Many larger U.S. post offices offer passport services. You can renew your passport at a post office set up for that service, but you'll need to bring certain documents. Be sure to renew well in advance of your trip, because the length of time required for the passport renewal process can be lengthy.

Your Options

If your passport is damaged, if you were younger than 16 when you received it or if you can’t provide legal proof of a name change, you must renew at the post office. The State Department requires that you fill out a DS-11 application. Fill it out with a black ballpoint pen. If the above criteria don't apply to you, you can renew a passport by mail.

Required Documents

In addition to the application, bring an original birth certificate, driver’s license (as well as a photocopy) and two 2-by-2-inch photographs of yourself. National drugstores provide passport photo services at little cost. Some post offices have their own passport photo service.

Finding the Right Place

The State Department provides a post office finder on its website. You also can renew your passport at a county clerk’s office, which also can be found through the post office finder.

It'll Cost You

As of this writing, the application fee is $110. You also need to pay a processing fee of $25. These must be paid by personal check or bank check.

Time Frame

The State Department normally processes a passport application within four to six weeks. For an additional fee of $60, plus any delivery charges, you can expedite the process to receive your passport sooner. This takes three weeks, on average, but it could arrive sooner.

About the Author

Chris Neary has been writing professionally since 2007. He started working as a writer, and eventually became an editor and design intern for the Michigan State University Physical Plant. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Michigan State University.

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