Americans for the first time are now able to renew their passport online, according to an announcement made on Wednesday by the U.S. Department of State. The move, the State Department says, marks “a significant step forward in ensuring that Americans can more easily access passport services.”
Instead of printing a paper application and mailing it with a check, Americans can now renew their passports through a secure process that will save time and effort. According to Reuters, the State Department has been beta testing the program for the last two months.
“Our online passport renewal system is an important example of how the Department is modernizing government services for the benefit of Americans and delivering on President Biden’s executive order “Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government,” the Department of State said in its announcement.
It added: “Thanks to increased staffing, technological advancements and a host of other improvements, the average routine passport is being processed today in roughly one-third the time as at the same point last summer, and well under the advertised six to eight weeks processing times.”
Note: There are several requirements to meet in order to apply online. These, however, include being over 25 years old; you are not changing your name, gender, date of birth or place of birth; you are not traveling within eight weeks of renewal; and being located in the United States, among other prerequisites.
Travelers can renew their passports at travel.state.gov/passports/renew-online.
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