Online Passport Renewals in 2023

The federal government is making good on a promise to facilitate online renewals of US passports.

Following a test of the program with 25,000 federal employees this year, the Department of State has announced the program will be rolled out in 2023 to everyone.

Presently, renewing a passport requires completing an application form and submitting by mail the application, payment and passport photo.  The new online program should streamline the process and make it less cumbersome.

The pilot program was limited to those that were at least 25 years old, whose most recent passport was valid for 10 years, and whose old passport was issued between nine and 15 years ago. For those that qualified, the applicant would create a MyTravelGov account, wait for approval, and upload a photo and pay the fee online. Applicants could then track on the progress of their passport renewal.

Details on how the program will be rolled out next year aren’t clear as yet, but it’s going to be a welcome change.