Chaim V'Chessed

U.S. Passport Renewal

Published on December 4, 2022 Print this guide

Children Under Age 16

Make an appointment online in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. At the moment, the embassy opens up large blocs of appointments every Wednesday afternoon between 3 pm – 4 pm. Check the online calendar throughout the hour, refreshing the page every so often.

The child and both parents must be present unless one parent sends a signed and notarized Statement of Consent. At the appointment, submit:

  1. Child’s most recent U.S. passport, plus copy
  2. Original birth certificate
  3. Proof of identity of the parents, such as a passport, valid driver’s license, or teudat zehut, plus copy
  4. Form DS-11, completed but unsigned, including child’s Social Security number
  5. Two U.S. size passport photographs
  6. If you have changed your child’s name or one of the parent’s names no longer matches the name as it appears on the evidence of relationship, you must provide documentation of the name change.
  7. Fee of $135, paid via U.S. credit card or in cash, exact change only in dollars or shekels (according to the day’s exchange rate)

Children’s passports are valid for 5 years.

Your First Passport Over Age 16

If you received your old passport when you were under 16 and are now 16 years or older, make an appointment online in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. At the moment, the embassy opens up large blocs of appointments every Wednesday afternoon between 3 pm – 4 pm. Check the online calendar throughout the hour, refreshing the page every so often.

Who Should Come?

16 and 17-year-olds: child and one parent, with proof of ID (preferably a passport)
18+: Applicant himself. Parents need not be present.

You will need to bring:

  1. Your most recent passport
  2. Form DS-11, completed but unsigned
  3. Two passport photos
  4. Fee of $165, paid via U.S. credit card or in cash, exact change only in dollars or shekels (according to the day’s exchange rate)

An adult passport is valid for 10 years.

Adult Passport Renewal

If your old passport was received both when you were over 16 years old and within the last 15 years, you may renew your passport by mail or via the drop box (in the Jerusalem Embassy).

You will need:

  1. Completed form DS-82
  2. Old passport
  3. Two current U.S. passport photos
  4. If there was a name change since the last passport was issued, include either your marriage certificate or three proofs of your new name (e.g. school records, property deeds, driver’s license, teudat zehut, medical card, insurance records).
  5. Fee of $130 – as of March 6, 2022, the US embassy will only accept online fee payments for adult U.S. passport book renewal applications – bank checks will no longer be required or accepted after that date.  Payments can be made online via pay.gov.  Print and send the payment confirmation page along with your renewal application. Keep a copy for your records

To mail in your renewal application:

Mail all of the above requirements to the Embassy or Branch Office using Israeli post. Doar Yisroel has a special service for items sent to the U.S. Embassy. Just enter any local post office, present the clerk your prepared envelope and request that it be sent to the U.S Embassy (specify Jerusalem or Tel Aviv), via overnight registered mail (doar shlichim). You will pay a fee and be given a tracking number.

When sending multiple passports for renewal, mail each in a separate envelope so that each one may be tracked individually.

Be sure to include a note in your envelope containing your name and mailing address, written clearly, and your contact information. This will be used to return the new passport to you via courier service.

When using the drop box option,  it is highly recommended to complete a return delivery envelope, found on the shelf on top of the box.  This will provide you with a tracking number.   The drop box is located at the entrance to the Jerusalem Embassy and is accessible during opening hours only (Mon-Thurs 9 am – 3 pm, Friday 9 am – 12 pm). 

Once the office has completed processing, the new passport will be mailed back to you using a courier service of the Israeli post. The Israeli post will contact you by SMS for payment of the delivery fee (see Delivery or Pickup below for further details). After you have paid, they will deliver your documents within four business days.

Please note: at any stage of the process, you can track your passport application status online using this link.

Mailing Addresses
  • American Citizen Services, U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, P.O. Box 290, Jerusalem 9100201
  • American Citizen Services – Passports, U.S. Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv, 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 6343229

Adding Visa Pages

Effective January 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of State does not add visa pages to passports. Applicants in need of additional pages in their valid passports must apply for a passport renewal. Frequent travelers can request 52-page passports instead of the regular 24 pages at no additional cost.

Delivery or Pickup

An American passport usually takes about 8-10 weeks to be processed and delivered, but it can be longer or shorter depending on the season.

For delivery of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad and/or passport, you may submit a self-addressed stamped envelope (at least NIS 16.70 per passport). For a more secure alternative, you should use the Israel Post’s courier service. Fill out your details on a Doar Shlichim envelope. When your documents are ready, Doar Shlichim will contact you for your credit card information. They will bill you approximately 50 NIS, then deliver your documents directly to your address or call you for pickup at one of their centers.

You can track your passport application status here. You will need to enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. In the case of someone who does not yet have one (eg a baby), enter 1234 or 0000.

Once it has been mailed from the US you can contact the embassy via their online inquiry form to arrange to pick it up or to receive a tracking number for the Doar/ Israel Post. If you applied for the passport in person, you will already have received a tracking number. 

Once you have a tracking number for Israel Post and the passport has been given over to them by the embassy or consulate, you can track it here.

The Doar will generally contact you via SMS after they receive your passport from the embassy so that you can pay for the delivery and coordinate a time for delivery. If you do not have SMS, you can try calling either 076-8870580 or 171 extension 4 to arrange and pay for delivery.  If you are not able to reach them you can try going down to one of their branch offices (preferably the main branch, which in Jerusalem is in Mercaz Shatner- off of Kanfei Nesharim) to arrange for delivery or pick up.

If you are in a rush or prefer not to rely on the courier service, opt to pick up your documents yourself. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem allows pickups on Thursdays from 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm. The Branch Office in Tel Aviv allows pickups only in emergency situations.

Please note: In order to pick up your passport, you must bring along either the receipt you received at your appointment or a copy of the email you received from the Embassy requesting that you come pick up your passport.