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Let’s say you’ve just booked an incredible two-week trip abroad. You scored business class seats on your flights using credit card points and could even book a few nights at hotels for free using hotel points. Maybe you even got such a great deal because the trip was planned at the last minute!
And that’s when it hits you: Your passport is expired. Maybe it’s not expired yet but will be expiring during the trip, or maybe you’re traveling somewhere that requires the expiration date to be at least six months out. Or perhaps your passport is gone from its hiding place without a trace. So, what do you do?
Unfortunately, I have quite a bit of recent experience with getting a passport in a hurry. I recently helped a friend get a last-minute passport when she found out right before a trip that hers had expired. Then, just recently, my passport was stolen.
Here are my tips from experience on how to get an expedited passport — even in under 24 hours.
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Options for Expediting a U.S. Passport Application
Depending on how much time you have before your travel date, you would either need to get an expedited passport (processed in 2-3 weeks) or an urgent travel/life-or-death emergency passport (processed in under 24 hours).
The expedited passport process is the exact same as a normal new application or a passport renewal in the mail, the only difference being the processing times and fees.
The normal routine processing times are 6-8 weeks and it costs $165 for the application fee (although they say 6-8 weeks, it can often be a couple weeks over that).
For the expedited processing, there is an extra $60 charge ($225 total) to receive your passport within 2-3 weeks.
Need a passport even faster? Here's the process of getting a passport for urgent travel/life-or-death emergencies, as these are processed in under 24 hours and require a lot more effort to acquire.
How to Get a Passport Within 24 Hours
If you're traveling internationally in less than 14 days, you qualify under the Urgent Travel criteria. This means you will need to make an in-person appointment at an official passport agency. You are only eligible to schedule an appointment if you have not yet applied for a passport, and have international travel booked within the next 14 days.
You can now make an appointment online here. You’ll need to respond to a few questions, and then will be required to make an account first to then schedule an appointment at your desired location.
If you have already applied and haven’t received your passport yet (e.g., your renewal passport is lost in the mail), you’ll have to call to make an appointment. You can call 1-877-487-2778 from 8 am to 10 pm Eastern Time Monday through Friday, or 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Pro tip: When calling to schedule an appointment, make sure to call at exactly 8:00 am Eastern Time. This will give you the best chance of getting an appointment, as they fill up very quickly.
In addition, make sure to tell the agent on the phone that your date of international travel is no more than 13 days out from the current date. Although they say you can schedule within two weeks, they have a hard stop on scheduling appointments at 13 days out rather than 14.
Plus, even if you don’t actually have a flight booked…they don’t require proof over the phone! You'll just need to have proof of travel printed and with you for your appointment.
Scheduling an Urgent Travel Passport Appointment
While there are around 24 passport agency locations in the US (with a handful of future locations coming), you may need to plan ahead to travel to your closest location.
You’ll want to plan to allocate an entire day to getting your passport. Appointments are often made between 8:00-10:30 am, and then pickup for your newly completed passport is typically between 2:30-3:30 pm the same day. That means you might want to plan ahead for something to do to kill 4 or 5 hours, especially if you’re having to travel to a new city.
What to Bring to Your Passport Appointment
This is where a lot of people get most frustrated, as there is nothing worse than taking so much time out of your schedule to come to an in-person appointment, just to be turned away because you don’t have the right documents. And there’s a lot of them to bring! Make sure to double and triple check this list before leaving for your scheduled appointment.
Required documents for passport appointment
- Expired passport
- If this is your first passport, you’ll need to bring your original or a certified birth certificate. It must be the original certificate and cannot be a copy; you can obtain a certified birth certificate from any courthouse in the state you were born in.
- If your passport was lost or stolen, you’ll need to bring your original birth certificate as well
- Full application: The information can be filled out ahead of time, but make sure not to sign it as you will have to sign it in person.
- Passport photos: You will need to get official photos taken prior to your appointment. You can get these done at a UPS store or CVS. The cost for photos ranges between $20-30, and you will get two photos. (You only need one for the application but should save the second in case you have to apply for a visa or go through the process again.)
- Driver’s license or other form of ID. Here's the list of approved forms of identification.
- Printed copy of international travel within 14 days. This can be a printed copy of your email flight receipts. It just needs to have your full name, travel dates, location of travel and a flight confirmation number.
- Lost passport form: If your passport was lost or stolen, you’ll have to fill out a report here, and will be required to print out and bring to your appointment the completed report at the end, as well as the Lost Passport Record letter that is emailed to you afterwards.
- Method of payment: The total cost is $225, and the agency will accept multiple payment options, including debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, etc. You will only pay once your application is fully approved and you’re guaranteed to receive a passport that same day.
Bottom Line
The entire process of getting a new passport is considerably a frustrating one. Add that to the stress of quick upcoming international travel, and it can turn into a nightmare.
I personally have gone through this process twice within the past couple of years; once for a lost passport in the mail for renewal and the second time for a stolen passport. While the second time was easier and less stressful, it was still a time-consuming and inconvenient process that I will be happy not to have to do again anytime soon.
Although, I would recommend understanding all of your options when renewing an expired passport (or applying for a first-time passport). There is a chance it could be lost in the mail (like mine did), and will make this process much more complicated.
You may want to consider getting an in-person appointment for urgent travel to avoid the long wait times and potential issues. And if in-person is your only option, the best thing you can do is make sure you're fully prepared with every required document for your appointment.
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