The U.S. Department of State recently announced that an online passport renewal service will be launched to the public in early 2023. This announcement comes after the successful completion of several small pilot programs.
The first pilot program began in February and was made available specifically to contractors and federal government employees. The second program began in August and was open to around 25,000 citizens.
The third and final pilot program concluded on September 17. In December 2021, an executive order was put forth by President Biden that provided the U.S. State Department with the opportunity to develop a solution for online passport renewal.
This executive order indicated that the time it takes for passport renewals to be approved would be cut by anywhere from 1-7 weeks. At the moment, the time it takes to process a renewal is 8-11 weeks through the mail.
Wait times for passport renewals have been even worse as a result of the backlogs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some renewals have taken upwards of 18 weeks to be fully processed.
Only the people who had access to the previous pilot programs will be able to renew their passport online. The State Department expects full access to the public to occur in early 2023.
Renewing a U.S. passport costs $130 for a passport book and $30 for a passport card. Form DS-82 must be filled out and submitted to begin the renewal process.