If you renewing an American passport papers before the date of expiration, it is very easy to accomplish. This application process can be completed by mail. All you need for a mail-in passport renewal is the application form, your passport, a mailing envelope and two photographs.

First you must find your old passport. Don’t worry about parting with it. If you have some sentimental attachment to your old passport, you don’t need to fear losing it. Your old passport will be returned in the mail with your new passport.

You will want to have a recent passport photo taken. These photos are quite inexpensive and can be obtained at many drug stores and food stores. They need to be a 2-inch by 2-inch color photo taken with you facing forward. You must not be wearing headgear. You should wear your glasses if you normally wear them, but no sunglasses or tinted glasses should be worn. Wear a wig or hairpiece if that is your usual appearance.

You can go online to the Department of State website for the U. S. Government to get your passport application form. Download the form and print it out. You will need to complete each blank on the form in ink.

You should determine if a passport card is something you want to obtain. A passport card is helpful for travel to locations such as Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas where a formal passport book is not required. The card is an alternative that may be somewhat safer to carry. Since extra fees are involved, you must decide if the fees are worthwhile for your travel plans.

Payment of the correct amount of money is important, but you must also decide whether you need the passport faster than the normal processing time. You might want to expedite the shipping of the application and documents to the agency. You might want to pay for them to speed up the processing time and return the passport quickly. Different prices apply to each of the services above and beyond standard service.

Once you know all the services you want, you need to decide the form of payment. If you write a check, the name on the check and the address must match that of the passport applicant. If this is not the case, it would be better to get a money order. You can also use a credit card, but be careful of the stipulations for its use.

The final step to renewing USA Passports documents to send them to the passport agency. Be sure to use the right sort of envelope to protect your pasports documents. Using a tracking service on the mailing helps you ensure that your documents arrive. If you are sending more than one application, you will need to use separate envelopes and mailings.