You may apply for a passport by mail (renew) if you already have a passport and that passport is your most recent one, and it was issued within the past 12 years, and if you were over age 16 when it was issued. (Residents abroad should renew their passports at the nearest U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. Passports renewed by mail can only be forwarded to U.S. addresses.)

Obtain a Form DSP-82, "Application For Passport By Mail." Fill it out, sign and date it.

Attach to it:

• Your most recent passport
  
• Two identical passport photographs
  
• And, a $40 fee. If applicable, a $35 fee for urgent service.

If your name changed since your previous passport was issued, enclose a certified copy of the court order, adoption decree, marriage certificate or divorce decree specifying another name for you to use. (Photocopies are not acceptable.) If you name has changed by other means, you must apply in person.

Mail (if possible, in a padded envelope) the completed DSP-82 application and attachments to:

National Passport Center
P.O. Box 371971
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7971

Your previous passport will be returned to you with your new passport.

If you wish to use an overnight service, and the service of your choice will not deliver to a post office box, send it to:

Passport Services - Lockbox
Attn: Passport Supervisor 371971
3 Mellon Bank Center, Rm. 153-2723
Pittsburgh, PA 15259-0001

Include the appropriate fee for overnight return of your passport. Please note that overnight service will not speed up processing time unless payment for expedited service is also included.

Note: If your passport has been mutilated, altered or damaged, you cannot apply by mail. You must apply in person using Form DSP-11, present evidence of U.S. citizenship, and acceptable identification. (If you mutilate or alter your U.S. passport, you may render it invalid and expose yourself to possible prosecution under the law (Section 1543 of Title 22 of the U.S. Code).)