How to Easily Renew Your Passport Online (and Plot Your Escape)

Whether you have an overseas trip coming up or just want to escape your current life, it’s best to renew your passport at least six months before international travel. 

You can easily do it online with the U.S. State Department’s online renewal program. My husband and I had a great experience using it for the first time last year, and it was fast —like two weeks fast.

Compared to my renewal experience 10 years ago, I didn’t have to make an in-person appointment, pay for crappy physical passport photos, and mail my old passport back, which meant losing the precious country stamps and paying for shipping. 

Alright, let’s see how the online renewal process works and if you qualify for it!

How to Qualify for Renewing Your U.S. Passport Online

Here’s what the State Department says you need to qualify:

• You’re a U.S. citizen and at least 25 years old
• Your current passport was valid for 10 years
• You had a digital passport photo taken within the last 6 months
• You can pay with a debit or credit card
• You’re applying for a regular tourist passport
• You live in a U.S. state or territory
• Your passport was issued between 2009 and 2015
• You’re not traveling for at least 6 weeks after applying
• You’re not making changes to your name, gender, birthdate, or place of birth
• Your current passport isn’t damaged, lost, or stolen

If you don’t meet the above requirements, then you can still renew your passport the old-fashioned way by mail.

Ok, I Qualify! How Does The Renewal Process Work?

After confirming you’ve met the requirements, you’ll need to create a MyTravelGov account or sign in if you already have one. I dedicated about 40 minutes to the entire process, so be sure you have the time to stay focused.

Important note: Always double-check that the domain you’re on has a .gov instead of.com or .org since that means you’re on the official government site.  I was dumb and forgot about this important fact, so that’s how I got scammed doing an online renewal. It was a happy ending, though. Please avoid what I did!

After logging into your MyTravelGov account, hit the “Renew Your Passport” button and fill out the questions. You have 30 days to finish the form before the system wipes your saved information, but most people can complete it the same day without any trouble.

Once the system says you’re eligible, you can upload your DIGITAL photo, sign the application, and pay the renewal fee.

Make sure you have the document you’re renewing before you start. For instance,  if I only have a passport book, I can’t renew for a passport card as I didn’t have one in the first place. 

The passport card costs less and fits easily in your wallet. You can use it to travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda, and it also works as a REAL ID for domestic flights. But you can’t use a passport card for international air travel, so choose wisely!

Using Your Phone to Take a Passport Photo

Be sure to follow their tips on creating the digital photo, and you can also watch their video here:

My photo got accepted with just a simple snap of me against a plain cream-colored wall with minimal shadows. It felt great that I didn’t have to pay $10+ for small passport photos taken at the local CVS or library!

Avoid the following to minimize rejection:

• Not using a plain, white, or off-white colored background
• If there are obvious shadows behind you
• Your image is low-quality, blurry, or was scanned
• You’re not facing the camera, and your head isn’t centered in the image 
• If you’re too far away from the camera
• The light is unbalanced, causing one side of your face to have shadows
• If your eyes aren’t fully open in the image due to a big smile
• The image is edited or filtered
• If your full face isn’t visible (remove glasses, hats, scarves, work badges)

You can wear head coverings, though, for religious purposes. 

When Will My Passport Arrive?

On the official site, routine processing takes 4-6 weeks, which starts when they officially receive your application, NOT the day you submitted it. This doesn’t include the time it takes to mail the passport to you. 

However, in my experience, here was my timeline

December 19, 2024 – Submitted and paid for renewal

8 days later – They officially received my application

12 days later – Application approved, and they printed the book to ship

15 days later, on January 3, 2025 – The Passport book delivered!

It took around 2 weeks to get my new passport, and it was about the same amount of time for my husband’s renewal, too. Your experience can be different, though. That’s why they have a general 4 – 6 weeks processing time in case a buffer is needed. But considering that I had applied during the holidays and I still got it that fast, I’m hopeful that your experience will be just as positive.

The Money Move

Renewing your passport is SO easy to do online now that you’ll save time, money, and sanity to get your new passport within 6 weeks. Be sure to renew at least 6 months before ANY international travel! 

Even if you’re not planning a trip anytime soon, having your passport ready is a total power and money move. You never know when the urge to drop everything and escape for a little mental break might hit!