Originally Posted by jmastron

Almost -- 16-17 year olds still need to apply in person one last time; she'll get a 10-year passport and THEN will be able to renew that by mail in 10 years. And she'll still need to show "parental awareness", but it's a lot less strict than for under 16 -- one parent appearing, a signed note (with copy of ID), or apparently even just having the parent write the check from their account is sufficient.