Check your passport application status

How to check, step by step

1. 1

   Wait roughly two weeks after you applied

   Nothing appears before your packet is delivered, opened and entered. Applications taken at an acceptance facility show up sooner than mailed renewals.

2. 2

   Open the Department of State status tool

   It is the only authoritative source. No private site, including this one, can see your record.

3. 3

   Enter three pieces of information

   Last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. There is no application number to find.

4. 4

   Read the status — then act on it

   Each status below tells you exactly what your next move should be.

What each status means — and what to do

• Not Available

  The system has not matched your application yet. It usually takes about two weeks after you apply for a status to appear — longer if you mailed a renewal.

  Do this: Do nothing yet. Confirm your tracking shows the packet was delivered, and check again next week.

• In Process

  Your application has been received and is being reviewed. Most of the wait happens in this status; no action is needed from you unless you are contacted.

  Do this: Watch your mail and email. If you travel soon, start planning an agency appointment before the 14-day mark.

• Approved

  Your passport has been printed or is about to ship. Your old passport, if you sent one, is returned separately, often a few days apart.

  Do this: Check the delivery tracking. Do not book non-refundable travel until the book is physically in your hands.

• Action Required / Suspended

  Something is missing — a photo that does not meet the rules, a citizenship document, a signature, or a payment problem. The clock effectively stops until they receive what they asked for.

  Do this: Reply the same week. Send exactly what the letter names, by the method it specifies, and keep a copy of everything.

What happens after you apply

1. Days 1–7

   Your packet travels and is delivered. Nothing appears online yet. This is why trackable mail matters — it is your only proof of arrival.

2. Week 2

   Intake and scanning. Your record is created and status usually flips from Not Available to In Process.

3. Weeks 2 through the end of the published window

   Adjudication. An examiner verifies your citizenship evidence, identity, photo and signature. Most applications sit here the whole time.

4. Any point

   If something is missing, a letter goes out and the status becomes suspended. Responding quickly is the single biggest thing you control.

5. Final days

   Approval, printing and shipping. The new book and any returned old passport arrive in separate envelopes.

It has been too long — what now?

Why applications get suspended

• The photo does not meet the requirements — shadows, glasses, wrong size, patterned background or a picture older than six months.
• Citizenship evidence was a hospital souvenir certificate or an uncertified copy rather than a certified state-issued record.
• The form was unsigned, or a DS-11 was signed before the acceptance agent witnessed it.
• A name difference between documents with no certified proof of the change.
• A payment problem — a single combined check, an unsigned check, or the wrong amount.
• A child application missing the second parent's consent or the evidence of the parental relationship.

Delivery, and your old passport

The new passport and any returned old passport ship separately, usually a few days apart. The old book comes back cancelled but is still yours — it is often accepted as proof of citizenship for a future application. If either envelope does not arrive, call the National Passport Information Center right away so a passport lost in transit can be invalidated before someone else uses it.

Paying for 1–2 day return delivery only speeds the trip back to you; it does not change how long adjudication takes.

Application status FAQ