Do you need to renew your passport? An online portal is now open

The State Department has opened an online passport renewal portal, allowing a limited number of Americans to submit an application online.

The department is running a trial of the renewal system over the next few months, with a set number of applications accepted each day. The beta program launched on Wednesday.

The online system will open daily at noon and close once the maximum number of applications have been submitted, the State Department said.

The department did not say how many applications it will accept per month. The Hill has reached out to the department for more information.

A State Department spokesperson told CNN that the number of applications the agency accepts increase slowly over time.

Updated program arrives more than two years after President Biden signed it an executive order, allowing the State Department to create an online passport renewal system. The 2021 order was part of the Biden administration’s recovery efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State Department launched a pilot program in 2022 but paused it last year “to ensure we can adjust and improve it before implementing it more broadly,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. said at the time.

To qualify for the online system, applicants must be U.S. citizens and residents aged 25 or older who already have a passport valid for 10 years. Travelers must also not change their name, gender, date or birth and cannot travel internationally for at least 8 weeks from the date the application was filed, among other requirements, according to the State Department.

Travelers wishing to submit a passport application online must also have or create a MyTravelGov account.

The State Department has faced repeated criticism over delays and long wait times since the start of the COIVD-19 pandemic, which created a decrease in passport renewal applications, followed by a subsequent rush for Americans wanting to travel internationally.

It announced in December that processing times were back to pre-pandemic norms.

The State Department website notes that processing time for online applications typically takes the same time as mail-in renewals. Processing should take six to eight weeks for routine requests.

The online process is not offered for quick or urgent travel requests, the State Department said.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story