Check your passport application status
Track your application online or by phone — and understand what each status actually means.
How to check your passport status
The State Department provides two ways to check where your application stands. Both pull from the same system, so the result will be the same — pick whichever is more convenient.
Online — passportstatus.state.gov
The online status tool requires accepting a privacy notice before you can enter your information. You'll need three pieces of identifying data:
- Last name — include suffixes (Jr., III, etc.); if your name has a hyphen or apostrophe, try multiple formats: O'Brien, OBrien, and O Brien all return different results
- Date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY format
- Last 4 digits of your Social Security number
If you listed your email on the application, the State Department also sends status updates by email automatically. You can update or change that email address at any time.
By phone — 1-877-487-2778
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) takes calls at 1-877-487-2778. Automated status lookups are available 24 hours a day. Live representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, and Saturday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern. For TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793.
What passport application statuses mean
The State Department uses six standard status labels. Four are routine progress markers. Two signal that your application needs attention.
In Process
Your application has arrived at a passport agency or processing center and a specialist is reviewing it. How long it stays here depends on your service level — routine applications take 4 to 6 weeks; expedited takes 2 to 3 weeks. No action is needed from you at this stage.
Approved
Review is complete. Your passport is queued for printing.
One thing that surprises applicants: the status can revert from Approved back to In Process. That happens when the printing team catches a problem during their final check — a data mismatch or a photo issue — and needs to correct it before printing a new passport. If you see this, no action is needed. The center is handling it.
Passport Mailed
Your passport is on its way to the address you provided. Passport books ship via a trackable delivery service — Passport Mailed is the only status update that includes tracking information. Passport cards ship via First Class Mail, with no tracking number.
If you recently received a passport in the past 180 days and reapplied for a correction (for example, using Form DS-5504), the status may show Mailed before it eventually updates to In Process. Allow up to two weeks from your DS-5504 application date before your new status appears.
Supporting Documents Mailed
The documents you submitted — a previous passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate — have been returned by First Class Mail. These ship separately from your passport and typically arrive up to four weeks after the passport itself. If four weeks have passed since your passport arrived and the documents haven't shown up, call 1-877-487-2778.
Additional Information Needed
The State Department mailed or emailed you asking for something — a cleaner photo, a citizenship document, a name discrepancy explanation. Your application is on hold. Check your mail and inbox immediately. The letter gives you 90 days from its date to respond. Miss that window and you typically need to reapply. Send your response to the full Sterling, VA mailing address on the letter — not to the physical address of the processing center.
Information Received, In Process Again
The State Department received what it asked for and your application is back in the queue. Processing times may run longer than the original estimate — the hold period counts against your calendar, not against the State Department's clock.
When to call about your passport
Calling NPIC won't move your application to a faster queue. Representatives can answer questions and help with specific problems — they can't override processing order. Call at the right time, not before.
- Before 2 weeks have passed: Don't call. Your application is almost certainly still in transit and hasn't been logged yet.
- Routine service: Follow up if there's no status change after 8 weeks from your application date.
- Expedited service: Follow up if there's no status change after 4 weeks from your application date.
- Travel within 5 business days and passport hasn't arrived: Call immediately — 1-877-487-2778. Ask about regional agency appointment availability.
Before you call, have these ready:
- Application locator number — the 9-digit number on your receipt slip or visible when you check status online
- Date of birth
- Last 4 digits of Social Security number
The first two digits of your locator number identify which agency or center is reviewing your application. If your travel situation becomes urgent and you need a regional agency appointment, knowing that location before you call saves time.
Common issues and what to do
No record found
If you applied less than 2 weeks ago, wait. The system hasn't received your application yet and a blank result at this stage is normal.
If more than 2 weeks have passed and your application fee check hasn't been cashed, your application likely hasn't cleared the intake facility. Check the USPS tracking number on your receipt. If tracking shows it as delivered but your payment wasn't processed, contact USPS to locate the package. If you applied at an acceptance facility (a post office or library), contact the facility directly.
If payment was processed but no status appears after 2 weeks, there may be a data entry error. Call 1-877-487-2778 to resolve it.
Name format mismatches are a separate cause. Enter your name exactly as it appears on your application. Hyphens and apostrophes behave inconsistently — try your name with the symbol, without it, and as one word before assuming there's a problem.
Additional Information Needed — letter arriving by mail
Respond as soon as the letter or email arrives. Common triggers: a photo that doesn't meet State Department size or background standards, a name discrepancy between your birth certificate and government-issued ID, or a citizenship document they need to see in original form. Send your response to the full Sterling, VA address printed on the letter — the processing center's physical address is not the correct destination.
Status shows Mailed but passport hasn't arrived
Wait until 2 weeks after the mailing date. After that, call 1-877-487-2778 (or 1-888-874-7793 for TDD/TTY). The State Department will walk you through completing Form DS-86 — a signed statement confirming you didn't receive your passport. You have 120 days from the passport issue date to file the DS-86. After that window, you must reapply and pay all fees again, by law.