Form DS-82: How to Renew Your Passport by Mail

Form DS-82 lets eligible U.S. citizens renew a passport by mail instead of applying in person with Form DS-11. If your most recent passport was issued when you were 16 or older, within the last 15 years, is undamaged, and is still in your name, you qualify to skip the appointment, skip the $35 execution fee, and mail in a two-page application instead. Here is exactly how to fill it out, attach your photo correctly, and get it in the mail without a rejection letter.

Who Qualifies to Renew by Mail With Form DS-82

The State Department's rule is about when your passport was issued, not how long it has been expired. You can use DS-82 if all of the following are true:

• Your most recent passport was issued within the last 15 years, even if it expired 1 year ago or 10 years ago. Only the issue date matters.
• You were 16 or older when that passport was issued, meaning it was a full 10-year adult book, not a 5-year minor passport.
• You can submit that passport with your application (it will be returned to you separately).
• The passport is undamaged, not just worn at the edges.
• It was issued in your current legal name, or you can attach an original or certified copy of a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order proving the name change.

If your passport was issued before you turned 16, was issued more than 15 years ago, or was lost, stolen, or significantly damaged, DS-82 will get rejected. In that case you need Form DS-11 and an in-person appointment at a passport acceptance facility instead.

If you qualify, you also get to choose how you submit. The table below compares your two self-renewal options against the in-person alternative:

Documents You Need Before You Start

Gather everything before you sit down to fill out the form. Missing one item is the most common reason mailed renewals bounce back weeks later. You will need:

• Your current, most recent U.S. passport book (not a photocopy).
• One new 2x2 inch color photo, taken within the last 6 months, on a white or off-white background, with no glasses and no headwear other than for religious or medical reasons.
• A completed Form DS-82.
• Payment: a personal check or money order for $130 for a passport book (or $30 for a card only), payable to "U.S. Department of State," with your full date of birth written on the memo line.
• Legal name change documentation, if the name on your old passport does not match your current legal name.

If you would rather not deal with a check and a mailbox at all, the State Department also offers an online renewal option for applicants who meet the same DS-82 eligibility rules. The steps below focus on the mail-in process, since that is still how most renewers file and it is the only option if you need to submit a name change document.

Step by Step: Filling Out the PDF

Handwriting on a federal form that gets scanned is a common source of processing delays when a reviewer cannot read a digit in your passport number or date of birth. Open the blank DS-82 PDF in a browser-based editor like PDF Editify's fill-pdf tool and type your answers directly into the form fields instead:

1. Name section: enter your name exactly as you want it to appear on the new passport, then your name exactly as it appears on your current passport if the two differ.
2. Biographic details: date of birth, place of birth, Social Security number, height, hair color, and eye color. These should already match your existing passport record.
3. Contact and mailing information: your permanent address and a daytime phone number, plus a separate mailing address only if you want the new passport sent somewhere else.
4. Most recent passport details: the passport number, issue date, and issue location, all found on the photo page of your current book.
5. Travel plans: only if you have an imminent trip and need to explain why you are requesting expedited service.

Typing the fields also makes it easy to double check every entry against your current passport before you print, since a typo in a passport number is one of the more common reasons an application gets sent back for correction. Print the completed form single sided once every field is correct.

This is also the moment most renewers realize they need a PDF tool for exactly one task and do not want a recurring subscription for it. PDF Editify's One Week Plan is a $3 one-time charge that covers filling out and exporting the DS-82 and any other paperwork you need that week, instead of signing up for a monthly plan you will cancel a few days later.

Photo and Signature Requirements

The State Department's own DS-82 instructions are specific about what gets stapled and what does not, and getting this backward is a small mistake that still causes delays:

• Staple your new passport photo to the application in the box provided.
• Staple pages 1 and 2 of the application together, along with any name change documentation.
• Paperclip, do not staple, your current passport and your check or money order to the application. Those two items get processed and returned separately, and a staple through your existing passport can damage it.

You must sign and date the form in black ink after printing it. DS-82 does not require a notary or a witness, but an unsigned form is treated as incomplete and sent back, which typically adds several weeks to your total timeline. Sign only after every field matches your records; corrections on a signed page can also trigger a rejection.

A few smaller details trip up otherwise correct applications. Photos with glasses have not been accepted since 2016, so retake the photo if your current passport shows you wearing them. A photo that is even slightly off the 2x2 inch size, or printed on photo paper with a colored tint from a home printer, is a common enough rejection reason that most passport-focused photo shops will simply reprint it for free if it is refused. Keep the receipt or a photo of your finished application before you seal the envelope, since you will want the passport number and issue date on hand if you need to call the National Passport Information Center about your status.

Mailing Your Renewal

The mailing address on the DS-82 instructions differs depending on your state and whether you are requesting routine or expedited service, so use the address printed on your specific form rather than one you find in an older guide. Use a trackable mail service such as USPS Priority Mail, since you are sending your existing passport along with the application.

As of 2026, processing runs about 4 to 6 weeks for routine service. Expediting adds $60 and brings that down to roughly 2 to 3 weeks, and you can add 1 to 3 day return delivery via Express Mail for an additional $22.05 so the new book reaches you faster once it is issued. Renewing by mail also means you skip the $35 execution fee that applies to in-person DS-11 applications, since that fee only covers a facility accepting your application in person.

If you are renewing a passport that came from a Form DS-11 application in the first place, our companion guide on filling out Form DS-11 walks through the in-person process for first-time applicants and anyone who does not qualify for DS-82. You can also start from a blank, fillable copy of the renewal form in our DS-82 template if you have not downloaded the form yet.