Some Americans now have the option to renew their passports online after the State Department introduced an updated version of the system earlier this week.
The system imposes a set of requirements that Americans must meet before they can renew their passports. It only accepts a certain number of applications each day from people over the age of 25.
The requirements include that the passport must be valid for 10 years, the issue date must be between 2009 and 2015, and there must be no changes to the biographical data. They will also need to set up a Login.gov account, according to information on the State Department website.
“During the next several months, we plan to continue to limit the number of applications accepted each day so we can monitor the system’s performance in real time,” the State Department said. “This beta release during which we are limiting the daily applications is an important and standard part of the software development process.”
The department said the system accepts routine renewal requests every day during a “limited midday eastern time window” and “close once we reach our limit for the day.”
The online renewal process requires applicants to provide details of their updated passport, travel plans and a digital photo.
The ministry also said that if the daily application limit has already been reached on a particular day, eligible applicants will need to apply for passport renewal on another day through the system.
The application fee to extend an adult passport through the online system is $130.
The State Department says the online system is not an option for people who need a new passport for travel scheduled more than eight weeks in the future.
Passport renewals can also be done by mail or in person.
According to the State Department’s website, the State Department takes six to eight weeks to process passport renewals submitted by mail or online, excluding transit time. Expedited processing takes two to three weeks.
The Foreign Office is already conducting tests of online passport renewals.
According to the agency’s website, testing the updated system will help prepare for a future “prepare for a full launch of the updated online passport renewal system.”
In December, the Pew Research Center reported that 76 percent of Americans have traveled internationally at some point in their lives. The results also showed that about 50 percent have one to four other countries stamped in their passports.