In order to be able to renew your passport, you will have to fill in a passport renewal form . The passport renewal form can only be used by persons who have been holding a U.S passport. A passport is a legal document, which is issued to citizens and is mainly used for international travel and identification. For one to be able to renew their passport, they must have been in possession of the passport legally and for a certain period.
In the United States, one of the basic passport requirements is the age of the holder. This is because; passports issued to people of different age groups are valid for different time frames. Passports issued to persons who are sixteen and above are valid for ten years, while passports issued to persons who are fifteen and above are valid for five years. Renewal of passport requirements dictates that the passport should have expired and that the above period has been exhausted.
A passport can be renewed either by mail or in person. However, in most cases, passport requirements dictate that renewal should be in person. The only cases where a passport can be renewed by mail, is if the passport was issued to the holder when he was either of or above the age of sixteen, in the last fifteen years, if it has not been destroyed or damaged, and was issued in the holder’s current name. For the passport to be renewed by mail, all these conditions must be existent. Otherwise, it will have to be renewed in person.
In order to renew a passport, an application has to be made. The application is made on form DS-82. This form is the only recognized form, which can be used for applications for renewal of passports in the United States of America. The form has instructions about how it should be filled in and what should accompany it. All you need to do is ensure that you fill it in correctly and that you furnish all documents required of you. It is necessary to note that this from can be downloaded from the internet, from various sites that offer it. The form can also be accessed from passport offices that are around the country. Accessing the form is usually free of charge; however, the application itself has an attached fee.
Also, pertinent to note is that the passport requirements dictate that it can be renewed from any part of the world. The holder just needs to go to the Embassy of the United States in the country where they are living, and they will have their passport renewed. However, for people living in Canada, the passport has to be renewed by mail. The form for renewal contains an address, which is used for renewal of U.S passports by people living in Canada.
In most cases, the application for renewal will take about four weeks, after which you can expect to get your new passport by mail or otherwise as will be communicated to you.