The U.S. State Department announced Americans can renew their passports online.
The federal department touted the new option as a fulfillment of an executive order from President Joe Biden.
“Today, we made our new Online Passport Renewal system fully available to the public, a significant step forward in ensuring Americans can more easily access passport services,” said Secretary Antony Blinken on X. “This online alternative is an important example of how we are modernizing government services.”
The virtual application opened on Wednesday.
Online renewals are open to American citizens who live in the country and are age 25 or older. Their passports must have expired in the last five years or be set to expire within the next year. Those looking to renew online cannot need a name change, correction, or any additional requirements.
“By offering this online alternative to the traditional paper application process, the Department is embracing digital transformation to offer the most efficient and convenient passport renewal experience possible,” the State Department said in a press release. “Thanks to increased staffing, technological advancements, and a host of other improvements, the average routine passport is being processed today in roughly one-third the time as at the same point last summer, and well under the advertised six to eight weeks processing times.”
An estimated 5 million Americans will use the online renewal service annually.
The State Department indicated its new offering is in compliance with an executive order issued by the Biden administration in December of 2021.
The Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government directed federal agencies to address the “complex 21st century challenges our Nation faces.”
“Government must be held accountable for designing and delivering services with a focus on the actual experience of the people whom it is meant to serve,” said the White House. “Government must also work to deliver services more equitably and effectively, especially for those who have been historically underserved.”
The order noted that the paperwork imposed by executive departments on citizens has required a collective 9 billion hours to process.
“Every interaction between the Federal Government and the public, whether it involves renewing a passport or calling for a status update on a farm loan application, should be seen as an opportunity for the Government to save an individual’s time (and thus reduce ‘time taxes’) and to deliver the level of service that the public expects and deserves,” said the Biden administration.
