Imagine my surprise (and feeling of despair) when I realized that my daughters passport had expired and we were traveling out of the country in less than 8 weeks. So even though I have been advising clients to make sure their passports are valid, I found myself scrambling to get her passport photo taken and go through the steps to renew a US Passport.
When you decide it’s time to begin planning your next vacation the first thing you need to do is check the passport expiration for everyone who is traveling. If the passport is expiring within six months of your travel date, it needs to be renewed. In other words, if you are traveling out of the United States in July and your passport is expiring in December of the same year, it needs to be renewed before you travel in July.
It’s possible to renew your passport by following the steps below and mailing your “packet” and fees direct to the US Department of State, but I recommend doing a quick search and finding a nearby US Post Office or library to ensure the forms are filled out properly to help avoid delays.
If the passport renewal is for a child 16 or younger, both parents must give consent by appearing together at the passport application/renewal appointment or with a notarized letter of authorization.
Along with the renewal form and current or most recent passport, a recent photo must be included. The list of specifications for a valid passport photo is long and the easiest way to make sure the photo you submit is to have it taken by the USPS or another location that offers passport photo services. They will ensure that your photo qualifies to renew a US passport. They’ll handle the technical specifications (size, subjects position in the photo, lighting, no shadows, etc.) but they may or may not catch some of the other requirements.
There are things you can control in your passport photo which will help you avoid delays in the renewal process. Some of the more obvious ones include not wearing a hat and/or sunglasses, camouflage, or clothes with government agency logos. Some less obvious passport photo issues that will cause delays include wearing prescription glasses (If you wear glasses in your photo you need to include a doctors note that says you’re required to wear them). Wearing headphones, ear buds, or hands free accessories visible is also not acceptable.
If your name changed since your last passport was issued you’ll need to include the documentation for that in your passport renewal packet. This documentation can include a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court-ordered name change document and whichever you send will be returned to you separately from your new passport.
