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Think you’re in the clear in terms of passport renewal? Check again, since “you can’t necessarily travel right up to your passport expiration date,” explains Trisha Ping, Lonely Planet’s editor for the Eastern USA.
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If you don’t have your old passport, you’ll have to treat a passport renewal like a first-time passport application, filling out the DS-11 form and going in-person to a passport acceptance facility. Globetrotters with lots of passport stamps who want to hang onto their old passport as a memento should know that old passports do get returned (usually with a hole punched in the cover), though MaSovaida Morgan, Lonely Planet’s South America editor, recommends slapping a sticky note on the cover expressing you’d definitely like to have your old copy sent back, just for good measure. How long does it take to get a passport renewed? Once you’ve submitted all of the above, it generally takes the same amount of time as a first-time passport -four to six weeks - from the date of application through mailing, to get your new passport. If you have changed your name since getting your last passport, you can include official proof of the name change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce certificate or court-ordered name change document. If you can check all of those off, you’ll need to include the following in the mail to renew a passport: That is, if you have your old passport, it’s in decent shape beyond the usual wear-and-tear, it was issued when you were older than 16 and within the last 15 years, and your name hasn’t changed. Rather, to renew a passport, you can simply mail in all your documents. Unlike the process of getting your first passport, you don’t have to go to an official facility in person. If just the thought of catching an international flight with a soon-to-expire passport makes you anxious, leave ample time to renew ( the government recommends renewing your passport nine months before it expires). How long does it take to get your passport? The State Department estimates a passport takes four to six weeks to process from the time you turn in your application (including the time it takes to mail it back to you), so leave plenty of time, especially in spring, when many people are preparing for the busy summer travel season. That can seem like a lot of paperwork, so “double and triple check that you have all the documentation necessary and if you can, make an appointment in advance,” Lonely Planet destination editor Sarah Stocking suggests. Passport fees: most first-time adult applications cost $135, but there is an official passport fee calculator so you can be sure.For all the passport photos requirements (for example, you can’t wear a hat or glasses), see the State Department’s guide. A color passport photo: they should be two inches by two inches many pharmacies and post offices offer passport photo services at reasonable prices, so you don’t have to attempt taking yours at home.Proof of identification, such as a driver’s license or these other qualifying documents and a photocopy of the front and back (also black and white and on 8.5 by 11-inch paper) of your identification.citizenship, such as a birth certificate ( these other documents also qualify) and a clean, legible, black-and-white photocopy of this document on 8.5 by 11-inch paper. Here’s the list of what you’ll need to officially apply for your first passport, according to the State Department: And to make the process go as smoothly as possible, you’ll need a pretty substantial list of documents filled out and ready to go. For starters, you’ll need to find an official passport acceptance facility (usually a post office, public library, or local government office that submits passport applications on behalf of the State Department) to get the process started. But the first step is universal for nearly everyone.