Travelers rejoice—the State Department has announced that online passport renewal is now available to all. I renewed my passport on the first day the system was open to the general public, and the process went smoothly—although I had some trouble taking my own photos at first. (I figured it out, and I’ll give you some tips below.) If this sounds like it might not be entirely new, that’s because online passport renewal was originally announced in 2021, paused in 2023, and reopened in “beta” version earlier this summer. Now, the State Department says that passports are being processed in one-third the time that they took at this time last year, and are well under the six to eight weeks that renewals are typically expected to take. How to renew your U.S. passport onlineFirst, head to Travel.State.Gov/renewonline. There, you’ll see a list of steps: Confirm you meet the requirementsCreate your account Start your