If you want to travel abroad for any other reason, it is important that you have a passport. A lot of Americans don’t have a passport and many are not even sure how to obtain one. In the past, it was possible to travel to Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas without a passport, but that is no longer the case.
Prerequisites
- At least $165, full price breakdown here
- At least 7 to 10 weeks time before your trip. Plan for 11 weeks.
- Only 4 to 6 weeks if you pay for expedited. You should still plan for 7 weeks.
- Evidence of U.S. Citizenship. Examples include:
- Birth Certificate
- Naturalization Certificate
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad
- Valid Government-issued ID. Examples include:
- Driver’s License
- State ID
- A front and back photocopy of your government-issued ID
- Passport photos
- A completed, but NOT signed form DS-11
How long will it take?
Make sure to note that applying for a passport can take quite a long time. You should apply for yours as early as possible to make sure you will be able to travel. It can take 7 to 10 weeks from your application to receive your passport with routine service. You can also choose to pay for expedited service ($60 at this time) and then it will only take 4 to 6 weeks.
If you are traveling within 14 days, you can try to apply for Urgent Travel at a passport agency, but there is no guarantee that you will receive the passport in time. There are no walk-ins, you must schedule an appointment here. We highly recommend against trying to do this as your odds of success are not great. Plan in advance and get your passport as soon as you can.
Getting Started
In general, unless you are renewing, you are probably going to need to apply in person.
You must apply for your passport in person if:
- You are applying for your first U.S. passport
- If you are under the age of 16
- If your previous passport was issued when you were under the age of 16
- If your previous passport was lost, stolen, or damaged
- If your previous passport was issued more than 15 years ago
- If you had your name changed since your previous passport and are unable to legally document the name change
To get started, you need to fill out the DS-11 form, you can find it here. You can find more documents on the same page for renewing your passport in the future, reporting it if it is stolen, and other special situations.
You can use the form filler here to fill out the form for you, or you can choose to directly print the document, fill it out, and bring it with you to the acceptance facility. Make sure you fill out the full form but do NOT sign the form before your appointment.
Take a Passport Photo
You will likely need to supply your own passport photos, you can ask your local Acceptance Facility (see below) if they take photos, but many do not. You can get passport photos taken in a lot of places though. Most CVS, Walgreens, and other drugstores have passport photo services you can use. You can also check out Walmart or other large chains. It is also possible to take your own photo as long as you meet the requirements:
- Photo must be in color
- Photo must be 2″ x 2″ inches in size
- Photo must have been taken within the last 6 months
- Photo must have a plain white background
- You must remove any eyeglasses you wear for the photo
For more details check the photo requirements page here.
Bring it all to the Acceptance Facility
Once you have everything together, you will need to bring them to an Acceptance Facility, you can find the closest one to you here, often you can go to your nearest USPS post office. Since the last couple of years, it important call and confirm that they are open for accepting passport applications, not all facilities have re-opened since 2020.
You will be asked to say an oath to swear that all your information in the application is true and complete to the best of your knowledge, so it’s a good idea to double check your form.
If for some reason, you are applying for your U.S. passport from outside the U.S. you will need to apply at the closest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Conclusion
After you have applied, you can track the status of your application here. Note that for the first two weeks you may not see any status update on the site, don’t worry it’s still being processed.
If you have more questions or want more information regarding the process or any special circumstances you can find the full instructions for applying for a passport and an FAQ on the Department of State’s website here.
Once you have your passport it will be good for ten years before you need to renew it. Fortunately, when you want to renew, you simply need to mail in a completed form DS-82 here along with your current passport, new photos, and a check for the cost of the new passport.
Before you know it, you’ll be traveling with your U.S. passport. Safe travels!