United States (U.S.) Passport renewal may be done either via mail or in person. Renewing via mail will save the passport holder some time, but not everyone is eligible to renew this way. Renewing in person will take a bit more time but is still a relatively easy process. The pasport renewal processing times may be shortened by using either a government or independent expediting service.

In order for the passport holder to renew his or her passport via mail, several conditions must be met. The passport holder’s most recent passport must be undamaged and able to be submitted with the renewal application. The passport must have been issued less than 15 years ago in the person’s current name or the person must be able to provide documentation of any name change. The most recent passport must have been issued when the person was at least 16 years old.

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.

The standard processing time for passport renewal is four to six weeks. The government offers an expedited delivery service that will process the renewal application within two to three weeks. There are independent expediting service companies that can process the renewal within 24 hours for an additional charge in excess of the government fees. Passport holders who realize that their passport has expired and need to renew it in a hurry will want to take advantage of this service.

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.

The above guidelines are strictly for adults applying for a renewal, minors on the other hand have a few more guidelines that must be followed. They must apply in person no matter what, if they are still under the age of 16 or if the passport was issued while they were under that age. They then must follow the same guidelines as an adult and submit the renewal form along with pictures, ID and the processing fee, if any. The same rules for expediting apply for minors as they do adults in that they may choose either the governments offering or to go with one of the private service providers for a passport renewal.

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.

If certain conditions are met, US passport renewal may be done via mail. Otherwise, the person must re-apply for a new passport in person. If a passport holder needs to receive the new American passport quickly, the government or independent expediting agencies provide this service for an additional fee.