Passport renewal process, including photos, now fully online

The State Department announced connected Wednesday its entering nan precocious 20th period and instantly making its caller online passport renewal strategy afloat disposable to nan public.

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The caller offering replaces nan erstwhile method — printing retired a insubstantial exertion and mailing it pinch a check. The State Department declares nan online renewal strategy "secure" and says it will prevention travelers clip and headaches.

Clicking done to nan online portal (Travel.State.Gov/renewonline) leads users to nan seven-step process (eight-step if you take to enroll successful email updates). One of nan highlights of nan caller process is nan action to upload a integer photograph (no much coughing up money astatine a drugstore aliases station office!), but nary selfies allowed.

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Another important note: Renewing online tin only beryllium done if your world recreation is much than 8 weeks away. If a travel is planned betwixt 3 and 8 weeks successful nan future, renewal by message is nan preferred method, while in-person work is required if a passport is needed successful 3 weeks aliases less.

Moving nan renewal process online follows different bureaucratic overhauls astatine nan State Department that committedness much ratio for travelers.

"Thanks to accrued staffing, technological advancements, and a big of different improvements, nan mean regular passport is being processed coming successful astir one-third nan clip arsenic astatine nan aforesaid constituent past summer, and good nether nan advertised six to 8 weeks processing times," according to a connection from State.