Hello again! Now that we've gotten the obligatory introductory post out of the way, we can move on to more interesting things. I'm going to start with a little bit of information on applying for or renewing your U.S. passport, because bureaucracy is the worst! When I renewed mine, I learned a couple of important details I couldn't find on the Department of State's website.
1. You cannot renew your passport unless you meet certain qualifications.
This is fairly straightforward information that's easy to find, but I've included the list from the Department of State's website below for your convenience. If you meet all of the qualifications, you are able to renew your passport, rather than applying for a new one. Passport renewal can be done in person or by mail. There's a separate form for this, called DS-82.
So if your passport is damaged or was issued to you before the ripe old age of 16, you fill out all the forms for a new, first time passport instead of renewing. The form for new passport application is the DS-11. On the DoS website, they tell you that the total cost of a new passport is $135.00 without the $60.00 fee for expedited service, however be careful writing out your check because...
3. The total cost of a new passport is not all paid to the Department of State!
$110.00 does go to the DoS. They'll gladly accept your personal checks, bank drafts, and money orders made out the U.S. Department of State (with some stipulations, which you can find here). Some Passport Application Acceptance Facilities will also accept exact cash for this fee. The other $25.00 is an Execution Fee paid to the Acceptance Facility. Acceptance Facilities all take money orders and bank drafts. Some will also accept exact cash, personal checks, or credit cards. To find your nearest Acceptance Facility and for more information on what payment they'll accept, you can search here. I wish I had known this going in! I just happened to have $25.00 in cash on me, so I was lucky enough to avoid having to return later.
4. You can save trees (and ink, which is expensive) by printing only the last two pages of your application.
The first few pages are all for the applicant's own records, so I was content to print off just the last two pages for submission and access the online document as need be. The most useful pieces of information off of the application are that you can check the status of your passport application online, and the list of other documents that must be submitted with your application. This list can be found on the first page, or right here.
5. What they don't tell you about the emergency contact is...
Your emergency contact must be someone with whom you do not expect to be travelling within the 10 years during which your passport is valid. So if you think there's the slightest chance you might be travelling out-of-country with your parents, siblings, or significant other, don't list them as your emergency contact! Otherwise you'll be making a call to your grandmother while holding up the line because you don't know her address off the top of your head, thinking, "Oh, please let her answer the phone," and "Why should I have to do this, you know the government is tracking us all and could find her if they really wanted to.", all while awkwardly maintaining eye contact with the person behind the counter because you know you know him but from where?! Or maybe that's just me.
There you have it, five quick tips for getting your new passport! What's most exciting is that your old passport is returned to you, so you still have a stamp record of all the places you visited before you had to renew/reapply. The old one comes with holes punched in it, but I was lucky enough that the holes didn't pass through my stamps. :)
Best of luck applying for your passport! I hope this rough guide was helpful.
Until next time!