Rich Mandleur: Hi, I am Rich Mandleur and today we're going to discuss how to apply for a passport. Next we'll be reviewing how to renew your passport, if yours is expired. There are two things to consider when determining how you want to apply for your passport.

The first is whether or not, you want to have your passport expedited. Expediting involves paying the additional fee on top of the base passport fee to have your passport issued in a time frame that you need. If you do not wish to have your passport expedited, you may choose to mail your application to the National Passport Processing Centre which may take between 6-8 weeks to have issued depending on the demand of the time. In order to renew your passport your current passport must not be more than 15 years old since the date of its issuance and be in your possession. If both of these criteria are not met, you must apply for a new passport.

To renew your passport through the mail you need to submit the following documents in addition to the passport application. You'll need to submit your current passport, two current passport photographs and a check to passport services in the amount of $75. If you wish to have your passport renewal expedited, you'll need to submit in addition to the passport application, your passport, two current passport photographs, a letter of authorization, your travel itinerary and a check made payable to passport services for $135.

If you chose to have your passport expedited and chose to use a passport expediter, the passport once it is renewed will be retuned to you by the passport expediter. You can either have it picked up or you can chose to have it sent to you via overnight traceable courier.

If you chose not to have your passport expedited, the passport will be mailed to you when it is completed by the Department of State. That completes the step by step process to renew your passport.