6, 2024, and tracking information became available on December 9. Then I got an email when the application was approved and the passport was printed. That was December 16 — just 10 days after I’d submitted the passport renewal application.

That same day, I got an email with a U.S. Postal Service tracking number so I could track the shipment of my new passport. However, the package didn’t actually go into the mail for 2 days, which was December 18. The passport arrived at my home in California on December 20.

How To Make Online Passport Renewal Process Smoother

If you’re planning to renew your passport online, there are a few things you can do to make the application itself go smoother. I had to stop and start a few times, and you can avoid those issues by following these tips.

First, have your current passport in your hand before going to the website. I have my passport number memorized and also have a picture of the identification page saved on my computer, so I thought those would be sufficient. However, I didn’t have the ICN handy, and I needed to retrieve that.

Second, understand the photo requirements. It’s OK if you don’t have a professional photograph ready to go, and you don’t need to visit CVS or FedEx Office to get a passport photo.

It’s possible to take a picture yourself during the application process. Once I got to the photo submission page, there were numerous tips about how to take an acceptable picture — tips based on lighting, glasses, facial expressions, and more.

This page also recommended not scanning a picture, which I was considering. Thus, I followed the instructions to use my phone to submit a picture with my application.

Final tip: Being ready for the picture can save you time. I needed to find a blank wall, adjust the lights, and comb my hair after taking off the hat I was wearing when I started the application. Getting ready to take the picture and working to avoid shadows on my face was the most time-consuming part of the application for me. Luckily, you can discard a bad picture and take another before submitting the photo and returning to the application.

Plus, the website will let you know whether or not your submitted photo meets the requirements before moving forward.

Final Thoughts

I renewed my passport online for the first time recently, and I was impressed with how easy the process was. Plus, I was super happy with how quickly I received my new passport in the mail. I can’t promise the whole process will take just 2 weeks for you, but that 2-week timeline was much better than my expectations.

By following the tips I outlined above, the process for online passport renewal can be simple. It also avoids the delays and costs associated with mailing in your passport for renewal. You don’t need to pay for a picture, money order, or shipping to send your passport to the State Department if you use the online renewal system.