My parents recently had to renew their passports, since their passports are due to expire sometime in 2017. I suggested to them that they renew sooner than later. With no near-term travel plans, I figured now is an optimal time to get the passports renewed than scrambling to get it done right before a trip.
Expected Renewal Timeframe
According to the “official” US Department of State website, the expected processing times are as follows:
Actual Experience
We mailed the renewal applications for standard processing via USPS Priority Mail. The packages were mailed on October 21 and delivered on the 23rd. A few days later, we got an alert from MyUSPS that there is a priority mail coming our way:
On Halloween, we received a priority mail from the US Passport Services. My first thought was, “Oh no, did we forget something in the original application?” To much of our surprise and delight, it was actually one of the renewal passports! A day later, the second renewal passport came through as well. The original passports followed shortly after in separate (non-priority) mailings.
QUICK TURNAROUND TIME
We did not expect the passports to come back until Thanksgiving at the earliest, so my parents were both thrilled to get them back early! In their case, the turnaround time is only 5 business days, or 7 calendar days for their renewal passports to be processed. This is even faster than the estimated processing time for the expedited service!
Maybe my parents just got lucky and the volume of applications is just lower than usual at this time of year? Or maybe the staff workers are just processing these applications at record pace? Whatever the reasons may be, I, for one, am certainly impressed by the quick processing time for passport renewal services.
Passport Renewal Time – I live in Rochester, New York and mailed my old passport on August 6, 2019 with my $110 renewal fee. I received my new passport on August 31, 2019. So it only took 25 days total. I mailed it standard shipping with tracking at the Post Office which cost about $5.
Not bad. It’s taking longer than some of the reported data points but it is still processing faster than the stated turnaround time. Thanks for sharing a more recent data point – may help other readers who are waiting on theirs!
I was really surprised at how quick my passport renewal turn around was. I mailed in our expired passports on November 2, 2018 and received our new ones on November 20th!
Thanks for sharing your data point. I’m glad the applications are still being processed relatively quickly!
I sent my papers in at the end of January—I received my old passport back in two weeks—it is now March 26, I have yet to receive my new passport!! It’s never taken this long!
I sent mine in on November 6 for routine processing and got my passport book and card on the 28th. I was surprised by the quick turnaround.
Good to hear! It seemed like the processing time has lengthened a bit (compared to the earlier reports), but it’s still faster than than the expected turnaround time. Let’s hope it holds. 🙂
I had a similar experience when I renewed in September – about 1-2 weeks turnaround. Nothing expediated, sent via Priority both ways.
I guess we don’t feel so special anymore? 😉
On a more serious note, I am really glad to hear that others are getting them quickly as well. I am mostly surprised by the fast turnaround time because there had been news about a passport renewal rush coming in 2017.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I just got a new passport for my daughter. Submitted during an appointment at the post office on 10-21-16. It was processed on 10-31-16, and it got to my house on 11-3-16. Birth cirtificate showed up yesterday seperately. It was submitted with routine service.
That’s awesome! So it seems that the fast processing isn’t just limited to renewal applications but new applications too. Thanks for sharing the datapoint, and also congrats! 🙂