Travel hack: Here’s how you can renew your passport online this month

Getting a new passport can be a real pain and while travel has been out for the past few years, some of you might be navigating renewing your passports. Now before you pop anything in the mail or head into an office, you should check this out. Because for a limited time you can actually renew your passport online and here’s how.

Give it up for the U.S. Department of State, as part of a promise by president Joe Biden, they have created a pilot program to bring passport renewal into the digital age. So what exactly does that entail? Here’s the deal.

A limited number of volunteers are being invited to participate in the pilot program during August before it is launched to the general public later in 2022. If eligible, you will no longer have to mail your renewal application and supporting documents to the Department of State.

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To test the portal, they are seeking up to 25,000 applicants to follow the steps below. Psst, get ready to read.

1. Your most recent passport is/was valid for 10 years, and you are age 25 or older.
2. Your recent passport was issued over 9 years ago (in 2013) but less than 15 years ago (in 2007) from the date you plan to submit your application. Your passport can be expired.
3. You are not changing your name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth.
4. You are not traveling internationally for at least five weeks from the date you will submit your application. Processing times for the online renewal service will be the same as those for renewal by mail.
5. You are applying for a regular (tourist) passport. You cannot renew a special issuance (diplomatic, official, service) passport online.
6. You live in the United States (either state or territory). You do not qualify to renew online if you live in a foreign country or have an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) address.
7. You have your passport with you, and it is not damaged or mutilated, and you have not previously reported it as lost or stolen.
8. You can pay for your passport using a credit/debit card or an ACH (Automated Clearing House) payment transferring funds from your bank account.
9. You can upload a digital passport photo (.JPEG file format).
10. You are aware that your most recent passport will be immediately invalidated (canceled) when you submit your application and you cannot use it for international travel.

Eligible applications are being accepted on a first-come, first serve basis until the 25,000 applicants quota is reached. But if you aren’t one of the first 25,000 applicants, you might have an opportunity to renew online at a later date.

If you’d like to apply or learn more you can visit the U.S. Department of State website.