State Dept. launches online passport renewal, easing backlog

The State Department has quietly launched a new public beta test for online passport renewal, allowing Americans to apply for renewals without visiting an office or mailing in physical paperwork. This news comes after a two-year hiatus from such a program and amid an extreme renewal backlog that led to wait times of up to 13 weeks.

The beta online renewal program, which started on Wednesday, will accept a limited number of eligible American citizens to start their application at 1 p.m. each day, closing once the daily limit is reached (although the specific daily limit has not been specified). The department plans to gradually increase capacity daily but will continue to limit the number of daily applications for the next several months to monitor the new renewal system’s performance.

To qualify for online renewal, applicants must meet several requirements, including being over 25 years old, having a passport issued between 2009 and 2015, not changing any demographic information, and not traveling internationally for at least 8 weeks from the submission date. Applicants who renew online will not need to physically mail their old passport to the State Department, as those renewing via mail do, and they’ll be able to upload a digital passport photo.

Processing times for online renewals are expected to be in the six- to eight-week range, the same as the existing standard for passport renewals. However, those seeking expedited service (with a two- to three-week turnaround time and an extra fee) are not eligible to apply online.

Background: The State Department has recently recovered from years of delayed processing times, with applicants waiting over four months for their travel documents. In 2021, processing times reached up to 18 weeks, according to CBS News, and wait times hit between 10 and 13 weeks in the summer of 2023. By November, wait times had eased to seven to 10 weeks, according to CNBC, and returned to the typical six to eight weeks for routine service by December of last year, marking the first time processing times had returned to pre-pandemic norms since March of 2020. To further ease the backlog, the State Department increased staffing by 12% between December 2022 and January of this year, according to the New York Times.

In fiscal year 2023, the State Department received a record high number of U.S. passport applications, totaling 21,577,377, well above the previous high of 19,603,630 in fiscal year 2017.