US State Department reopens online passport renewal portal

Patrick Clarke | (TNS) TravelPulse

Renewing your expired or soon-to-expire U.S. passport just got a lot easier.

The State Department reopened its online renewal portal on Wednesday, unveiling a beta program designed to speed up processing for travelers who meet certain criteria in efforts to avoid issues faced last summer.

Keep in mind this isn’t a full launch, so officials will only take a select number of applicants each day. Travelers can still renew by mail.

To be eligible to renew online, however, travelers must be U.S. citizens and residents who are age 25 and older and who have already had a passport with 10-year validity. Other notable requirements include not requesting a change to their name, gender, date of birth or place of birth.

This assumes your passport was issued within the last nine to 15 years.

Travelers must also not be planning to travel internationally for at least eight weeks from the day they submit their application.

They must also be able to pay with a credit card, debit card or an ACH (automated clearing house) payment and be able to upload their digital passport photo in a JPEG file.

Additionally, their current passport can’t be lost, stolen or damaged.

There’s no timetable for when the beta rollout could become a permanent option with expanded processing capabilities.

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