Form DS-82 — U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals

What is Form DS-82?

Form DS-82, the U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals, lets you renew a U.S. passport book, a passport card, or both by mail. Unlike the DS-11, there is no appointment and no acceptance agent: you fill in the form, sign it yourself, and mail it with your most recent passport, a new photo and your fees. It is the quickest route for most adults — but only if your current passport meets every eligibility statement on the form.

The form has two application pages. Page 1 covers your name, date of birth, contact details, mailing address, your most recent passport and any name change; you sign and date it at the bottom. Page 2 repeats your name and date of birth and asks for your physical description, occupation, extra phone numbers, a permanent address if you use a P.O. Box, an emergency contact and your travel plans.

FileIt walks you through every item in plain language and prints your answers onto the State Department's own official DS-82 PDF, one letter per box where the form uses boxes. It pre-fills names, dates of birth and email from the People records in your vault, checks that the passport you're renewing qualifies (issued at 16 or older and less than 15 years ago), and saves the finished PDF to that person's vault folder. FileIt never mails or submits the application for you — you print it, sign it in ink and send it yourself.

Who needs to fill out Form DS-82?

• Adults whose most recent U.S. passport book or card was issued when they were 16 or older.
• People whose passport was issued less than 15 years ago, whether it is still valid or recently expired.
• Anyone who can send their most recent passport with the application, undamaged and never reported lost or stolen.
• Travelers whose passport had the normal ten-year validity (not limited because of damage, multiple losses or other reasons).
• People who have changed their name by marriage or court order and can send a certified copy of the document.
• Passport book holders who also want to add a passport card, or card holders who want a book, at renewal.

When to use Form DS-82

• Several months before an international trip if your passport is close to expiring — many countries look at how long your passport is still valid. Check travel.state.gov for current processing times.
• After you marry or legally change your name, if your current passport can still be renewed and you have the certified name change document.
• When your passport pages are running out and you'd like a larger book next time.
• Not when your passport was issued before you turned 16, more than 15 years ago, or was lost, stolen or damaged — the form says to use Form DS-11 then.
• Not when your passport was issued less than a year ago and only needs a name change or correction — Form DS-5504 may apply instead.

What you need before you start

• Your most recent U.S. passport book and/or card — you mail it with the application, along with any other valid passport you hold.
• One color photo, 2x2 inches, taken in the last six months, on a plain white or off-white background, with no eyeglasses and no uniform.
• Your passport book and/or card number and issue date, and the name exactly as it is printed in the passport.
• Your Social Security number, if one has ever been issued to you.
• A certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order if your name has changed since your last passport.
• Your height, hair color and eye color, and your occupation and employer or school.
• The name, address and phone number of an emergency contact who is not traveling with you.
• A check or money order for the fees (the form says not to send cash); current amounts are on travel.state.gov.
• A trackable envelope, which the State Department recommends for mailing.

What’s on Form DS-82

The 2025 edition has 6 pages. FileIt asks for it in 9 parts:

1. Can you renew by mail with the DS-82?Applicant
2. Document(s) you're applying forApplicant
3. Items 1–9: About youApplicant
4. Item 10: Your most recent U.S. passportApplicant
5. Item 11: Name change informationApplicant
6. Items 12–17: Description, occupation and contact numbersApplicant
7. Item 18: Permanent addressApplicant
8. Item 19: Your emergency contactApplicant
9. Item 20: Travel plansApplicant

How to fill out Form DS-82, step by step

1 Section A: Eligibility to use this form

Instruction page 1 lists six statements, and you can use the DS-82 only if every one is true: you can submit your most recent passport; you were at least 16 when it was issued; it was issued less than 15 years ago; it isn't mutilated, damaged, or reported lost or stolen; its validity wasn't limited to less than ten years; and your name hasn't changed, or it changed by marriage or court order and you can document it.

If you answer No to any statement, stop — the form points you to Form DS-11 or DS-5504. FileIt asks you to confirm eligibility first and checks the issue date and your age at issue against the rules.

2 Select document(s) for which you are applying

Tick a passport book, a passport card, or both. The book is valid for international travel by air, land and sea. The card is only for land border crossings and seaports of entry when traveling from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean — not international flights.

If you choose a book, pick the regular (standard) book or the large (non-standard) book, which is for frequent international travelers who need more visa pages.

3 Items 1–9: Name, date of birth, sex, place of birth, SSN, email, phone, mailing address and other names

Enter the name to appear in the passport, one letter per box. It should match your previous passport; if it doesn't, include proof of the name change and complete item 11. A passport card holds only 24 characters of given names, so shorten one if needed. Choose the sex marker M or F that, as the form states, corresponds with your biological sex at birth, and give your place of birth as city and state (or city and country).

Item 5 needs your Social Security number if you have one; if you have never been issued one, enter zeros and attach the signed, dated statement worded as the instructions describe. Giving an email and phone number means you agree to receive messages about your application status. Item 9 lists up to two other legal names, such as a birth or maiden name.

4 Item 10: U.S. passport information

Write your name exactly as it is printed in your most recent passport book and/or card, then the book number and issue date and/or the card number and issue date. The issue dates go in eight boxes as MMDDYYYY.

The passport you list here is the one you enclose with the application. FileIt checks that it was issued less than 15 years ago and that you were at least 16 at the time.

5 Item 11: Name change information

Complete this only if your name is different from the name on your last passport. Tick whether it changed by marriage or by court order, and give the place (city and state) and date of the change. Send a certified copy of the marriage certificate or court order — the form says originals are returned to you. If you can't document the change this way, you must apply in person on Form DS-11.

6 Signature and date (Application Page 1)

Below the declaration, sign your legal signature and write the date in ink. By signing you declare under penalty of perjury that you are a U.S. citizen or non-citizen national, that the statements are true, and that the photo is a current photo of you. The top-right box and the 'For Issuing Office Only' block are for the State Department — leave them blank.

7 Items 12–17: Height, hair and eye color, occupation, employer and extra phone numbers

Application Page 2 starts with your name and date of birth again (FileIt prints them for you). Give your height in feet and inches, your hair and eye color, your occupation and your employer or school if applicable. Item 17 has room for two more phone numbers, each ticked as home, work, cell or another kind you write in.

8 Item 18: Permanent address

Fill this in if your mailing address is a P.O. Box, or if you live somewhere other than your mailing address. Give a street address — the form says not to list a P.O. Box here.

9 Items 19–20: Emergency contact and travel plans

Give the name, address, phone, email and relationship of someone who is not traveling with you. Then add your departure and return dates and the countries you plan to visit. If you have no travel plans, write "none".

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using the DS-82 when you're not eligible — for example, your passport was issued when you were 15, or it is more than 15 years old. Those renewals need Form DS-11 in person.
• Forgetting to sign and date Application Page 1. The form's own checklist puts this second on the list.
• Printing both application pages on one sheet. The form asks you to print them on two separate pages; you don't send the instruction pages.
• Not enclosing your most recent passport — the application can't be processed without it.
• Stapling the photo in the wrong place or bending it. Use four staples vertically in the corners, as close to the outer edges as possible.
• Sending cash, or a photo that is older than six months, has a non-white background or shows eyeglasses.
• Correcting mistakes with white-out. The form says to complete a new form instead — easy to do by printing a fresh copy from FileIt.
• Leaving item 11 empty after a name change, or sending a photocopy instead of a certified copy of the marriage certificate or court order.

After you fill it out

Print Application Pages 1 and 2 on separate sheets, sign and date Page 1 in ink, and staple your new photo to Page 1. Enclose your most recent passport, any certified name change document, and a check or money order for the fees. Mail everything to the National Passport Processing Center address on instruction page 3 — the right address depends on the state you live in and whether you are paying for expedited service (write "Expedite" on the envelope if you are). Applicants living outside the United States and Canada follow their U.S. embassy or consulate's procedures instead.

You can track the application at passportstatus.state.gov. Your new passport and your returned supporting documents may come back in separate mailings, and the new passport will have a different number. If your mailing address changes before it arrives, contact the National Passport Information Center.

FileIt keeps the completed application in the person's vault folder. When the new passport arrives, add it to the vault too, so everyone's passports and their expiry dates are in one place.

Form DS-82: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by U.S. Department of State: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds82_pdf.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html
• Edition shown on this page: DS-82 04-2025 (OMB 1405-0020, expires 06/30/2028) (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by U.S. Department of State or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.

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