DS-82 Form Explained: Which Passport Form You Actually Need
The DS-82 form only covers eligible mail renewals. First-time, corrections and consent exceptions each need a different passport form. Here's which one.
The short answer
The DS-82 form is only for renewing a passport by mail, and only if your previous one was issued at age 16 or older, less than 15 years ago, and is undamaged. First-time applicants, anyone under 16, and a lost, stolen or damaged passport all require Form DS-11 in person instead. A data error or a name change reported within a year of issue uses Form DS-5504, usually at no cost. Form DS-5525 is unrelated to renewals: it applies only when a second parent’s consent for a child’s passport cannot be obtained.
Most passport form confusion starts the same way. A search for “passport renewal form” turns up four different form numbers, and the instructions for each one say to use a different form if you do not qualify. The government’s own eligibility checklists are clear once you have them side by side, they are just scattered across four separate documents.
This walks through what each form is actually for, in the order most applicants hit them, then ties them together in one comparison table.
What you need before you pick a form
- Your most recently issued U.S. passport book and/or card, if you have one
- The date it was issued (check the issue date, not the expiration date)
- A certified name-change document, if applicable: a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order
- One color photo, 2×2 inches, taken in the last six months
- Your Social Security number
Do you actually need DS-11, or something shorter?
Form DS-11 is the standard passport application. It is the only form that requires an in-person appointment at an acceptance facility, a passport agency, or a U.S. embassy or consulate.
The State Department’s own instructions list three situations where it is the only option: a first passport, an applicant under age 16, or a replacement. Replacement covers a passport issued under 16, issued more than 15 years ago, or lost, stolen or damaged.
If none of those apply, the same instructions point toward DS-82 or DS-5504 instead, both of which go in the mail rather than to an appointment desk.
When DS-82 covers you
The DS-82 form exists for one purpose: renewing a current or recently expired passport by mail, with no execution fee and no appointment. The State Department’s eligibility section is a list of five statements, and every one has to be true:
| Condition | Must be true to use DS-82 |
|---|---|
| Document in hand | You can submit your most recent U.S. passport book and/or card with the application |
| Age at issue | You were at least 16 when that passport was issued |
| Time since issue | It was issued less than 15 years ago |
| Condition | It has not been mutilated, damaged, or reported lost or stolen |
| Validity period | It was not limited to under 10 years for damage, repeated loss, or non-compliance |
| Name | Your name has not changed, or it changed by marriage or court order with certified proof |
A single “no” on that list rules DS-82 out. The form’s own instructions are direct about it: answer no to any statement, and the applicant needs DS-11 or DS-5504 instead, depending on which condition failed.
Note: a passport reported lost or stolen cannot be renewed by mail even if every other condition is met, because the State Department cannot verify a document it does not have. That case always routes back to DS-11.
When DS-5504 is the free option
Form DS-5504 covers three narrower cases, and unlike DS-82 it is free unless you add expedited service or 1-2 day delivery:
- Name change within a year. Your name changed by marriage or court order less than a year after the passport was issued, and the passport itself is under a year old.
- A printing or data error. The passport shows an incorrect name, sex marker, place of birth, or a printing defect such as missing text on the biographic page.
- A limited-validity passport, in specific cases. One issued for under two years due to insufficient proof of citizenship or identity, or under the prior gender-transition policy, can be replaced on DS-5504 within its own eligibility window.
A correction reported within a year of issue gets a full 10-year validity (5 years for a minor) from the new issue date. Reported after a year, the replacement is only valid through the original expiration date.
Outside these three cases, DS-5504 is not an option. An older name change goes on DS-82, and a lost or damaged passport goes on DS-11.
What is the passport biographic page, and why it shows up on this form
The passport biographic page is the printed data page inside the front cover. It carries the name, date of birth, passport number, issue and expiration dates, and photo, plus a machine-readable line at the bottom that immigration systems scan.
It is the page DS-5504’s correction category is built around: a missing digit, a discoloration, or crooked printing there is exactly what qualifies as a “printing error” on that form.
It also matters for DS-82 and DS-11. Several supporting-document steps on both forms specifically ask for a photocopy of the biographic page of a previous passport, not the whole document.
When you need Form DS-5525
Form DS-5525 has nothing to do with renewals, corrections, or adult applicants. A passport application for a child under 16 normally needs both parents’ or guardians’ signatures, or a notarized consent statement (Form DS-3053) from the parent who is not present.
DS-5525 exists for the narrower case where that notarized consent cannot be obtained at all, and the applying parent has to explain why in writing.
The State Department’s instructions describe two qualifying situations. An exigent circumstance is a time-sensitive emergency where the child’s health, welfare or safety is at risk without the passport. A special family circumstance is one that makes getting the other parent’s consent exceptionally difficult.
A current court order granting full legal custody, or explicit permission to obtain a passport, replaces the need for this form entirely.
Note: filing DS-5525 does not guarantee the child’s passport will be issued. It opens a review, not an approval.
Can a name change go on DS-5504 instead of DS-82?
Only inside a narrow window. If the name changed by marriage or court order less than a year after the passport’s issue date, and the passport is still under a year old, DS-5504 applies and there is no fee.
Outside that one-year mark, the same name change is handled on DS-82 instead, with certified proof of the change and the standard renewal fee, as long as the other DS-82 conditions still hold. If DS-82 eligibility fails too, for example the passport is now over 15 years old, the applicant is back to DS-11.
Passport forms compared
| Form | Submission | Typical fee | Who it is for | Time to process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS-11 | In person only | $165 first-time adult book, $135 child | First-time applicants, under 16, lost/stolen/damaged, or ineligible for the others | 4-6 weeks routine, 2-3 weeks expedited |
| DS-82 | Mail only | $130 book, $30 card | Eligible renewals: 16+ at issue, under 15 years old, undamaged | 4-6 weeks routine, 2-3 weeks expedited |
| DS-5504 | Mail only | Free, unless expedited or 1-2 day delivery is added | Name change or data/print error within a year of issue; some limited-validity replacements | Standard mail processing |
| DS-5525 | Mail, with the child’s DS-11 application | No fee for the form itself | A parent who cannot obtain the other parent’s notarized consent for a child’s passport | Reviewed alongside the child’s application |
Fees and processing times are the State Department’s published figures, checked against the fee schedule in August 2026. They change without much notice, so treat this table as current rather than fixed.
Using the wrong form costs time, not just paperwork
Mailing a DS-82 renewal that fails one of the six eligibility conditions does not get quietly upgraded to a new application. The most common outcome is the whole package coming back by mail with a note to reapply on DS-11. That restarts the clock and adds the in-person appointment the applicant was trying to skip.
The same applies in reverse. Showing up in person with a DS-11 when DS-5504 would have processed the correction for free still gets a passport, just with a $130-plus application fee that was not necessary.
Your form was rejected or sent back
- Read the return notice first. It states which eligibility condition failed and which form to use instead, rather than guessing from the form’s own instructions again.
- Check the issue date on your old passport, not the expiration date. Most DS-82 rejections trace back to the 15-year or under-16 conditions.
- Confirm the name-change document is certified. An uncertified copy of a marriage certificate or court order is the most common reason a DS-82 or DS-5504 name change is bounced back.
- Call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 if the rejection reason is unclear, weekdays 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, weekends 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern.
- Reapply on the correct form immediately rather than resubmitting the same one. A second rejection on an ineligible form adds weeks with nothing to show for it.
Frequently asked questions
In short
The DS-82 form only works for a passport that is still within its mail-renewal window: at least 16 years old at issue, under 15 years since issue, and undamaged. Anything outside that window, a first application, a minor, a lost or damaged passport, moves to DS-11.
A correction or a name change inside the first year is usually free on DS-5504. DS-5525 solves one specific problem: a child’s passport that needs a second parent’s consent nobody can obtain.
Rules and fees change without much notice. This was checked against the State Department’s published form instructions in August 2026; if something here no longer matches what you were told, tell us and we will correct it.
Once the form is settled, how much a passport actually costs covers the fee side in full, and expedited passport turnaround covers what to do if the timeline is tight. Applying for a child specifically is covered in how to get a baby a passport, and passport office near me covers where the in-person DS-11 appointment actually happens.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State: Form DS-11 Instructions
- U.S. Department of State: Form DS-82 Instructions
- U.S. Department of State: Form DS-5504 Instructions
- U.S. Department of State: Form DS-5525 Instructions
- U.S. Department of State: Change or Correct a Passport
- U.S. Department of State: Contact US Passports
