Wow, that is lightning-fast even pre-covid, especially with the holiday break in there. I wonder if they are prioritizing in-person over mailin renewals somehow.

The kind of in-person application relevant to samplat involves the State Department-approved USPS worker reviewing the submitted application and relevant docs and then mailing them to the US State Department for processing of the passport application. [It's a different path of passport application than an in-person renewal application submitted at a US Passport Agency office.]

DS-11 applications get a separate sort than DS-82 applications. The sorting does have implications for processing times.

Applied for a new passport on USPS and send by mail a renewal on Dec 22/20 both with expedite service ($60)

>> Guys if you are renewed by mail and are in a rush to get it, use the USPS ( UPS and FedEx both send your envelope to USPS because the passports are shipped to a PO box which USP or FedEx can't deliver it and you will lose time and money doing that [yep I did it and regret]) and send your envelope by EXPRESS priority mail (is expensive but is the only one not affected by delays, hope I knew that before sending my passport u.u) because all the other service include priority or first class mail are expecting long delays<<

NEW PASSPORT
12/22/20 Applied in USPS for a new passport
12/29/2020 Received application
01/11/21 IN PROCESS

RENEWALL
12/22/20 Shipped by UPS which delivered it to USPS on 12/24/20 priority mail
Delayed by USPS since 12/22/20 for 13 days
Arrived at PA distribution center on 01/06/21 and Delayed again
01/11/21 Still delayed by USPS ( the passport agency still not received it !#@$#@)

I WILL POST UPDATES WHEN I GET THEM.

I don't know if someone else has the same issue with the USPS delay
I expect to travel on the second week of March and hope my passports arrive on time or I'll lose a lot of money :( , don't be like me and be aware of the USPS delays and the Passport agency delays.

Thanks for this info.

When you say send it by priority mail, are you talking about applying at USPS and then having a return priority envelope back to you?

Nope, I applied for a new passport at the USPS local office, they shipped it directly and did not give me tracking information.
I also send a renew passport application for a family member using UPS they delivered it to the USPS and they send it to PA as a priority mail, after I notice the delay I searched in the USPS site and find out that only Express mail service is not affected by delays, that's why I recommend other to use that instead of priority mail or first class. Hope this info is useful.

Application Mailed - 11/10/20 [regular service requested]
Received - 11/17/20
Approved - 1/20/21
Sent - 1/20/21
Received - 1/25/21
BTW, does the application locator number correspond to the passport number, or are the two separate?

Separate.

Processing seems to have sped up a lot.
Application Mailed - 12/21/20 [regular service requested]
Received by Passport Service - 12/26/20
Approved - 1/15/21
Received - 1/21/21
Surprisingly fast. Didn't expect it until March but no complaint.

^You jumped me in line!! :p

But good to know they're cranking them out.

October 13 - Mailed USPS Priority Service from NYC to TX Facility [Regular Service requested]
October 17 - Confirmed delivery by USPS
October 19 - Confirmed acceptance by Passport Service
October 20 - Check cashed
January 21 - Email confirmation that passport was approved and shipped from Tucson
January 22 - New passport received (13 weeks later)
January 29 - Old passport received (postmarked from Tucson)

Sounds like there was still quite a backlog in October but based on TerryK and drewguy 's experiences, it's gotten better since then!

My passport expired in dec 2019 and I got Costco photos in January 2020. I never applied to renew. Can I still apply to renew the expired passport or is this treated as if I’m just getting a new passport? And should I get new Costco photos taken or could I use the photos that are a year old?

According to the graphic here: Renew my U.S. passport (state.gov), I'd think you'd be able to renew (assuming a Dec. 2019 expiration means it was issued Dec. 2009).

This link: U.S. Passport Photos (state.gov) seems to indicate that you should get new photos, however.

You can renew a passport by mail if it was *issued* within the past 15 years, and was issued when you were at least 16 years old.

Per the instructions, the photo is supposed to be taken within 6 months prior to application.

Another data point from my mom's application, which was processed super quickly:

1/5/21 - Mailed from CA to TX processing center via Priority Mail, regular service requested
1/9/21 - Delivered to TX processing center
1/11/21 - Status changed to 'In Process'
1/15/21 - Status changed to 'Shipped'
1/19/21 - USPS picked up the passport from a facility in Arkansas
1/21/21 - Passport delivered in CA

16 days from mailing to receipt of new passport without requesting expedited service. I'm shocked it was processed this quickly!

Given Covid-19 test requirements in place or coming into place and given other kinds of restrictions coming into places overseas, the demand for travel abroad may have already peaked for at least this part of the quarter and the demand for passports may be dropping because of that too. Add in State staffing changes, and the more recent weeks may actually be the sweet spot for applying.