I am in New Orleans where we have a passport office. They will only accept renewal appointments for travel in two weeks, if they answer the phone at all. We are 5 months out from our departure.

My super paranoid husband wants me to go to FedEx and use their service, no matter the cost. He just just wants me to have it in hand as quickly as possible, I am not opposed to that, but if doing it the normal way and mailing it direct using expedited service will get it done more safely and just as quickly, I would rather do that. I have used third party services in the past with no issues but now the State Dept has a warning message about using them,

So has anyone had any experience with FedEx? Better to mail direct, and if so, Registered Mail, Express, overnight? It just seems silly to have a passport office 5 miles from my house and not be able to use it but that�s another story.

I've always renewed by mail, and send in the application and old passport by ordinary (First Class) mail; use two Forever stamps if you do not want to go to the post office. Never had a problem. With five months to go before your departure, I cannot imagine that you would have a problem, either.

A recent report here on FT indicates that a renewal took about one month, with standard -- not expedited -- processing:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/34218466-post1953.html

(You can just check to see if your check cleared, starting a week after you mail the application. If your check cleared, the Passport Office obviously received your application.)

Just mail it with regular service. You can do expedited if you feel like spending extra money for no particular reason.

The service times they list on the State Dept website are definitely a case of "underpromise and over deliver". When I renewed mine a few months ago it said standard service was 8-12 weeks but I got my new passport in 4 weeks.

There's an existing thread if you feel like reading peoples' recent experiences. Current US passport wait? (Merged Threads)

Do it mail/FedEx, just make sure you have the tracking number. One thing that people overlook if you are doing expedited service - it is expedited from the time that the State Department "processes" your package. They could receive it and it can sit there for a few days. If you are really in a bind then I would use a respected passport agency, like It's Easy. Those companies can truly get it expedited by doing hand-delivery (but appointments are limited).

5 months out? I'd do standard processing 3 months before the travel date. I've always taken my regular renewals to the Post Office just to ensure postage is right and get a tracking number.

We did our passports in December - got them in January, about 5-6 weeks in total. Regular processing. Now most of the data points seem to be right around 1 month.

I honestly don't get the point of paying the expedited fee. It seems like you're either doing it regular....or you need it urgently enough you need to get to an in-person agency. I suspect expedited might get you a passport back in 3 weeks....maybe....but if you're really 3 weeks from travel, you aren't going to bank on it.

Just my own scary story-
I had let my passport expire so long that I had to do the entire passport process from the start. I went through all the hoops, took ages to get an appointment at a post office, but finally got it all done and mailed off. Then, nothing. My check wasn't clearing and there was no online status update for weeks. I called the post office from where I mailed all my info that made me, me. The post office seemed alarmed after doing a little investigation into what happened. They could track it out of their post office but then it... disappeared. They told me they had done all they could and good luck!

I contacted my local Senator's office and they actually seemed really alarmed. We exchanged several phone calls, then I was given my own contact at the Charleston SC State Dept.
They arranged for me to go to a passport office on a Saturday afternoon. The line was huge, but they had told me not to stand in line- just go to the door and tell them my name. I did and they had a whole table set up just for me! I had to pay again and bring 2 pictures and application again, but 2 days later, Monday afternoon, I had a shiny new passport in my mail box!

The State Dept paid for a year of credit/identity monitoring for me. It was alarming how alarmed everyone was at the loss of a passport application (which totally makes sense, of course).

About a month later, my original application showed up in my mail box, 2/3 shredded. It was super creepy, and I never got an answer as to what happened. We just assumed it was eaten by a post office machine somewhere.
Good to know the government CAN get you passport in 2 days though, I guess

Go to the passport office if you can get a timely appointment. It will get done faster and without any hiccups. Pay the expedited fee and you will have one in no time.

Fedex? They lose millions of packages a year and have zero customer service.

Nothing preventing you from booking a refundable trip out of the country, renewing your passport and then having a change in circumstances that require you to cancel the trip

I actually thought of doing that. I may yet.

You guys are way overthinking this if the planned travel is 5 months in the future.

There is no need for expedited fees, trips to the passport agency, etc.

Basic processing. Post office. You'll have the passport back in your hands in about 6 weeks.

I�m scratching my head how a FlyerTalker (and a DL Plat at that) doesn�t leave the country in several years and then waits 5+ years to renew the passport.

Not enough miles or points incentivizing them.

David