Instructions
- Step 1: Locate a passport acceptance facility Use the U.S. Department of State’s Passport Acceptance Facility search engine to find your nearest passport office.
- TIP: Post offices often serve as passport acceptance facilities.
- Step 2: Get an application Go to the facility to get a passport application, or download one at travel.state.gov, and print and fill it out.
- Step 3: Get photos Have two passport photos taken. Many national drugstore chains offer passport photo services.
- Step 4: Attach the photos when applying in person Take the photos along with the application to your local passport office if you are required to apply for the passport in person. The passport office will attach the photos to the application.
- TIP: In the past, applicants for a U.S. passport were asked to staple photographs to the application. This is no longer the case.
- Step 5: Attach photos when renewing by mail When renewing by mail, place the photos inside your old passport and mail them along with the rest of your application package to a passport processing center.
- FACT: Did you know? By the beginning of the 20th century, all countries required passports, although similar documents had been used for many centuries prior.
You Will Need
- A computer with internet access
- Two passport photos
- A U.S. passport application
- A passport (optional)
