How to get a US passport

You can renew — by mail on Form DS-82, or online where you qualify — only if your most recent passport ticks every one of four boxes. It was issued when you were 16 or older. It was issued within the last 15 years. It is undamaged and not lost or stolen. And it is in your current legal name, or you have a document such as a marriage licence proving the change.

If any single one of those fails, you cannot renew. You must apply in person on Form DS-11, exactly as a first-time applicant would.

That last condition catches people out most. A passport issued at 15 cannot be renewed even at 40, because it was issued before the sixteenth birthday. Children's passports simply do not roll over into adult ones.

An expired passport can still be renewed provided it was issued within the last 15 years. There is no requirement that it be currently valid — expiry alone does not force you into the in-person route.

Eligibility for a passport itself is straightforward: US citizens by birth or naturalisation, and qualifying US non-citizen nationals.

Form DS-11, completed but unsigned. You can fill it out online and print it, or download and complete it by hand. Do not sign it — the signature must be witnessed by the acceptance agent at your appointment, and a pre-signed form will be rejected.

Original proof of citizenship, plus a photocopy. A certified birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalisation, or a current or expired US passport. Hospital-issued birth certificates do not count; it must be the certified copy from the vital records office of the state where you were born.

Acceptable photo ID, plus a photocopy of both front and back. A driver's licence, military ID or government employee ID. Photocopies are part of the requirement, not an optional extra, and agents will not make them for you.

A compliant passport photo and the fee. Photo standards are specific about size, background, expression and glasses, and a rejected photo delays the whole application.

Then apply in person at a passport acceptance facility. Many are libraries or post offices. Appointment requirements and opening hours vary considerably, so check and book rather than turning up.

The passport book is the conventional document, valid for international travel by any means, including flights.

The passport card is a wallet-sized alternative, cheaper, and valid only for land and sea entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It is not valid for international air travel.

The card is, however, fully accepted as identification for domestic flights, which makes it a useful and inexpensive alternative to upgrading a driver's licence for people who do not otherwise need photo ID for federal purposes.

You choose which you want on the same application, and you can apply for both at once, which is cheaper than applying separately later.

Adult passports are typically issued for ten years, and passports issued to children under 16 for five — which is the mechanical reason a child's passport can never be renewed rather than replaced.

Processing times vary substantially through the year and are published by the State Department. Peak demand is spring and early summer, when times can lengthen sharply.

Expedited service is available for an additional fee, and processing time is separate from shipping time — paying to expedite processing does not speed up the post unless you also pay for faster delivery.

For genuine emergencies involving international travel within days, or a qualifying life-or-death situation abroad, regional passport agencies handle urgent cases by appointment. These are limited and appointment-only.

Now the rule that catches people with a perfectly valid passport: many countries refuse entry if your passport expires within six months of your arrival date. A passport with four months left is legally valid and practically useless for a large part of the world.

Some countries also require a minimum number of blank pages. Since blank pages cannot be added to a US passport any more, a full passport means a new one.

The practical conclusion is to renew when you reach about nine months of remaining validity rather than waiting for expiry.

Report a lost or stolen passport as soon as you realise. Once reported it is invalidated permanently and cannot be used again even if you find it, which is deliberate: a passport in circulation is a serious identity theft risk.

Replacing a lost or stolen passport means applying in person on Form DS-11 with an additional form describing the loss. It is not a renewal.

If it goes missing abroad, contact the nearest US embassy or consulate. They can issue a limited-validity emergency passport to get you home.

Damage counts too. Water damage, a detached cover, tears or unofficial alterations can all make a passport unusable, and a damaged passport must be replaced in person rather than renewed. Normal wear is fine; anything affecting the data page is not.

Children under 16 require both parents or guardians to appear in person, or one parent with a notarised consent form from the other, and must attend the appointment themselves. This trips up separated families and is worth resolving well before travel.

Applicants aged 16 and 17 apply on DS-11 in person, with parental awareness of the application generally expected.

If your name has changed since your last passport, you need documentary proof of the change — a marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order. Without it you cannot renew and must apply in person on Form DS-11.

The chain has to be complete. If your name has changed more than once, you need every link: two marriages means two certificates. A gap anywhere in the sequence sends the application back.

Where the change was recent and the old passport is less than a year old, there is a separate correction process that is cheaper than a full renewal. It is worth asking about rather than paying the full fee by default.

Dual nationals should know that US law expects a US citizen to enter and leave the United States on a US passport, regardless of what other nationality they hold. Travelling out on a foreign passport alone is a common and avoidable problem at check-in.

Holding another country's passport does not affect your entitlement to a US one, and the application does not require you to surrender it. The two documents coexist, and many dual nationals routinely carry both — using the US passport for US borders and the other where it gives easier entry.

Signing DS-11 in advance. The signature must be witnessed. A signed form means starting again.

Bringing no photocopies, or copying only the front of a photo ID. Both sides are required.

Bringing a hospital birth certificate rather than the certified state-issued copy.

Assuming a passport is renewable when it was issued before the applicant turned 16 — the single most common eligibility error.

Submitting the old passport as citizenship proof without realising it will be gone for up to four weeks.

Booking travel before the passport is in hand. Processing times fluctuate and expedited service is not a guarantee.

Ignoring the six-month rule and being turned away at check-in with a valid passport.

Using a third-party website that charges a fee to 'process' an application. Applications go to the State Department; private expediting couriers exist and are legitimate, but many sites simply resell free forms.