Passport Application Status Check

How how to obtain the status of your passport application!

When you apply for your U.S. Passport you feel relieved that you have taken care of a stressful task and you are on your way to get your passport back for international travel. You now are curious where is that thing? What is the application status? With that being said, depending upon the options you selected for passport processing it may not happen overnight especially if you selected routine passport service. Routine passport service can take between 4-8 weeks while expedited processing can take upwards to 2-3 weeks. If you selected to apply at a regional passport agency you will be issued a will call receipt and you should have your passport back either the same or next business day depending on your travel plans. There are two options to check the status of your passport by phone or online please read on to view these options.

Check the status of your passport application by phone

If you are not close to a computer, you can call the national passport center and either speak with a passport agent or use the automated system to get an update on your passport application. In order to check by phone, you will need the following information listed below.

1. The applicant’s last name including and suffixes or hyphenations listed on your passport application.
2. The applicant’s date of birth in the form of the month, day, and year.
3. The last four digits of the applicant’s social security number.

When you have the information listed above please call the national passport information center at 877-487-2778 to speak with a passport agent. The national center has normal business hours Monday thru Friday from 8 am to 10 pm eastern standard time. They are also open on Saturday for application status checks and are open from 10 am to 3 pm eastern standard time. This time does not include government closures or federal holidays.

Check the status of your passport application online

In order to check the status of your passport online, you must use the passport agencies passport status system. If you have just mailed out your application, it will not show up in the online passport status system for approximately 7-10 business days. Once it is entered into the system you can track when the passport has been completed. Once complete it will display a USPS online tracking number if you paid the additional fee for priority delivery back to you.

You will also have the option to sign up for automatic email updates about your passport application when you enter your information into the online passport system. The updates will notify you when the passport has been completed or if it the passport gets denied by the passport agency.

I still have not received my passport, now what?

If you have been waiting the defined time for your passport to be processed and it shows in the online system or by phone your passport has been completed and you did not receive your passport in the mail it could be lost.

Don’t panic! Please wait a few more days as mail can sometimes be delayed. If you have waited 7-8 business days and the passport is still not in the mail you may report this to the passport agency and apply for a non-receipt of passport.

• Complete DS-86 form non-receipt of passport

You must complete this form within the next 90 days otherwise the passport agency will not honor the request and they consider it a forfeiture of the passport application. You will then be required to reapply for a new passport.