We may be in middle of a pandemic, but starting on Monday, December 27th, the US State Department will increase what it costs to renew or get a new passport. Maybe they will use those funds to finally bring the process online?
I’m a firm believer that everyone should have a valid passport handy, so if you don’t, consider taking the opportunity to get one for everyone in your family before rates increase next week.
- New passports for those 16+ will climb from $145 to $165.
- Renewing passports for those 16+ will climb from $110 to $130.
- Passports for those under 16 will climb from $115 to $135. Renewals aren’t allowed for children’s passports and children’s passports are only valid for 5 years instead of 10 for those 16+.
- Expedite fees remain $60 for processing and $17.56 for express return shipping.
Current processing times are about 41 days for children, 44 days days for renewing adult passports, and 50 days for new adult passports. With expedited service you can expect a turnaround of about 22 days.
You can schedule a passport appointment via USPS or by calling your local library.
Do you have a passport for everyone in your family?
Dan, Why do you believe that everyone should have a valid passport handy?
Question: we were going to be getting passports this week, but covid happened and are in quarantine for 10 days (which means we’ll miss getting the passports before the rate hike 🙁 ). Is there any way to somehow lock in the current rate??
The online renewal project is neither a restraint on this price increase nor a beneficiary of this price increase.
The price hike is because of the increased cost to produce the latest generation of US passports and labor costs. Unfortunately, the “user fee” mentality in the US Government when it comes to passport pricing has consequences because it torrent promote efficiency or act as a restraint on increasing prices charged to US passport applicants.
Appointment was cancelled at BPL due to “staff shortages and exposure to Covid-19”. So annoying. No other appointments available
Add to the perks of living in Dan’s hometown… Called the local library (SE-Lyndhurst) this morning and got an appointment for today. They had several openings available.
You got lucky! I checked with the SE-Lyndhurst library about 12 Thursday afternoon, and they were all booked for the day. Plus closed Friday so I thought I was screwed for beating the price hike. Luckily only the library was closed on Friday, not the post office, and I was able to snag a Friday appointment at the South Euclid post office. First time doing it there after many at the library and no doubt the post office is far less pleasant 🙂 but hey, got the job done.
Stupid question.. what’s the point in having a passport if Israel’s borders are closed to non Israelis?
1)When the borders open, you’ll be ready to travel. It takes weeks to get a passport, new or renewed
2) There are other countries people travel to.
1)You can only get a second US passport if:
You have more than one international trip coming up and you need to get visas, meaning your current passport will be out of your possession for some time.
You have stamps in your passport that may result in denied entry to another country (e.g., an Israeli stamp in some countries).
If you can prove your job requires you to travel frequently. Flight attendants, pilots and journalists covering foreign news, for example, likely qualify for a second passport.
2) If you try reporting yours missing or stolen it won’t help you have 2, since they invalidate your original passport
I was also wondering if thats a fact that you can have 2 passports or just a joke.
they specifically have an application for a duplicate passport. They do ask why you need a 2nd passport but if you have a legit reason it’s no issue. There are many reasons why someone would need a 2nd passport.
i dont want to send in my expiring passport, is that a fact that they let me order a new one without sending in my current one?
Just something to keep in mind for those with kids contemplating renewing early: Since the first renewable/ten-year passport that someone can get is only when they reach 16, you save half the cost of a passport if your child can make it to their 16th birthday having only gone through 3 passports of 5 years each (which is way more than the $20 savings of applying early), which means they’ll have spent a total of 1 year (adding up all the gaps between passports) without a valid passport. If renewing, say, a 5-year-olds’s passport early will harm that possibility, it isn’t worth it- especially if there are no travel plans, it might be worth to use this time to be without a valid passport for a bit for your kid.
I’d like to get a second passport before the price increase. I technically don’t have a trip booked as my trip to Israel has been postponed. Does anyone have experience getting a second passport when the travel is only speculative?
Mine expires in July so I’m just at the 6 month mark. I wish they gave a timeline as to when it’ll be available to do online…. I hate that I need to mail my passport to them while it processes
I’m trying to make a appointment for my 2 kids but there is no appointment for a while any Solution?
Called your local libraries?
We had a library appointment for the 30th before this announcement, but luckily saw it on several other blogs yesterday and were able to change our appointment to today. 3 kids and 1 adult so $80 cheaper by doing it this week.
Kids can still fly national without passport?
No one needs a passport to fly domestically. If you are referring to the Real ID requirement that has been pushed for the 2232434t4565353 time!
Do you mean domestic USA ? If so, yes
I always make sure to have up to date passports and Global Entry!
Just for reference. I mailed my renewal on 11/29 and got it back on 12/20. O extra expedited fees or rush options
Same for me. I got my kids brand new ones in the height of covid. Went to my local USPS amd had them all back in my mailbox (new ones) in 10 days. In long island. Got them passport cards AND books. No rush fees , reg service. It’s hit or miss these days.
I think that once they started processing applications it went quickly because so few people were flying so they didn’t bother getting or renewing passports
Same, took about 10 days for my kids passports as well from appointment at post office until we had passports in hand.
I think ours are routed through the PA facility.
The 40+ days seems outdated or it’s a worst case scenario
What part of the country do you live in ? It’s definitely not that fast in NY/NJ area
Had the same experience in NJ. Adult renewal by mail took shortet than 1 month waiting without expedited
Just renewed my passport. Took 3 weeks ( no rash service )
Glad to hear it painless and you got no rashes in the process!
Issue is there is no appointments available for a long while
No need for an appointment for an adult renewal.
Called your local library?
Problem is how can you renew without sending them your passport? If I travel often I cant afford to be without if for the few weeks that they hold onto it.
You can apply for a 2nd passport.
Ouch! there goes $1k
its 20 bucks extra for each passport. are you getting 50?
Those questions should not be asked in public
I have 2 daughters whose passports are expiring within 6 months. I’ve been told that you shouldn’t, or can’t, travel with passport that’s expiring within 6 months.
Is that true?
Does it matter if one travels with a passport that is expiring soon?
Does a make a difference if you have a round trip ticket or two 1-way tickets?
Many countries require at least 6 months of passport validity to enter.
+1.
I was once going to Israel and had a passport with 5.5 months left and the Israeli consulate said it was not a problem . But the airline said (when I asked in advance) that they woukd not let me board a plane.
I never understood this. Why tell me my passport is valid for 10 years when I’m going to have to renew somewhere around the 9 year 3 months mark because from 9 years 6 months you can’t use it anymore? And this will keep happening every less than 9.5 years, not 10 years like it’s supposed to last.
I’m not saying to wait to the last minute but it should be valid until 30 or 60 or at the very least 90 days b4 expiration.
The passport itself is valid as identification up to the date of expiration. You can use it to fly domestically for example. Losing the 6 or more months every 10 years is annoying but that’s not the fault of the US. If the country you are going to doesn’t require it to be valid for 6 months, you’d be fine.
If you ask they may say no but practically speaking I did it without issue
How soon before can you renew your passport? My wife’s expires in a bit over 9 months
No limit.
Dan, do you know if you “lose” time by renewing your passport early? Like if I renew now I assume they’ll give me 10 years from when the issue the new passport and not 10 years from when my current passport expires. Is that right? Trying to see whether it worth it to lose a year to save the $20 increase. Even the higher fee it still costs less than $20 per year so I’m assuming it’s not worth it to do it early unless it’s just a matter of months.
10 years from the new issue date, so it won’t be worth doing now unless you have less than ~2 years of validity remaining.
Thanks for the explanation Dan! I have less than a year so I’ll renew my mail tomorrow.
What’s the best way to renew my kids’ passports? (They expire in 6 months). Do I go to my local post office or is there a better option?
Library has been wayyy better for kids than the post office, in my experience. Much friendlier employees and more relaxed environment.
Post office or library with both parents present.
Can also have one present parent/guardian with a notarized permission form and copy of id from non-present parent.
Thanks
If I renew by mail when does the fee go up? Meaning how would they know that I’ve sent it out before Monday?
Not positive, but I’d assume it’s based on postmark date.
I renewed by mail at the height of COVID. While it took forever to get the passport itself, the check was deposited immediately, like 2-3 days after mailing it out. So that may shed some light on this.