How long my Passport Renewal Took

Thanks for this. Interested in others experiences as last time I saw anything about this, they seemed to be turning them around quickly. Mine is good but my stepdaughter got married and lost her previous passport (misplaced, not lost out in the world), so she needs to get a new one. She's hoping to travel in September so I'll tell her to get on it ASAP.

Celeste- She may want to pay for the express processing. My son applied on 5/8 and and a few weeks later his status was "in process".

Letizia, what you're telling us is that people need to pay extra to get the government to do its job. I have a hard time believing that there are that are so many people sending in passport applications and renewals right now that they still haven't processed yours almost two months later.

If you send your passport in, I’d suggest that you send it certified mail (or another status that includes tracking). You can use the tracking number to know what date it was delivered to the State Department.

Their website is currently indicating 4 weeks just to update status and 10 - 12 weeks for routine processing.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html

While this was totally different, last year I had to file a tax return for a deceased family member by paper because I had to send a copy of my court appointment as executor of the estate. I mailed the return in early May and post office tracking showed it arrived a week later. The IRS system had no record of it until November and I did not receive the refund until March. I think all the government mail handling operations are just backed up.

@Cala - they kept accepting renewals during the Covid shutdown, so they're still digging out from that. Keep in mind, passport processing times are different at every center because they didn't all open en masse as well.

Cala- Pay them to do their job faster. Pre-Covid you could just walk into the post office, put your name on the sign in sheet and wait your turn. My Daughter applied for her first Passport in October 2020, was the first one there and she was in and out in an hour. Now it is appointment only, and the appointments are booking a month out. When my son went he said so many people didn't have their payment ready, forms are not filled in, the clerk had to guide them through the process, walk them over to a machine for their payment, and some families were 6 people plus...which backs up all the appointments. Then you had walk ins who were waiting to see if someone did not show up for the appointment. Now with things opening back up I think it is only going to get worse.

Do you have actual local passport renewal offices in cities in the US, or is it all mail-in to get a new one?
In Canada, we have actual offices to go in and do it in person, if you live in a biggish town or city.
In the "old" days , you could take in your renewal application and speak to a person, and it was all done within a few days, with your new passport being mailed to you.
Also, if you renew before your old one expires, you get a bit of a discounted price, and a bit less paperwork for the new one.
I don't know how it works nowadays.
I'm sorry it's taking so long for people now.

I'm with Letizia, I sent everything in 4/26 and state department's web site has still not updated. I'm not in a hurry, but in a couple weeks I might email my congresswomen, if its not updated, good call.

I mailed mine in on 4/30. There is no status update available and the check has not been cashed.
In all fairness, the Passport Office website does say that it will take about 4 weeks before they start to process an application. It has been 5 weeks. Fortunately, I don't need this passport until December. It is a little worrisome because one worries about it "getting lost."

I think the take away here is that you don't want to put off renewing until the last few months before you will need your passport. Give yourself plenty of time because once you send it off, you can't be assured just how soon you will be getting it back.

Your passport number is required when you book international travel so you can't even do that if you see a good fare even if it is months out when you will most likely have your passport, not sure if you can input it later? My son and his girlfriend are just waiting for his passport to arrive so they can book their Thailand trip.

I have never had to have a passport number available to book international travel. What airline are you looking at? You can usually book the flight and add in the passport number later.

Your passport number is required when you book international travel so you can't even do that if you see a good fare even if it is months out when you will most likely have your passport, not sure if you can input it later?

You can input the passport info later. It needs to be in before you actually travel, but you can book without it.

Thanks! When booking flights I an hyper diligent about filling everything in correctly, double and triple checking never saw that I could put the Passport in later..great to know!

Passport renewal in the US is generally via mail; walk in are generally for emergencies.

Walk in for emergency renewal at least in Philadelphia and New York require an appointment.

I mailed my renewal, and my husband's, mid-March, it was received 4/22. I got mine 6/1. My husband's is still in process.

I renewed mine around March. Turnaround time for me at that point was about 3 weeks. I was quite surprised at how quick it was.

I brought our passports to the post office on 4/21 where the postmaster suggested I use Priority Mail. It cost $8.70 to do that, but it would have been a little less had I used a flat rate envelope. With the tracking #, it was easy to see that it arrived at the processing center in Irving, Texas early on 4/27.
I signed up on the passport website to get notifications regarding our passports, and on 5/24 we got notification that they were in progress. On 5/25 the checks cleared the bank. The email said the process would take 10-12 weeks, so I made a note on my calendar to look for our passports in the mail in early July.

Our passports expired last summer, but we knew we weren't going to travel out of the US during a pandemic, so we waited, maybe like others, until we saw indicators that things were closely opening up.

Currently, we don't have any international travel planned until the end of April 2022, but I'm crossing my finger for the end of 2021, too.

I have never had to give my passport number when booking airline travel.
Is this an American requirement?

@S J in western Canada: At least for United, passport numbers have not been needed to book travel, but I've needed the passport to check in for an international flight. The last time (Portugal, 2019) I used the United phone app to check in, and the app scanned my passport and it is now cached in my Mileage Plus account. I suspect other carriers now have similar features.

"I have a hard time believing that there are that are so many people sending in passport applications and renewals right now that they still haven't processed yours almost two months later."

Actually, with the sudden re-emergence of interest in international travel, there's lots of talk about how flights are getting booked up, car rentals are unavailable, hotels are tight, etc. So, it's not surprising to me at all that passport renewals have also spiked. I don't know if they have, but I would expect that they have.

I applied to renew my Passport on 4/2/21--sent certified receipt at local PO ---kept checking at USPS tracking and only got "status not available" for weeks
then called Passport office 1-877-487-2778 on 4/28/21--was told "it takes 10-12 weeks to process and it is probably sitting in a mail box that we have not picked up yet----call back in 10 weeks (which should have been THIS WEEK----6/10/21.
i kept checking to see if they cashed my $140 check--they had not--i feared my passport was MIA.!!

well miracles--on 6/4/21 my check was cashed and now the USPS tracking site says it was delivered on 5/9/21 (but USPS website until a few days ago kept saying "no status"!!!!)
what a mess---luckily i don't plan any international trips till 2022

APPLY EARLY!

"@S J in western Canada: At least for United, passport numbers have not been needed to book travel, but I've needed the passport to check in for an international flight. The last time (Portugal, 2019) I used the United phone app to check in, and the app scanned my passport and it is now cached in my Mileage Plus account. I suspect other carriers now have similar features."

Well, of course you need a passport to board a flight.
What I was saying is that in years of online flight booking, I've never put in my passport number when booking.
The first time I show my pp or number is actually at the airport check in kiosk or desk.
I'm thinking this is just in Canada, but not the US.
You CAN put in your number if you want to, when booking online, but it does not seem to be mandatory in order to finalise a booking.

"what a mess---luckily i don't plan any international trips till 2022
APPLY EARLY!"

Exactly- you nailed it! Just renew your passport every 9 years and you'll never have the "waiting for backlog" stress!

what you're telling us is that people need to pay extra to get the government to do its job.<<

I strongly disagree with this. With any shipping method, you can pay for ordinary service or you can pay for express service. The government is as entitled as anyone else to set up two tiers for passport renewal.

My husband's passport was about to expire, so we paid for express service and he received his new passport in about 1 month. He has not received his old passport back yet, though, which is crucial since it has a visa in it that's still valid and needed for our next travels.

Letizia,
Wow you are lucky!
Mine took six months to process and my son’s took 8 months.

NHE

I sent mine off April 25th - certified mail. I checked and I know it was received. I checked this morning on the status page and got the same message that everyone else seems to be getting. I plan on contacting my senator in a week or so but I'm sure it will be a couple more months. Heck here in Oregon I sent off to get our cars registered and that process is like 15 weeks. Nothing is moving to fast in the covid era. Understandable be still frustrating.

I heard on NPR this weekend that one of their reporters needed to get his passport renewed ASAP and he flew to the office in Arkansas. They said hey had people form all over the country flying there to get renewals but I'm sure they were emergencies not just me trying to figure out when to travel in 2022.

Here's a link to the NPR story

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/03/1003020259/to-americans-planning-to-travel-abroad-update-those-passports-before-its-too-lat?t=1623095824936

Hi, I sent in my passport in Feb. 2021 and had the new one back in a few weeks. No express service. No tracking or registered mail, Lucky?

My Mom renewed hers recently and it took the advertised number of weeks to get back to her. I believe it was sent to the Texas address to get processed (she lives on the West Coast). There may be differences depending which office deals with a passport and how many are in the pipeline within various regions of the country. I'm about to reapply for mine this week, and my application will be sent to Philadelphia.

Agnes-Yes I think it does depend on which processing center you are assigned to.
UPDATE: received an email today, my passport was approved and expected date to receive is 6/13, so about 8 weeks from mail of application to receipt.

Mailed in application 4/30.
Received notification from passport office that it was “received “ 6/8. It said expect 10-12 weeks processing time.
I am hoping that they are giving the longest time to cover themselves, but it remains clear, apply several months before you will need your passport.

I received my email this morning … I sent mine April 22 and got confirmation that was received in Philly April 29th ….. I did notice one thing though..... yesterday June 8th I signed up for the email updates and today I got this email. Hmmmmm.

Application Status: In Process
The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 06/09/2021. We're now reviewing your application and supporting documents.
You requested routine service when you applied, which we are currently processing in 10-12 weeks.

We mailed ours on April 7, 2021. Received and In process on May 12. Still In Process. We have a trip scheduled soon, so we’re hoping we don’t have to postpone.
Our congressman put in an official inquiry this week. She said the passport agency used to respond in about a day, but lately it’s sometimes been up to a week.

I am still waiting for mine, but here is my story about customer service (or lack thereof) from the passport agency. I just moved and have a new address. It is impossible to get through on the phone to the passport agency. You wait through the canned announcements, get a busy signal, and the call is dropped. I sent them an email. My question, "Does the post office forward passports as it does with our regular mail or do I need to find a way to let you know my new address?" A very general question which should have been able to get a general answer. I waited 4 days and received a reply that they don't answer questions about specific applications online, I would need to call. Now there wasn't anything terribly specific about, "Does the Post office forward passports?" and I already know what will happen if I try to call.

I understand that they are overworked and that Covid put them under pressure just like it did the rest of us. I do think failure to even think about a customer's question is a complete fail on the customer service.

I find it interesting that folks who submitted their renewals in April had “standard” turnaround time of 10-12 weeks. I submitted an expedited request today and the website said to expect that to take 12 weeks,, with standard applications taking up to 18 weeks. My flight is in 14 weeks, so hope paying for priority mail there and back helps. Will add an update when I get one.

I mailed mine in mid-March, and had it in hand on 6/1. Regular service.

I mailed mine certified receipt on 4/2/21----still have not received it back!
got signed (stamped) receipt a week ago but still waiting on passport

Mailed application for renewal first class mail with tracking on June 5; it arrived at post office in Irving, Texas, on June 9. Just got email from passport office that my application was received on June 29, and will take up to 12 weeks to process, not including up to 6 weeks mailing time.

Update: passport received July 26, 52 days after mailing.

Just an added detail on the backlogs: It was 12 years or so ago that passports became required for travel to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. That created a wave of first-time passport applications, and even before Covid DoS was seeing a corresponding wave of renewals.

Shelly- Yup the processing time for regular renewal in April 2021, when I sent in my renewals, was 10-12 weeks, the website now states 18 weeks. I think now that things are opening back up people want to see family and just travel in general.

Mailed my passport renewal on 05/26/2021.
Received the new passport on 07/09/2021. 42 days (if my math is correct. ;-)

Nothing expedited, all done by regular mail. Requested notification from State as part of the process and they were timely.

Still waiting for the passport card to arrive, but no need to hurry that.

Guess this means it is time to get back to traveling!

EDIT: Got my passport card in the mail today (07/12/2021)! I am complete now. :-) 45 days total. YMMV

.

Article in the paper today recommending 6 months before your trip

Mark- My son got his Passport card about a month after his passport, but he applied for his passport in May, if that is any help.

I saw on the news applications are taking 18 weeks to process. Expedited is 12 weeks. Hopefully things will speed up soon! In the meantime it looks like allowing 6 months maybe the prudent thing to do.

I think this is a case of your experience may vary..........
Mark received his back in 42 days. I sent mine off a month before him and have received nothing.....

I can only say that there is no way of predicting successfully the time it will take. I strongly encourage people to give themselves that 6 month time or else they may be quite stressed out.

Update on my quest to change my address:
After 3 weeks of trying to call the passport office at various times of the day and only getting a busy signal, I finally made it into the waiting line for speaking with an agent! There was a 50 minute wait, but then the agent said he would email me a form to fill out and then I should email it back. I have done this and hopefully when my passport does get processed they will send it to the correct address.

from today's Wall Street Journal (not blocked at this time)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/passport-delays-to-persist-state-department-says-even-with-more-staffing-11626296173

Rachel Arndt, the department‘s assistant secretary for passport services, said there is currently a backlog of between 1.5 million and 2 million passport applications.
Currently, the department’s estimated turnaround times are 18 weeks for a standard passport application and 12 weeks for an expedited application. Pre-pandemic, it took six to eight weeks for regular applications and two to three weeks for expedited ones.
The department’s current estimated turnaround times of 18 weeks for a standard passport application and 12 weeks for an expedited one include six weeks of mailing time. A U.S. Postal Service representative has questioned the estimates. Asked how the State Department arrived at it, Ms. Arndt cited “anecdotal evidence” from passport applicants.

Here is a NYT article — lots of war stories in the comments.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/travel/passport-renewal-time-delay-delivery-wait.html

An update to my post prior post:

On 7/26 we both got emails that our passports were approved and were headed to the printing process. They were mailed to us on 7/27 from Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas and we received them on 7/30. Total time from the day we put them in the mail was 14 weeks, 2 days.

Did not do a rigorous review, but it seems the folks who can use the Texas address are getting faster service than those stuck with the PA. office.
( with so many people not having a 'where', in their ID it not easy to track)

Allowing 6 weeks for mailing time is way conservative, but the fact is that individual pieces of mail (or even a full sack of mail) can be mis-sorted and go on an unexpected detour at any time. That happened occasionally pre-pandemic and prior to the staffing cuts imposed by the current Postmaster General. I once had a time-sensitive piece of Priority Mail (containing event tickets) take 17 days to get from Washington DC to Los Angeles. That was back in the 1990s, I think.

It's indisputable that mail delivery, in general, is slower than it was just a few years ago. The State Department seems to be reacting to that (reasonably) and adding a lot of padding to try to allow for rare mail-handling issues most people will not encounter. It is level-setting so its clients are not blind-sided by late receipt of their passports.

Given current conditions and the comparatively low cost of the expedited-mailing charge in the whole scheme of an international vacation, I'd pony up if I need a passport renewed within less than six months. In nearly every case that wouldn't make enough difference to matter, but wouldn't you rather pay a bit extra and know that you did everything you could?

This public-service message brought to you by a retired U. S. Postal Service employee.

MY UPDATE----
I mailed my passport from Houston "certified receipt" on April 5th----i still do not have it back!!!! Yes they have it as I got the "receipt" back.................
That's now 17 weeks and NO PASSPORT!!!!

Phaedra, when you check your passport status online, what does it say? You should have more evidence than a receipt. In my case it was 5 weeks between receiving it and opening the mail, cashing the check, and switching to “in process” status. I have been “in process” for almost 8 weeks so far.

Phaedra... I mailed my passport April 29 and got my receipt shortly after that.... it only means that someone in the mail room acknowledges that its been delivered to the right address. My passport application moved to 'in process" on June 6th and is still sitting in the same status. I don't expect anything will change until September.

Oh dear. So the six weeks until processing is correct? Guess I have four more weeks to wait. Sigh.

As of today----it has been 18 weeks -----since i mailed in my passport. My status per their website says "in process"
Took 2 months to for them to cash my check and "receive" my application.

Mailed on 4/2/2021
Received on 6/3/2021
In Process on 8/5/2021

I did not expedite--live and learn. Luckily I won't need it this year.

I mailed my passport June 21st and received it July 26th, so a five week turnaround for me. Because of the information I'd seen on this forum, I sent my application via overnight mail, paid the fee to expedite it, and paid the fee to have it sent to me via priority mail. For reference, I am in California and sent mine for expedited processing in Philadelphia. In the section asking for travel plans, I indicated Italy / May of 22. I did not receive my old passport back, but maybe it will show up later? I grumbled a bit as I paid the extra fees, but I don't like the idea of being without a passport for so long in case an opportunity to travel arises. A big thank you to those sharing their stories. I always learn so much on this forum.

Following up on my earlier post: I was happily surprised and received my passport a couple weeks ago. So total time was just short of 5 weeks (expedited and paid for express mail there and back).
But unlike previous renewals I didn’t get my old passport back.

My old passport has always arrived considerably later than the new one. I'm sure they're not exactly prioritizing the return of old passports right now, but I haven't seen any news of a change in the policy of returning them.

I applied for both a renewed passport and a passport card. They arrived in two separate mailings and my old passport followed in a third, all within about 10 days.

I just received my son's passport after about 16 weeks from the date I mailed it. While it was a renewal in that I sent in the old passport, children's passports are treated differently so it was classed as a new passport.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband mailed his renewal one week before son's (early April) and got the new passport in something like 3 weeks.

Anecdotal - I wrote the e-mail address on the passport website twice regarding my son's passport. Once after 5 weeks and the check had not been cashed/the status showed as unavailable. The check was cashed and the status became "in-process" 2 days later. Second time after it had been 15+ weeks total and was still "in-process". Passport arrived about 5 days later. So it looks like writing that address really helped, but who knows.

Well after 4.5 weeks, the State Dept finally acknowledged they received my old passport and quickly cashed my check. Of course the website also tells me it could take another 12 weeks to get my new one.

I looked up how long it took in 2011 to get my renewed passport. 4 weeks from sending it until my new one was delivered. My advice for anyone thinking about getting a renewal is do it as early as possible.

UPDATE---------I FINALLY GOT MY PASSPORT!
19 weeks!

have not received my old one back yet but they say i will get a separate mailing for that????
Plan ahead.

The practice in the past was to mail the old passport back separately, and it did arrive later, in my experience. There's nothing unusual about that.

Phaedra, congrats to you! This gives me hope. I am at 15 weeks, so maybe soon….

Fast: My wife mailed her renewal July 14, paying for expedited processing, and expedited return mailing. Her check for $187.56 cleared the bank July 20.

New passport arrived today, August 13.

The wait times seem to be all over the place, either I'm really lucky or I should be disappointed I don't have more warts on my record.

Regular non-expedited renewal mailed to PA July 9

Tracking delivered July 12

Became "In Process" August 3

I was hoping to get it in time for a usual trip to Canada in November ... sitting in my mailbox on August 16 were both my new and returned old passports in 2 separate envelopes.

So I went back to the Passport Renewal page to see, and it was approved with an estimated return of August 16. If only the government were this efficient and accurate all of the time.

My husband couldn't find his old passport, so applied for a new one. He chose to ask for expedited processing. He went to the Post Office on July 9th and submitted all the paperwork and received his new passport almost exactly 30 days later.

I mailed my application for a passport renewal on April 29 of this year. I received the receipt confirmation a few day later.

I did not use expedited service since I have no immediate plans to use the passport, but I wanted to renew it when I did, expecting a surge of applications when things open up.

On July 7 & 8, I received a notice from USPS that something from Passport Service would be arriving soon. They stopped sending the notice on July 9, so I assume it had arrived by then (it has arrived). So from mailing to receipt, it was a little less than 10 weeks.

This is truly a "luck of the draw" situation. You may get your passport back quickly like Lee, or you may be like me.....
I do have good news to report. I have received notice that my passport renewal application was approved 16 weeks after it was mailed in and am supposed to be receiving it tomorrow. Still holding my breath a little until I actually have it in hand.

Sadly, I must report that the US Passport Office continues to amaze with their inability to process, They acknowledged receiving my change of address on July 13th and that all the proper paperwork had been filed so my passport would be mailed to my new address.

Today, August 21st. My passport was delivered to my old address. This is fascinating since, 1) the Passport Agency knew the correct address 2) The USPS didn't forward it to correct address either. Sigh. I waited so long for this passport and now who knows what will happen next? I'll have to wait until Monday and hope against hope to get through on their phone line.

I started my passport renewal mailing my passport the end of April. I received my new passport today BUT when I try to update my Global Entry information .... it says that my information is incorrect and I have to go to a processing center to update my information. Can this be more frustrating???

Donna, I feel your frustration. I dreaded trying to deal with the passport office again after they sent passport to the wrong address, 2 hours from where I now live. Thank goodness for small towns! I texted the new owner of my old place and she said she had the passport. A friend stopped by and picked it up from her and is going to drop it by my new home on her way to Eastern Washington later this week. I may actually get my passport in spite of the passport office.

Carol..... oh boy! I suppose your old passport will be sent to your old address too whenever they get around to mailed it back that is.

Just received passport today. 11 weeks from application. In-person application for a minor's passport, non-expedited. Travels date declared for 10/1 so had it 4 full weeks ahead of that date.

I’m looking for some advice. My family is traveling to Spain next week (9/14) to celebrate my fathers retirement (he loves Spain!) I got married back in 2019 so I had to update my passport with my new last name. I did so back in July and paid the extra $60 expedited fee (saw the news about how long it’s taking) and the 2 day usps shipping fee. They updated the status on 7/29 saying it’s in process. Starting last week, I’ve been calling to get an appointment at an Agency for an Urgent Travel since there has been no update. I was offered an appointment and as the deputy was creating it, my profile wouldn’t allow her to because of “where my passport is in the process.” We are now 1 week away from travel. I’ve called the state department everyday trying to get an appointment and getting the same response. I called again tonight and that deputy told me 0 appointments are available at any Agency they have. They are not providing anything on where my passport is other than “in process.” I’ve contacted my senator and opened a case on 09/03. I saw a comment about the senate saying to contact your congressman. Should I go ahead and do that? Is there anything else anyone would recommend? I’m getting so desperate here.

Mary, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this stress! You don't mention how far away you live from an emergency passport agency. I might be tempted just to show up within the 72 hour window if it isn't too far away. I don't know if that is good advice, however, and hopefully someone will chime in.

I do think you should start your own thread on this. Many people who may have knowledge on this matter may not even open an old thread with seventy some entries. Someone out there knows something helpful but you need to start your own thread so that they see it.

Perhaps the Title, "Need Advice on passport crisis"

I would like to point out our webmaster’s recent post about making the forum friendly and welcoming to newcomers. I am pretty sure that in hindsight things are always clearer, but the fact is that unless we have a kind word or advice that is actually helpful for the situation, perhaps it is better to say nothing at all.

I sincerely hope this situation works out for the poster.

I came here looking for "success" stories to see just how long processing is taking. It's interesting to see the range of experiences. I kind of wish I could just start from scratch now seeing how some of the more recent applications have been processed in a month or less somehow! I mailed my application (a name change renewal) on June 9. It was acknowledged and listed as In Process by June 15, and the status hasn't changed until now. If I don't see a change in status by the 12 week mark next week, I'll give the congress rep/senator appeal a try.

ANOTHER UPDATE:
I finally got my old passport back--4 weeks after i got my renewed passport which was 19 weeks from application date.

whewwwwwwwwww