You must renew your passport in person if your previous passport has been lost, stolen or damaged. You also must apply in person if your previous passport was issued more than 15 years ago or if you were under age 16 when it was issued. Finally, if your name has changed since the passport was issued and you cannot provide legal documentation for the change, you must renew in person.
If none of these conditions applies to you, you can renew your passport by mail. Renewal by mail is cheaper and may be more convenient, depending on your situation.
You can renew your passport at either a passport agency or an acceptance facility. Passport agencies are official locations of the U.S. State Department. Acceptance facilities are locations allowed to accept passport applications on behalf of the Office of Passport Services. Examples of acceptance facilities include post offices, libraries and state or municipal government offices. You must renew at a passport agency if you need your passport within two weeks for the purpose of international travel, or if you need it within four weeks to obtain a foreign visa.
To renew your passport in person, you must complete Form DS-11. Do not sign the form until the acceptance agent instructs you to do so. In addition to the information contained on Form DS-11, you must provide the following: evidence of U.S. citizenship, identification, a photocopy of the identification and two passport photos. You must also pay the required passport and service fees.
You must present proof of identification when applying for passport renewal. Acceptable documents include a previous, undamaged U.S. passport; a driver's license; a government or military ID; or a naturalization certificate. If you're unable to present one of these primary identification documents, you need to submit secondary evidence of identification. See the U.S. State Department website for acceptable secondary evidence of identification.
Proof of identification can also serve as evidence of citizenship, in the case of an undamaged passport or naturalization certificate. Other evidence of citizenship includes a certified birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.
