Those who had a passport expire in the last three years will know just how much headache it has been to get a new one.
Between general government understaffing and the rush of demand as many started to travel voraciously post-pandemic, some living in different pockets of the U.S. reported waiting as long as four months to get one replaced while others paid the expedited processing fee only to still not have one prepared in time for an urgent trip.
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The good news is that, for those who need a passport replaced now or in the coming year, U.S. State Department processing times are finally back to normal.
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We're happy to report that we've met that goal, State Department says
"When faced with unprecedented passport demand in 2023, we set a goal to get back to pre-pandemic processing times before the end of the year," the State Department said in a Dec. 18 announcement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "We're happy to report that we've met that goal."
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This means that, from the time the processing office receives a completed passport application (one can either send it in by mail or bring it in to a physical location), one can expect to wait six to eight weeks for a regular application and two to three weeks for an expedited service that costs an additional $60 on top of the $130 for an adult application (applying for the first time also costs $30 more than the $130 fee for those renewing.)
According to the State Department, this is the shortest these times have been since March 2020. In a note posted on Nov. 6, the State Department said that average waiting times had fallen slightly to seven to 10 weeks from the eight to 11 weeks seen at the end of the summer.
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The government agency also encouraged Americans to "take advantage and apply or renew now so that you're ready for international travel in the new year." Traditionally, processing times are lower in the late fall and winter months prior to the rush of people remembering that they need a renewed passport to take an international trip in the summer.
The State Department also said that over 160 million Americans currently have a valid passport — more than 48% of the country and a significant increase from the 5% seen in 1990 and about a quarter who had one in 2007. The number of people getting a passport has been rising each year but spiked particularly after the pandemic.
According to the State Department's data, 24 million passport books and cards (a simplified version of a passport used for traveling between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as well as certain nearby Caribbean countries) were issued between September 2022 and October 2023.
This is the highest number on historical record and speaks to the strong travel demand that is also sowing chaos on the airline industry which is struggling to find the staff necessary to meet such interest.
