What the Announced Passport Changes Mean for Your Next Trip

On September 29, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Americans will be able to apply for a first passport entirely online through the new America.gov portal "starting next year," and unveiled a redesigned passport due in 2028. A month earlier, the State Department proposed letting Americans abroad renew online and dropping the rule that a passport must be within a year of expiry to qualify. For a trip in the next few months, almost nothing has changed yet: first-time applicants and children still apply in person, and current fees, processing times and validity rules apply.

Key takeaways

Online first-time applications and the 2028 passport redesign are announced plans, not live services; current passports stay valid until they expire.
As of the State Department's pages in May 2026, online renewal was open to adults 25 and older in a US state or territory whose 10-year passport expires within a year or expired less than 5 years ago, among other conditions, and submitting it cancels the old passport.
As of May 2026, an adult passport book cost $130, plus a $35 acceptance fee for first-time applicants; expedited service added $60.
Routine processing was listed at 4 to 6 weeks and expedited at 2 to 3 weeks, not counting up to two weeks of mail time in each direction.
New US passports show only M or F matching sex at birth, and no court order currently blocks that policy; passports already issued with an X remain valid until they expire.

What it means for you

Adults renewing: if you meet the online criteria, you can renew from home, with routine service only and no travel for at least 6 weeks. If your trip is too close for that, see the urgent option under "How long it takes."
First-time applicants and children under 16: nothing changes until the online system launches; apply in person with Form DS-11.
Passport expiring within 6 months: check the entry rule of each country on your route before booking. The Schengen area counts three months from the day you leave, while some other countries require six months.
X marker or changing your marker: a valid passport with an X can still be used, but any new or renewed passport will show sex at birth while the lawsuit against the policy continues.
Global Entry members and frequent travelers: after renewing, update the new passport in your Trusted Traveler account. If you want a larger book, the 50-page option is set to disappear with the 2028 redesign.
Travelers re-entering the US: Mobile Passport Control is free, and US citizens may decline the facial photo at entry and exit and ask for a manual document check; green card holders and other noncitizens do not have that choice.

Announced vs. already in force

Change	Status as of October 14, 2026	Source
First-time passport applications fully online via America.gov	Announced September 29, 2026; not yet available. Rubio said "starting next year"; one outlet reported December 2026	Secretary Rubio's remarks (State Department transcript)
Online renewal for Americans living abroad, and removal of the one-year-to-expiry limit	Proposed rule published August 28, 2026; comments close October 27, 2026; not final	Federal Register
Single 38-page passport book replacing the 26- and 50-page books	Planned with the redesign, anticipated in 2028	Federal Register notice, April 20, 2026
Passports issued only with M or F matching sex at birth	In force; the Supreme Court stayed the lower-court injunction on November 6, 2025, and the appeals court vacated it on June 5, 2026; the lawsuit continues	State Department; First Circuit
$45 TSA ConfirmID fee for flyers without REAL ID or another accepted ID	In force since February 1, 2026	TSA
DHS may require facial photos of all noncitizens at US entry and exit	In force since December 26, 2025; US citizens can opt out	Federal Register

In the State Department's transcript of the announcement, Rubio demonstrates applicants signing in with Login.gov, taking their own photo and paying online, and sets a goal for "the vast majority of Americans" to be able to apply for a passport or passport card on America.gov by the end of 2027. He gave no exact launch date. Spectrum News reported a December start, while Newsweek's report notes that current passports stay valid until they expire, as long as they are not damaged or invalidated.

The August 28, 2026 proposed rule would extend online renewal to qualified applicants in foreign countries in phases and gradually relax the remaining-validity limit, with the current requirements to be posted on the department's renewal page. The single-book notice says 92 percent of book applicants already choose the 26-page version, and acknowledges that frequent travelers may need to renew more often once the 50-page option ends.

Renewal timing, fees and the catch

The rules in this section are taken from the State Department's pages as they appeared in May 2026; check the live pages before you apply. The State Department's online renewal page limits online renewal to people who meet every condition: the passport being renewed is or was valid for 10 years and expires within one year or expired less than five years ago; you are 25 or older; you are not changing your name or sex; you are not traveling for at least 6 weeks; you are in a US state or territory; and the passport is in your hands, undamaged and never reported lost or stolen. Only routine service is offered.

The catch: the department cancels the passport you are renewing as soon as you submit the online application, so it can no longer be used for international travel. Mail renewal is not a workaround, because you send the old passport in with the application. Either way, plan to be without a passport for the whole processing period.

Anyone outside those rules, including people whose passport was issued more than 15 years ago, was issued before age 16, or is damaged beyond normal wear and tear, cannot renew by mail and must apply in person, according to the mail renewal requirements.

What it costs

Fees on the State Department fee page (dated February 10, 2026, as it appeared in May 2026):

Applicant	Passport book	Passport card	Book and card
Adult renewing by mail or online	$130	$30	$160
Adult first-time (DS-11)	$130 + $35 acceptance fee	$30 + $35	$160 + $35
Child under 16 (DS-11)	$100 + $35 acceptance fee	$15 + $35	$115 + $35

Expedited service adds $60 per application, and 1–3 day return delivery adds $22.05 (books only). Illustrative example: two adults and two children applying for their first passport books pay 2 × ($130 + $35) + 2 × ($100 + $35) = $600. Expediting all four adds $240, for $840, and 1–3 day delivery for all four adds $88.20, for $928.20.

How long it takes

The processing-times page (dated January 28, 2026, in its May 2026 version) lists 4 to 6 weeks for routine service and 2 to 3 weeks for expedited service. Those figures exclude mailing, and the department warns that an application can take two weeks to reach it and two weeks to come back. It names October through December as its lower-demand season and suggests applying then.

Worst-case door-to-door time = inbound mail + processing + return mail
Routine by mail:   2 + 6 + 2 = 10 weeks
Expedited by mail: 2 + 3 + 2 = 7 weeks
Routine online:    0 + 6 + 2 = 8 weeks

Processing here is the upper end of the posted range; the mail legs are the department's own two-week estimates.

Illustrative example: a 10-year passport expires March 15, 2027, and the holder applies on October 14, 2026. In the worst case, routine mail renewal could take until December 23, expedited mail renewal until December 2, and online renewal until December 9. A traveler leaving December 15 is covered by expedited mail renewal or online renewal, but not by routine mail renewal. Online renewal is routine-only at submission, though the department's renewal page says you can call 1-877-487-2778 later to request expedited service if plans change.

If your trip is too soon for any of these, the department's fee and mail renewal pages say that travelers with international travel within 14 calendar days can apply in person at a passport agency or center, by appointment.

Validity rules abroad

A passport that is valid on paper can still be refused at check-in, because many countries require extra validity after you arrive or leave. The State Department lists each country's requirement on its country information pages.

The Schengen area has two conditions, set out on the European Union's travel portal: the passport must be valid for at least three months after the date you intend to leave, and it must have been issued within the previous 10 years. An unexpired 10-year US passport always meets the 10-year test, so for US adults the three-month test is the one that matters.

Illustrative example, using the same passport that expires March 15, 2027: to satisfy the Schengen rule, the traveler must leave the Schengen area by December 15, 2026, so a holiday trip returning January 3, 2027 does not qualify. For a country that requires six months of validity on arrival, the last qualifying arrival date was September 15, 2026, so every future trip to such a country needs a new passport.

Several destinations also require pre-arrival travel authorizations tied to the passport number, and a renewed passport can mean re-applying for those.

Sex markers after Orr v. Trump

Executive Order 14168, signed January 20, 2025, led the State Department to stop issuing passports with an X marker. According to the department's sex marker page (as of May 2026), it now issues only M or F matching sex at birth and does not honor requests for a different marker. Applications asking for an X or a different marker may be delayed, and the passport is issued with the sex-at-birth marker based on supporting documents and past passport records.

A federal district court in Massachusetts blocked the policy for members of certified classes of applicants in June 2025. On November 6, 2025, the Supreme Court stayed that injunction by a 6–3 vote. On June 5, 2026, at the request of both sides, the First Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot and vacated the injunction, after the plaintiffs dropped their request for preliminary relief. No court order now blocks the policy, but the lawsuit itself is not decided: the plaintiffs' lawyers at the ACLU say it is back in the district court, with the evidence-gathering phase expected to run at least until spring 2027.

A passport already issued with an X, or with a marker other than sex at birth, stays valid until it expires or is replaced, and the department says there are no US restrictions on using it, though a destination may have its own. Renewing will produce a new passport with the sex-at-birth marker. This section is general information, not legal advice; people facing a specific problem may want to consult an immigration or civil rights attorney.

Getting back into the US

Mobile Passport Control is a free CBP app for US citizens, lawful permanent residents and some visitors. You submit a selfie and declaration up to 4 hours before landing, then show your passport to an officer in the MPC lane. As of the page's September 30, 2026 update, it works at 63 sites, including 37 US airports, 15 preclearance locations and, since April 20, 2026, four pedestrian land crossings in Washington state.

Global Entry costs $120 for five years and includes TSA PreCheck. A CBP rule effective October 1, 2024 raised the fee from $100 and made children under 18 free when they apply with a parent or legal guardian or when that parent or guardian is already a member; otherwise a minor pays $120.

Facial comparison now runs at many entry points and departure gates. A DHS final rule effective December 26, 2025 lets the government require photos from all noncitizens entering and leaving, and green card holders are noncitizens for this purpose. For US citizens participation is voluntary: you can tell the airline agent or CBP officer that you are opting out and ask for an alternative document check. The rule states that CBP discards US citizens' photos within 12 hours of verifying identity and citizenship.

Frequently asked questions

Can I fly to Mexico or the Caribbean with a passport card?

No. The State Department describes the passport card as valid only for returning to the US by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Any international flight requires the passport book.

Do I need to reapply for Global Entry after renewing my passport?

No. CBP's Global Entry FAQ says members update passport details in their Trusted Traveler Programs account under "Update Documents." If the new passport reflects a name change, the update has to be done at a Global Entry enrollment center.

Can a child's passport be renewed by mail?

No. The State Department's page for children under 16 says each new passport requires an in-person DS-11 application, with both parents or guardians giving approval and present, or extra documents if one cannot attend. Passports for children under 16 are valid for 5 years.

What counts as a damaged passport?

The State Department allows mail renewal only if the passport is not damaged beyond normal wear and tear, and online renewal only if it is not damaged or mutilated. Its mail renewal page (as of May 2026) counts a bend from carrying it in a pocket and fanned visa pages as normal wear, and water stains, a significant tear or unofficial markings on the data page as damage. A passport that fails that test has to be replaced through an in-person DS-11 application, so it cannot be fixed quickly from home.

Can I fly domestically without a REAL ID?

Yes, with a passport. TSA's REAL ID page says a passport may be used instead of a REAL ID, which has been enforced since May 7, 2025. Travelers with no accepted ID can pay the $45 TSA ConfirmID fee, which covers 10 days of travel, and should expect extra screening; TSA says there is no guarantee it can verify their identity.

A checklist before you book

Find your passport's expiration date and compare it with each destination's validity rule, counting from arrival or departure as that country requires.
If renewal is needed, work backward from departure: up to 10 weeks for routine mail service, up to 7 for expedited, up to 8 for online routine service. With travel inside 14 days, ask for a passport agency appointment.
Check every online-renewal condition before you submit, remembering that your current passport is canceled on submission.
For a child under 16, book a DS-11 appointment and confirm that both parents or guardians can attend or have the required documents.
After the new passport arrives, update the number in your Global Entry account, airline profiles and any travel authorizations.
Download Mobile Passport Control before the return flight if you do not have Global Entry.