Pasport Renewal - Better Not Hesitate, Get Hold Of One At This Moment

To renew by mail, the passport holder must qualify by meeting certain criteria, one of which is that the old passport is in good condition and able to be sent in along with the application form for renewal. The passport must also be less than 15 years old and issued in the holder's current name. This passport must also have been issued to the holder when they were above the age of 16 in order to qualify for renewal by mail.

To renew the passport by mail, the passport holder must complete an application for U.S. Passport by Mail. This form may be found online and may be completed electronically or printed and hand-written. The applicant must mail the application with his/her most recent U.S. Passport, two identical photos, the pass port fee, and documentation substantiating a name change, if applicable.

A passport renewal that is done by mail can take four to six weeks to be processed and returned to the holder. The government offers an expedited service, for a fee, that can shorten this time down to two to three weeks. There are occasions where the passport holder needs it back faster than this and for these times, there are private expediting services that can help. These services can return a passport in as little as 1 to 2 business days if need be, for an additional fee.

If not all the requirements can be met by the passport holder, they then must appear in person at a local Passport Issuing Agency office or Passport Acceptance Facility. The applicant should have on hand, the completed application for the new passport along with the photos, copies of the proper identification documents and the fee, in a an acceptable payment form. If expedited service in necessary, the applicant will still need to appear in person at one of these authorized facilities.

Passport renewal for minors has a few different rules than those for an adult passport. The minor must appear in person at one of the authorized centers and present the old passport along with all the proper forms and new photos. There is no option for them when it comes to renewing by mail. There are, however, the expediting options offered by the government and private providers in getting the new passport back quickly. This applies to all minors that were 16 years old or younger when their passport was originally issued.

U.S. citizens that happen to live in Canada are also able to renew their passports by mail if the meet all the requirements. Those who live in other countries, however, only have the option for renewal by appearing in person at either the local Consulate office or U.S. Embassy. All the locations of these offices may be searched out by going on the Internet.

The pasport renewal is probably most easily completed by going through the mail. If the proper criteria cannot be met by the holder, then it will be necessary to complete the process in person. It has been shown that the private American passport expediting services can help an applicant receive their passport back much quicker than the stander government expediting service.