Renew your passport by mail

If your most recent passport was issued when you were 16 or older, within the last 15 years, is undamaged, and is in your current name, you can skip the office entirely.

steps

1. Step 1

   Confirm you qualify

   All five must be true: you have the passport in hand, it is undamaged, it was issued when you were 16 or older, it was issued within the last 15 years, and it shows your current name (or you have legal proof of the change).

2. Step 2

   Complete form DS-82 and sign it

   Unlike the DS-11, you sign and date this one yourself. Fill it out online, print single-sided, and use black ink for anything handwritten.

3. Step 3

   Attach a new photo

   A photo from your last renewal will be rejected. Take a new 2x2 photo and staple or paperclip it exactly where the form indicates.

4. Step 4

   Include your old passport

   Your current passport is mailed in with the application. It is returned to you, canceled, in a separate envelope.

5. Step 5

   Pay by check or money order

   Personal checks are accepted for mail renewals — write your full name and date of birth on the memo line. No cash.

6. Step 6

   Mail it trackably

   Use a trackable service and keep the receipt. Choose 1–2 day return delivery if you're on any kind of deadline.