Renew Passport by Mail or In Person?

There is a recent thread on renewal times: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/passport-renewal-fbc661c0-569f-4bbd-9ea0-874f5a31236d I used expedited service and it was very fast (less than 3 weeks). I sent mine via USPS priority mail with tracking and it was returned to me the same method. I noticed today that State Dept. has updated the processing times on their web page for expedited service (it now says 3-5 weeks, it recently was 5-7 weeks) so they're getting faster all around.

I think if you already have a passport and don't need to do something special (like change your name) or it's an emergency situation, renew by mail is the only current option. At least it was when I thought about going in person (my local acceptance facility wouldn't let me come in person for a renewal). They did allow online renewals briefly this year but stopped doing it. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html

If you don't need it before May, I'd go ahead and send it in. Also if the government shutdown threat remains active, I'd want to get in line now (that was one reason I renewed mine before I needed to). Best of luck!

...in person at a number of locations near us.

If the locations are near, and you have the time, try the in person route to see what is involved. I don't think (could be wrong) there are that many places that actually do the renewals on site. They might just take the old passports and info and forward them. But it wont hurt to explore that option. You can always do it by mail (certified) mail if it can't be done on site. With the possible government shut down looming, you might want to consider the expedited service.

Hmmm, I hadn’t thought about a possible shutdown.

I think with the in person renewal you don’t actually get your new passport then and there. The main advantage, if any, is instant verification that your application is in order.

According to the website, at least one office in Tulsa takes walk-ins for passport renewal.

Thanks for the reminder of a possible shutdown. Expedited service it is, then.

Jane, are the passport places at a Post Office facility? The one in CdA was shut down for a while because they didn't have anyone properly trained. (eyeroll!) even though it still showed on the USPS website. I agree with TC and would probably go expedited due to possible disruption of governmental agencies!

And YEA!!

I received my renewal within six weeks this spring using expedited service. Last I knew you could only do in person renewal for several reasons such as a family emergency.etc. My son has to do it in person due to his job as an international pilot and he cannot be without it. He does have to have notarized statement on company letterhead signed by the chief pilot and the agency is very strict about in person renewals. Perhaps that is what Tulsa does. P!ease check this out. And since you are very far out I think you would be okay. You can track the process on line for peace of mins. Good luck.

I believe by in person, what they mean you can go to a counter (like a post office in many cases) and submit your application, they will look it over, make sure you have all the supporting documents, take your payment, then they just send it in for you as opposed to you dumping it all in the mail. You do not walk out with your passport. If you are doing a first passport, this can be handy, avoiding a delay due to a simple mistake, but for a renewal, you can easily do it by mail yourself.

There are limited offices where you can make an appointment and get the passport in hours, but you need to provide evidence that you have an urgent need.

I printed the form online and filled it out at home. I took it, and my old passport, to my local post office and they did the rest. They process lots of passports. All I did was say expedited and she knew the amount and did the whole shebang. I got my new passport three weeks after the day I mailed it. Super fast. Worth the extra little bit of money.

Pam, some of the available places are post offices, but they all require appointments. The Tulsa County Clerk evidently allows walk-ins.

We'll probably just go ahead and mail them; I just wanted to see if anyone had a particularly good or bad experience with the different modes. We're busy all day Wednesday and Friday, so I'll see if we can get photos on Thursday. I've already downloaded the forms.

Thanks, everyone.

I mailed my renewal application in on October 2 (expedited and 2-day return mail requested) and received my new PP on October 26.

sboh, wow! We'll may go the expedited route, as well. Although we shouldn't need our passports for another 6 months or so, we did surprise ourselves earlier this year and take a spur-of-the-moment short trip to Europe. It could happen again.

If the new ones show up earlier than anticipated, perhaps a spur of the moment celebration trip would in order. Just to break them in so to speak.