The Department of State is committed to providing the best possible service for our passport customers while upholding strict national security standards.
Between October 2022 and September 2023 (the federal fiscal year), the State Department issued more than 24 million passport books and cards, the most ever in our nation's history.
In addition to issuing more passports than ever before, we are also able to announce that we will provide Americans these services two weeks faster than prior processing times. Beginning October 2, 2023, passport processing times will be 8-11 weeks for routine service and 5-7 weeks for expedited service. These new processing times only apply to applications received on or after October 2. Processing times begin the day we receive an application and do not include mailing time.
Our dedicated staff have worked countless hours to reduce passport processing times. We are continuously reassessing our operations to maximize efficiencies and are introducing innovations to our customer service and processing models. We are investing in supporting and modernizing our technology, increased staffing levels by ten percent, and have hundreds of additional staff in the hiring pipeline. We remain focused on lowering processing times, and this reduction is an important first step.
We encourage anyone considering future international travel to check their passport's validity early and often. Apply well in advance of your potential travel and at least 6-9 months ahead of your passport's expiration date. Check your passport's expiration date today and visit travel.state.gov to plan your 2024 travel with the latest passport guidance and travel information.
