Renewing a US passport abroad: mail, embassy, online

You can't use the online renewal system from abroad yet, so plan on the embassy or consulate, and start six months before you need the new book. Think of it as the DMV, just with a Marine at the door.

The short version

If you meet the Form DS-82 rules, you renew as an adult using your old passport as proof of citizenship. Abroad, you do that through the US embassy or consulate, and in most countries that means an in-person appointment [1].
The 2026 fee for an adult passport book renewal is USD 130. First-time adults pay USD 130 plus a USD 35 execution fee [2].
Children under 16 can never renew. Each new child passport is a fresh in-person application, with both parents' consent, and it's valid for five years [3].
Online renewal still requires you to be in a US state or territory. A State Department rule proposed in August 2026 would open it to people in some foreign countries, but it isn't in force [4][5].
If you need to travel urgently, embassies can issue an emergency passport with limited validity [1].

Can you use Form DS-82?

The renewal form, DS-82, is the easy button. You can use it only if your most recent passport meets all of these conditions [6]:

You can submit it with the application, and it has never been reported lost or stolen.
It was issued within the last 15 years.
It was issued when you were 16 or older and was valid for 10 years.
It's in your current name, or you can show a marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order for the change.
It isn't damaged beyond normal wear and tear.

If any answer is no, you apply in person on Form DS-11, the same as a first-time applicant. That includes anyone whose last passport was a five-year child passport, which trips up a lot of young adults who grew up abroad. A limited-validity passport can be renewed on DS-82 only if you held a full 10-year passport before it [6].

How renewal works at an embassy or consulate

The State Department's guidance for people outside the US is short: "In most countries, you must apply in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate for all passport services" [1]. Mail options exist only in a limited number of countries, and each embassy's website says whether yours is one of them.

The usual steps

Check your embassy's passport page. Look for "U.S. Citizen Services" on the embassy or consulate site. It tells you whether you need an appointment, whether renewals can go by mail or courier, and how to pay.
Book an appointment. Waits vary from days to weeks, and they get longer before summer vacation and the Thanksgiving-to-New-Year's stretch, when everyone suddenly remembers they're flying home.
Fill in the form. Use the State Department's Form Filler, print single-sided, and don't sign a form you'll submit in person until the officer asks you to [1].
Get a compliant photo. One recent 2x2-inch (51x51 mm) photo, no glasses. Local photo shops that advertise "US passport" photos usually know the rules. Leave the selfie for Instagram.
Bring your old passport and the fee. For DS-82 renewals your old passport is your citizenship evidence, and it comes back to you canceled [1].
Wait for delivery. Passports are printed in the US and sent back to the embassy or by courier. The embassy tells you how to collect it.

Canada is different

Canada gets its own rule, as neighbors sometimes do. Eligible adults living there mail Form DS-82 to the United States using Canada Post, rather than going to the embassy. If you pay on pay.gov instead of by check, you send the application to the US Embassy in Ottawa or a consulate. Checks and money orders must be drawn on a US bank, in US dollars, with a nine-digit routing number. First-time applicants and children under 16 in Canada still apply in person [1].

Can you expedite?

For mail renewals that go to the US, the optional expedite fee is USD 60 [1][2]. Overnight delivery costs USD 22.05, but it only works for US mailing addresses, so it's no help to most people abroad [2]. Embassies have their own timelines, which they post on their websites, and for real emergencies they have the emergency passport (below).

2026 passport fees

These are the State Department fees in its fee chart updated in March 2026 [2]. They are the same whether you apply in the US or at an embassy, though embassies may take payment in local currency at the consular exchange rate.

Application	Form	Application fee	Execution fee	Total
Adult renewal, passport book	DS-82	USD 130	None	USD 130
Adult renewal, book and card	DS-82	USD 160	None	USD 160
Adult first-time or not eligible to renew, book	DS-11	USD 130	USD 35	USD 165
Child under 16, book	DS-11	USD 100	USD 35	USD 135
Optional expedite (US processing)	Any	USD 60		USD 60
File search, no citizenship evidence	DS-11	USD 150		USD 150

The passport card is valid only for land and sea crossings between the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda, so unless you drive to Tijuana for tacos, you can probably skip it.

Child passports: no renewals, both parents

Children under 16 can't renew. Every new passport is a new DS-11 application made in person, and the passport lasts five years [3].

Both parents or legal guardians must normally appear with the child. If one can't come, that parent signs Form DS-3053, a notarized statement of consent. It has to be submitted within 90 days of notarization, and in some countries it must be notarized at a US embassy or consulate rather than by a local notary [3]. If one parent has sole custody, bring the court order.

Plan around the five-year cycle. It comes around faster than you'd think. A child born abroad will need a new passport at roughly ages 5, 10 and 15. The application at 16 or 17 is also a DS-11, because their last passport was a child passport. Only after that can they renew by DS-82.

If your child's first US document is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, you usually apply for the first passport at the same appointment. See our guide to registering a child born abroad.

Emergency passports and lost passports

Embassies and consulates "can issue an emergency passport if you have urgent travel" [1]. That usually means a death or serious illness in the family back home, or a confirmed flight you can't move. "I forgot" doesn't count. An emergency passport has limited validity. After you get home, or once things settle, you can replace it with a full-validity passport, and the State Department has a separate process for that [7].

If your passport is lost or stolen, report it right away, even before you've finished turning the apartment upside down. That invalidates it so no one else can use it [7]. Then apply for a replacement in person, with whatever ID you have left, a police report if you filed one, and proof of citizenship such as a US birth certificate or CRBA. If you can't show any citizenship evidence, the file search fee is USD 150 [2].

Embassies publish an after-hours number for real emergencies. If you can't reach the embassy, the State Department's line for citizens abroad is +1-202-501-4444 from outside the US and Canada [8].

Online renewal: not for people abroad yet

The State Department's online renewal service lets eligible adults renew without paper or a mailed passport. Right now you must be "located in a U.S. state or territory at the time you submit your application." You also can't use an APO, FPO or DPO address [9].

On August 28, 2026, the State Department scheduled a proposed rule for publication to change that. It would expand online renewal to eligible applicants in foreign countries, rolled out country by country, with the list kept at travel.state.gov/renewonline. It would also drop the rule that your current passport must be within a year of expiring [5]. It's a proposal: the comment period ran about 60 days, and no effective date or country list has been set. Until the State Department publishes a final rule and names your country, renew through the embassy.

If you're stateside anyway, say for the Fourth of July, you can use online renewal while you're there. Your passport stays valid until the new one is issued, but the State Department says not to travel for at least six weeks after you apply [9], and you'll need a US mailing address.

Practical tips from the paperwork

Renew early. Many countries won't let you in with less than six months left on your passport, and some residence permits are tied to it. Last-minute renewals are a gamble you don't need. Start six to nine months before expiry.
Your residence permit may need updating. In many countries your visa or residence card shows your passport number. After you renew, tell the immigration office, and keep the old canceled passport with the visa in it.
Keep copies. Keep a scan of your passport's data page and your naturalization certificate, CRBA or birth certificate in your email.
Sign up for STEP. Enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program means the embassy can reach you in a crisis.

Renewing a US passport abroad: how it works from overseas