Passport

What country(s) are you going to and when?

If it is 6 mo. or greater before you leave on your trip I would renew my passport now just to give yourself peace of mind. I usually renew mine one year before expiration.

Destination is England

Probably best not to give the airline gate agent a 'math problem' as you are leaving for your trip, but "technically" you should be OK.

I just wanted to make it clear that the US Passport Agency is backed up and not processing passports in what has been their "typical" timeframe. If you make the decision to renew your passport prior to your trip, make sure that you have enough time to send it in, get it processed, and get it back in the mail. The previous poster who said, "IF you have 6 months before your trip" was right on in thinking the amount of time it may take.

I’ve heard that too that it’s taking extra long to get them processed. Our trip is Sept of 2022 so I have just over a year - that should be good. Thank you for the advice, I’ll get it renewed just so we don’t have any issues

For the UK your passport simply needs to be valid for the duration of your stay. There's no 6 month after date of return requirement.

The US Passport agency was hacked which is why they shut down.

I feel like the previous posting about "hacking" and shutting down needs some clarification. I did a search and the closest thing I could come up with was that the in-person appointment system was shut down due to scammers making false appointments and then selling them.

I haven't found any information that the actual passport renewal system was shut down. It may be amazingly slow right now, but there are no news reports of the system itself being shut down, only the in-person appointments being made online. People are still able to make these appointments, but must do so by phone. Good luck getting through........

As stated above the UK doesn't have a 6-month rule. You passport simply needs to be valid for the duration of your stay.

Hello, I just wanted to add as someone who just received their passport today what the timeline was for me. I sent mine in the middle of April for renewal and just received it back today. It's about a four month turnaround. The queue might be longer now since mailing in April but I wouldn't worry too much about a Sept 2022 trip if you'd want to send it in now just to have a renewal under your belt.

Once again, it is very simple, just contact your airline or go to their website to find their policy. Some have a set policy, others have an app that you can enter the pertinent information for a verdict.

Despite what the policy may be for the UK, the Airline is obligated under International Carriage Law to verify documents or face fines and other penalties, so they take their rules seriously and often interpret them more conservatively. In the end, regardless of what information you can argue with, if they refuse you boarding...you are staying home.