U.S. State Department says passport processing times are down

If you’re planning an international trip in the next few months, be sure to check the expiration date on your passport.

If it’s expired or will expire within the next six months, you’ll need to get a new passport issued.

And you’ll need to wait.

Back in March, it was taking a minimum of 10 to 13 weeks to get a passport renewed, not including the time it took to mail the passports back and forth. Expedited service, which cost an extra $60, only cut the time down to seven to nine weeks.

Now, things are moving a bit faster.

The State Department reports that it should now take seven to 10 weeks to process routine passport applications. And if you’re willing to pay for expedited service, the turnaround time should be just three to five weeks. Again, exclusive of mailing time, which can add another two weeks.

A lot of passports expired during the pandemic. And now that so many people are traveling internationally, the State Department is having a hard time keeping up with demand. Although the agency says that during the last federal fiscal year (October 2022 to September 2023) it issued more than 24 million passport books and cards, which is the country’s record year so far.

Need a new or renewed passport?

You can get information on how to apply for a new or renewed passport here.

You can check on the status of an existing application here.

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