Need a new passport? State Department tells travelers to apply at least 6 months before departure

Amid continued unprecedented demand for international travel, the State Department is advising Americans to submit applications for passports at least six months before their scheduled departure dates.

A State Department official said in an email that current processing times are 10 to 13 weeks for routine processing. It takes seven to nine weeks for expedited processing, which costs an extra $60.  

The estimates do not include the time it takes for your application to travel through the mail; the clock starts when the State Department receives the application, the official said.

Because some countries require that passports be valid at least six months beyond the dates of people's trips, travelers should check the State Department’s country-specific information pages to learn about entry and exit requirements and other important information for the countries they are visiting.

The agency said that it is meeting its published processing times in the "vast majority of cases" and that many customers receive their passports more quickly. Even so, the State Department has continued to experience a surge in passport demand, the official said. Flyers should carefully review passport processing times on travel.state.gov before they make any definite or nonrefundable travel plans, the official said.

The State Department said it is getting about 400,000 passport applications every week following higher-than-normal volumes in January through May that surpassed 500,000 applications a week.

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