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When you’re traveling outside of the United States, you will need a passport as a definitive form of identification. If you have let your passport expire, or it’s been ten years since you have gotten it, you will need to renew your passport in order to keep this important document current.

Of course, if you are traveling to Canada or Mexico by land or sea, you may not need your passport at all. These countries only require your driver’s license and a copy of your birth certificate when coming from the US - but if you are entering by air, you will still need a passport here as well.

Luckily, getting your passport renewed is a much easier process than applying for a brand new passport. You no longer have to be present for renewal; although any of the 9,000 passport acceptance facilities located throughout the United States would be happy to help you renew your passport.

The easiest way to renew your passport is to do through the mail - a process which you can start online. If you navigate to the government’s travel and passport web page, easily found in a web search, you can download any and all documents needed to renew your passport.

Getting your passport in the mail requires that you follow a few renewal rules. You must have a passport that is no older than 15 years old, expired is fine, and you must have been at least 16 years of age when you got the passport. A minor passport may be converted into an adult passport.

Your passport may not be mangled or damaged beyond recognition in order to be renewed, because the passport processing service must be able to verify its authenticity. If you think that your passport is too damaged, you will need to reapply to get a new passport.

Name changes on passports can not be processed through the mail. For instance, if you held a passport in your maiden name and got married and want to renew your passport - you will need to apply for a new passport in person at a passport acceptance facility. Other name changes follow these rules.

Sending in your passport renewal info is easy. You just need to enclose your application for renewal, your old passport and your passport photos. Those will be two identical 2″x 2″ photos taken with a passport photo camera. You’ll also enclose your renewal fee for the passport.

Be prepared to wait for your new passport to arrive. The wait times are long - both for people who are applying for the first time for their passport and for those who are renewing their passports. Give yourself plenty of time before your trip to make sure that your passport arrives in time.

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