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STEP 7: SIGN AND PAY All passport fees must be paid using a credit or debit card. After you click the Sign and Pay button, you’ll be taken to pay.gov to submit your payment. You’ll receive

emails confirming your payment status. Keep your most recent passport; don’t mail it to the State Department or use it for travel as it will be canceled. STEP 8: SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES

One week after applying, you can enroll to receive additional emails about the status of your application through the department’s online passport status system. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO

RENEW A PASSPORT ONLINE? It is $130 to renew a passport book online, the same cost as renewing by mail. The fee to renew a passport card is $30, while it’s $160 to renew a passport book and

card. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PROCESS THE ONLINE RENEWAL? It will take six to eight weeks to receive a passport under the routine application process. The processing time does not include

mailing times. Routine times are the same whether applying by mail or online. WHAT IS A PASSPORT CARD, AND WHERE CAN YOU USE IT? A passport card is a wallet-sized document that can only be

used to reenter the United States at land border crossings and seaports of entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It provides a less expensive ($30 for a renewal), smaller

alternative to the passport book for those who travel frequently to these destinations by land or sea. Passport cards cannot be used for international travel by air. To apply for a passport

card, use the same form as applying for a passport book. You can apply for both simultaneously by mail or online. The processing time for the card is the same as for the book, but cards are

only sent via first-class mail. WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC PASSPORT? An electronic or e-Passport contains an electronic chip with the same information that is printed on the passport’s ID page.

It provides protection against identity theft and makes it difficult to use an altered or forged passport. All U.S. passports issued from 2006 to 2022 were e-Passports, distinguished by the

international e-Passport symbol on the front cover. Since then, new passports have been Next Generation Passports, redesigned to be safer and smarter with enhanced security features,

according to a State Department spokesperson. _Contributing: Veronica Stoddart, AARP; the Associated Press_