Getting a New Passport Could Take Up to 4 Months, State Department Says

The U.S. State Department processed nearly 22 million passports, a new record, in fiscal year 2022, and now is on track to break that record this year, a department spokesperson told The Messenger in an emailed statement.

The State Department received 500,000 passport applications per week last winter. Because of that unprecedented demand, the agency last March overhauled its passport processing times, as more Americans started traveling internationally as the pandemic waned.

The current processing time to get a new passport now is between 10 to 13 weeks or, if you pay $60 for expedited processing, seven to nine weeks. The application fee for a renewed passport is $130, plus an additional $35 if you are applying for the first time.

The State Department's processing times do not include how long it takes for an application to arrive at a passport center via mail or have the completed document sent back, which could take an additional four weeks, the agency said.

In total, someone applying for a new passport could wait over four months to receive it.

A State Department spokesperson told The Messenger that the agency is working to return to its pre-pandemic processing pace of six to eight weeks for a regular application, or two to three for an expedited application by the end of 2023.

In the meantime, the State Department recommends U.S. travelers apply at least six months ahead of their planned international travel, or their passport’s expiration date.