Passport Processing Times Are Down — How Long It Will Take to Renew

The new processing times apply to passports that were received by the State Department on or after Oct. 2.

It’s getting easier to renew a passport this fall as processing times have significantly decreased.

Passport processing times are now 2 weeks faster with only 8 to 11 weeks required for routine service and five to seven weeks required for expedited service, according to the U.S. Department of State. That is an improvement from the summer when the documents were taking up to 13 weeks to process.

The new processing times apply to passports that were received by the State Department on or after Oct. 2. The processing time calculation does not include mailing time.

“Our dedicated staff have worked countless hours to reduce passport processing times,” the State Department wrote in a statement. “We are continuously reassessing our operations to maximize efficiencies and are introducing innovations to our customer service and processing models. We are investing in supporting and modernizing our technology, increased staffing levels by ten percent, and have hundreds of additional staff in the hiring pipeline. We remain focused on lowering processing times, and this reduction is an important first step.”

Passport books cost $130 to renew, according to the State Department. Expedited service costs an additional $60.

The faster processing time comes as the State Department issued more than 24 million passport books and cards from October 2022 to September 2023, which the department called the most in the country’s history.

Travelers who applied for a passport in person or by mail can check the status of that application on the State Department's website. Status updates are typically available 14 days after someone applies or renews their passport.

Last year, the  State Department introduced a pilot program to renew passports online, but the program is currently paused, according to the department.

The State Department also rolled out in-person “Special Passport Acceptance Fairs” this summer held at public libraries, recreation centers, and local city administrative offices. These passport fairs are specifically aimed at helping new passport applicants and are being held in both October and November across the country from New Jersey to Ohio, Tennessee, and more.

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