Getting a passport renewal right away--how to do this?

I’d suggest that you call their 24/7 number and see if you can get an appointment and ask. The info is here:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies.html

You will need an expediter which will cost alot. But in a cple of days it may not be poss.
All the best.

Does not look good this late on the weekend.

Read the website linked above. That is your source for accurate information. Follow its directions. If you can get an appt on Monday, I think you can get your passport on Monday.

Not over the weekend. The SF Passport Agency is closed.

According to the online passport appointment system whose link can be found from the link above, as of right now 1:45 AM EDT, your first appointment won't be until Tuesday morning at 9:30 in SF.

In NYC, with an appointment, money and time, you can wait the long hours required to get a new passport the same day. I don't know how it is for SF.

I hope you didn't buy a nonrefundable ticket as if you miss your outbound, your return trip is cancelled.

We had a student in this situation once on one of our trips. The first place he could get an appointment was out of state in Seattle so he flew up there with his itinerary, international plane tickets and passport photos in hand, got an early morning appointment for his new passport and then flew back to California just in time to join us that evening for our flight to Europe. It was expensive and a nail biter, good luck!

Sure hope you got the Tuesday appt Continental referenced, as now the earliest available is Wednesday Aug 1

Good Luck

The SF regional office will take people who do not have appointments but you will have last priority behind anyone with an appointment and it could happen that you show up and wait all day and end up not being helped because the staff was too busy with people with appointments. That being said, you need to show up at 450 Golden Gate Ave., 3rd Floor, Suite #3-2501 by 8:00 AM and see if you can get same day help. Some regional offices are busier than others. I have never been to SF regional office but I got a passport in about two hours years ago in New Orleans and my nephew got one in about 6 hours from the Stamford CT location last year and a work colleague got a renewal in one day from SF (arrived at 8 AM and left at around 3:45 PM). He said that at the time the SF office worker told him that they send away people who arrive after 1 PM because there is no way they will be able to help them that day so you should arrive as early as possible.

If I were you, I'd be there by 6 am, waiting for the building/office to open, and to be sure that I would be first in line in case there were others with the same problem. Be prepared with anything you might need, and be ready to wait as long as it takes.

There's a lot on the line for you, a few hours missed sleep seems like small change.

Meanwhile, I would 1) get packed and be 100% finished with every last minute pre-trip task (offload as many as you can to family members to free yourself up and stay focused), so come Monday, all you need to do once you get that new passport is head straight to the airport and go. 2) Have a Plan B in your back pocket just in case you can't get the passport. Do that planning now and know your options and the consequences of missing your flight (the very significant costs, schedule adjustments, etc.), and have a detailed plan for exactly what you will do to minimize those costs and impacts, so if it does come to that, you can pivot and quickly execute the backup plan (knowing the mess it will create should help motivate you to get your act together and get the passport).

Time to be on your A Game. Good luck.

Thanks Everyone,
These suggestions have been very helpful. I am in the middle of figuring this out and you all have sure helped.

I'm not being snarky, I'm not trolling, but didn't this come up when you booked your ticket? Or, did you skip over the passport information at booking and only notice this after the airline sent you nag emails about entering the passport data as the trip got closer? This sounds like a horrible situation to be in.

From above: "be prepared with everything you need" -- if you're a Costco member, they do passport photos pretty cheap (I recall $4) and pretty quickly. (Or Walgreen, CVS ...)
Have a printout of your airline reservations, accommodations, something to show that you need the passport ASAP. Things to do on Sunday!

Thanks again! Suggestions have been put into play and I hope to be on my way soon!

I'm glad you have a plan. When you have time, please come back and let us know how it all worked out.

How did things turn out?

Thanks for checking in about it. This morning I got my renewed passport via Fedex. I am thrilled!! I used an expediting service since I don't live near any cities that have a passport center and I would have had to pay travel expenses anyway to get to a passport center. I used Rush My Passport, and though it was very expensive, at least they always had people answering the phone and most people were very helpful when I asked my "under stress" kinds of questions. I also had taken a chance and booked new plane tickets, so since the passport did arrive on time I can use the tickets. I am leaving this Saturday, and will catch up with spouse and son, who left for the trip when we had all planned to go. The trip was 3 and a half weeks long, and I will be there for 2 and a half weeks.

I am still in a state of shock that I could let something like this happen. I spent hours planning airbnbs and activities, only to miss the most crucial item of the passport.

I’m so glad to hear that you have your renewed passport in hand and will be able to join your husband and son a week late for your long anticipated trip. I’ve heard about this type of service but hadn’t known anyone who had used it. It’s good to know for future help. I am curious though why your passport took one week to get to you. Their big claim is 24h service. https://www.rushmypassport.com/step2.html?service=Passport%20Renewal

Was it the level of service you choose or was it really that slow for expidited service?

I found out about my expired passport on Friday night. The passport centers are not open on Sat and Sun and nothing can be done. Also, I had to fedex my paperwork and old passport, which departed my town on Mon (the soonest fedex was going out) and arrived in their town on Tues. Then they did not have an available reserved time slot at the passport center until Wed. On Wed. afternoon they fedexed me my passports, and it arrived on Thurs. morning. They still charged me their top charge, for 24 hour service, but I just wanted to get the new one at that point and did not argue.

I am just very glad I did not make a plane reservation sooner, because I would have been very nervous about having the new passport in time. Maybe they could have rushed it more, but I don't think so. I think you would have had to fly yourself to do it sooner for certain.

I am still in a state of shock that I could let something like this
happen. I spent hours planning airbnbs and activities, only to miss
the most crucial item of the passport.

It's over now; please don't keep kicking yourself about the passport. If this is the worst thing that happens to you, life is good! You now have a valid passport for the next 10 years. I am beyond sure this will never happen to you again! Have a great trip!

PS....Did they give you a choice between the regular-sized passport (26 pages) and the bigger one (52 pages)? It's the same price regardless of which you select. Just curious.

Yes, I am ready to go enjoy the trip. And yes, I don't think this will ever happen to me again and I hope to enjoy many trips in the next 10 and more years. Thanks everyone.

As far as the choice in size of passport, they did not give me a choice.