Thoughts on Passport renewal?

I would send the application in now.

Obviously, you cannot travel on an expired passport, so the sooner you start the renewal process the better.

No personal experience regarding current processing time

Based on your location my guess is yours would go through the Washington passport agency that just entered phase 2 reopening on the 27th. According to the website, “During phase two, most staff will return to the agency and we will be able to resume processing more of the applications we already received. Applications will be processed on a first in, first out basis, beginning with the oldest applications received. ... During phase two, we recommend customers wait to submit new or renewal applications as delays will continue.“ if your renewal happened to get directed to the Philadelphia center, it is still in phase one with limited staffing. If you’re intent on renewing it, be patient, and keep a copy of the photo page of the old one, with the passport number, issue, and expiration dates, in case your new application get misplaced. If mailing it in, mail it certified so you have a record of when the application was delivered.

I would send in the renewal. Since your current passport is expired, there is no going anywhere with it anyway if things open up to where you want to go, so it might as well be sitting on some government employee's desk in the queue to be renewed.

The only reason not to is if you foresee a "life or death" issue in the next couple months where you would require an expedited renewal. From what I understand, if your renewal is already in process, the emergency renewal can get overly complicated mainly because they would have to find it.

I just sent in mine this Monday. I am expecting to need to travel late this year, but not for a "life or death" event.

Finally, I have always felt the so called "expediter' services were a waste. The turn around on the renewals for me has always been within the time frame the expediters promise and I have never paid for anything other than normal processing. YMMV

My situation isn’t involving a US passport, but it is a government document, and a government agency. I’m still waiting for the DMV to mail me my renewed Colorado Driver License, and things are currently just taking a while.

Unless it’s important that holding off until December means that your new passport won’t expire 4 months earlier 10 years from now, the sooner you send in your renewal application, the sooner that will be one less obstacle to your traveling in the future.

Send it in now. You are not going anywhere for the next six months or so anyway. Our passports expire 5/22 and we will probably send them for renew roughly around Oct. This will be significant for us since it probably will be our last renewal. Received our first passport in less than four hours. Next one may take four months,

No personal experience, and I haven't read anything useful online that might help. I got my new, renewed passport back right before everything went sideways.

BUT I'd send it in ASAP if the website says they're accepting renewals right now. We can't predict openings/closings, and things may slow down/speed up at unpredictable levels.

My passport renewal was received by State Department in early March, processed June 26. You might as well send it in now -- as long as you can live with having your current haircut on a passport for the next ten years.

Yes, I agree. I'm sending it in right away to get in the queue. From the website, It looks like they're now processing some applications, none expedited except life and death. If I get my application submitted now, the backlog isn't too bad. Maybe five weeks wait?

Sending now seems to be the better option than waiting and hoping to expedite. If I wait until they announce they are up and running, there's likely to be a huge influx of renewal applications (and likely many of them expedited requests).

Five weeks is optimistic. I would give it 8 before starting to get anxious about it. .

The five weeks is based on them processing roughly 200,000 per week now and having a backlog of roughly 1.2 million. If anything, they will process more per week as each week goes by. If I get in before the backlog expands, it shouldn't be too bad.

That said, I won't plan on it being back until I have it in hand.

I sent in my passport for renewal on March 24. At that time they were not even offering expedited renewal, so I sent it in for routine renewal. They cashed my check within the first week, so I know that they received it. I got an email on July 19 that their offices were just opening up with a backlog and that my passport was in process. Then on July 28 they sent me an email that my passport was approved and will hopefully arrive in early August. So that has been 4 1/2 months for a typical 6-8 week renewal. I would send your passport in for renewal and make copies for yourself and just be patient. At least you will be in the lineup and hopefully will receive it within a few months. Good luck!

Thanks for the reminder, I took my photo early March and procrastinated. It's a good photo too.

I sent my passport, that expires in January 2021, for renewal on June 22, to the Philadelphia Passport Agency. I received an email today stating my passport has been shipped, with a USPS tracking number, and it should arrive by the end of this week.

The Philadelphia office is in phase one of reopening. This is the link for the status of the passport processing offices:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

My passport renewal stats: submitted on June 23.. New passport received yesterday, August 19.

My neighbor started the renewal process in March and got his passport back yesterday.

I put my application in the mail on July 30 and, later, signed up for information by email.

I received an email August 17, that it was being processed. "We're now printing your passport book and preparing to give it to you. You requested routine service when you applied, which we are currently processing in 6-8 weeks. You should receive your passport book on or around 08/23/2020."

Curiously, this morning I received my old passport back in the mail (just the old passport). I'm used to getting it back with a hole punched in it. This one doesn't have a hole. I thought, in the past, I received the old book sometime after the new (but that's ten years ago).

I'll check back when I get my new book.

Oops,

Opened the rest of the mail and my new passport is in there too. Apparently it came in yesterday's mail that I hadn't opened. Different envelope - priority mail envelope for the new, manila envelope with passport service on the return address for the old.

Really not too bad; sent July 30 and received the new passport August 20. If you need to renew, you're probably a lot better off sending it in soon rather than waiting until you hear passports are being processed on the news. I have a feeling, at some point, they'll receive literally millions of applications in a big tidal wave.

There's a comment above on which passport office processes your renewal? I noticed State.gov says it doesn't matter where you live. Your application is received, they check to make sure it has everything, then send it to the center with the shortest queue to process.

Just a tidbit, for the most part it doesn't really matter.

I like Laura's comment about your haircut in your photo. I haven't had many haircuts since COVID began. My photo is awful but I decided I don't care. Ten years from now it will likely be a good photo. ;-)

Good news Brad. At least part of the government is working hard to do its job.

I am still waiting on mine. Renewal mailed 07/28, but I may have missed pickup that day at that mail box.

I mailed in my renewal in early June and just got my passport a few days ago. Not really that much more time than normal. I was pleasantly surprised.

8 days with a perforated passport. Yuk. Could have been worse though. 8 days after the visit, with perhaps a day or two in transit I guess is fairly decent.

Too bad the Consulate couldn't get their act together and put out decent information. Even people working at home should be able to update a webpage.

My new passport is arriving today! Three days short of a month since I sent it in. (I subscribe to the Informed Delivery service from the US Post Office where they send pictures of the front of each mail item being delivered each day. That is why I know it will be here today, even though it has not yet been delivered.) No sign of the old passport being returned yet, but I am OK with that. Guess I could have been more optimistic in my expectations. :-)