Every U.S. citizen that has a passport finds the need over the course of their life to apply for a passport renewal. This can be accomplished either through the U.S. mail service or if it is convenient, in person. There are also available, private expediting services that can help reduce the amount of time it takes to receive the new passport.

There are certain criteria that must be met in order to renew by mail. The old passport must be available to be returned with the application and must be in the holder’s original name. The passport cannot be more than 15 years old from date of issue and must have been issued after the holder was older than 16 years of age.

A specific form will need to be filled out when applying for renewal by mail. This form may be found by going on the Internet and either filling it out there or printing it out to be completed by hand. Once this has been filled out correctly, it must be mailed in along with two new passport pictures that are identical along with any supporting documents showing a name change if there happens to be one.

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.

Should the passport holder not meet all the requirements to renew by mail, a trip to a local Passport Acceptance Facility or Regional Passport Agency will be necessary. An applicant will then need to present a properly filled out DS-11 form along with proper identification. There will also be the need to have new passport photos on hand when applying for the renewal. The private service providers can still help these applicants but there will still be a necessity to appear at a facility of this type.

Minors wishing to renew their passports have different guidelines. All minors whose initial passport was issued when they were under age 16 must renew their passports in person. The renewal process is similar to those renewing via mail. The minor must complete a passport renewal application, return the expired passport, provide two identical passport photos, and pay a fee. If the minor wishes to have the passport expedited, the options of the government expediting and independent expediting companies are available at an additional charge.

Any U.S. citizen residing out of the country in Canada can also renew by mail if needed. Those that reside in other countries will however need to visit either the U.S. Embassy or local Consulate office to renew the passport in person. There is a complete listing of these locations that may be found online.

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 U S passport expediting services can help an applicant receive their passport back much quicker than the stander government expediting service.