Time length for a passport?
 

How long does it normally take to get a passport? (2 new and 1 renewal).

Just looking for an average time.

Since everyone is scrambling to get this done before the end of the year, I wouldn't count on less than two months.

Normally I think the official time frame is six weeks.

My renewal took less than two weeks.

I would go by the State Department's website for accurate information.

We bought ours in 2005 and I think it took about 1 month.

If you are pressed for time, you can pay for expedited service and get your passport in about a week (even for a new passport). But for a typical renewal, 3 to 6 weeks is the norm, depending on where you live.

We did an expedited for our DS and the mailman delivered it to the wrong house!!

If a lovely neighbor hadn't taken the time to drive over and put it in our mailbox with a note he would not have gotten it in time. I wish there were a way to pay for them to fed ex it to you. I would pay just to be sure it got to me on time.

You can pre-pay for Express Mail overnight delivery if you expedite your passport renewal (and you can use another service like Fed Ex if you use a passport expediting company).

The expedite fee guarantees that the passport will be issued by the end of the 3rd Business Day after it is received.BUT, their is no guarantee as to how long it may sit in the mail room.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/faq/faq_1741.html

How long does it take to get a passport?

Processing times can vary depending on workload and occasional unforeseen cirucmstances such as natural disasters. During busier times, such as the summer travel season, we encourage customers to expedite their applications if traveling in less than 8 weeks. See Processing Times for more information.

Thanks everyone. We definitely don't need the expedited service (I was aware of this) as we aren't leaving until June. We will probably plan on applying in Feb.

They say 6 weeks, but it can be much less depending on when you send in the info...I think mine came within 3 weeks

We just renewed our kids' passports. We paid for the expedited service. We received them in 3 business days.

I got a new one last week. (my old one was more than 5 years expired) They told me 6 weeks.

I just read on a travel website by USA Today that it takes 5 weeks.

amelie---I mean this seriously. I would advise you to start the renewal process NOW rather than in February (I'd advise anyone to do this if your passport is valid for less than a year). If you renew your passport now, there's a decent chance that you won't have the embedded digital chip in your passport along with all the problems that may cause.

I don't have the money now. What's wrong with the digital chip? (or am I opening up a huge can of worms)

I guess we'll soon find out if this is a can of worms of not, but the digital chip being inserted into all U.S. passports in the near future has loads of security problems. I won't say more about it, but if you want to read a recent article, here's a link to one on MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14218149/

Most interesting, Doug. Thanks for providing the link.