Passport renewal ?

[FreeTime]

For minor passports is there any benefit or an problem if I don't renew them when they expire? We don't plan on cruising until 2011 and their passports need renewed this March. So if I don't renew I will get an extra year or use out of them.
Thanks

 

[kcashner]

There is a rate increased proposed; I can't find any confirmation on the web site that it has been approved and will go into effect. I plan to make some phone calls on Monday because DD's expires at the end of March.

To answer your question--no, there is no advantage to renewing a passport before you need it, other than that you might avoid a fee increase and you'll have it available if you need it suddenly. I had been planning to allow DD's to expire and renew it in 6 months or a year (before she needs it again.) However...with the fee increase possibility, I might just renew it before the increase. So...another year of use vs. $35 fee increase?????

OH, another advantage to waiting with kids....they'll have less time to hate their photo. DD can't wait to get one with a grown up photo!

 

[Olga]

You may allow them to expire and renew whenever you wish.
A new cycle begins when you renew.
Remember to hold on to the expired passport, include it in your renewal and it will be returned to you under separate cover.

 

[PirateSnowmen]

I had to get a passport when I was 12, and it expired last February when I was 17. Since it was issued before I was 16, we had to go to the post office to apply for a new one. Since we knew I wouldn't need it for a while, we just didn't get it renewed. I thought I was going to be going out of the country this February, so in January I had to go get a new one. It definitely wasn't a problem to go a year with an expired passport.

I did hear the fee for a passport was going to increase, so I would probably go ahead and get a new one before the increase.

 

[tvguy]

For minor passports is there any benefit or an problem if I don't renew them when they expire? We don't plan on cruising until 2011 and their passports need renewed this March. So if I don't renew I will get an extra year or use out of them.
Thanks

My kids used their passports as proof of age when they got their drivers' licenses, and for proof of citizenship when they got summer jobs. Also used them as ID before their had driver's licenses for signing up for school, and Little League and soccer. Frankly, most of the times my kids have used their Passports have been right here at home as opposed to traveling.
So you lose out on that by not renewing, and of course if the fee goes up, it will cost you more, but otherwise, there are no issues waiting.

 

[Maryrn11168]

My kids used their passports as proof of age when they got their drivers' licenses, and for proof of citizenship when they got summer jobs. Also used them as ID before their had driver's licenses for signing up for school, and Little League and soccer. Frankly, most of the times my kids have used their Passports have been right here at home as opposed to traveling.
So you lose out on that by not renewing, and of course if the fee goes up, it will cost you more, but otherwise, there are no issues waiting.

But if you are only using them as proof of age in the US, why can't they be expired? Being expired doesn't change the information listed on the passport.

 

[tvguy]

But if you are only using them as proof of age in the US, why can't they be expired? Being expired doesn't change the information listed on the passport.

. I've just always assumed they had to be current.
Here in California, an expired Driver's License or expired state ID card can not be used as ID even though none of the information Has changed. So I just assume the Passport would be the same.
When my daughter got her Driver's License, I brought her Birth Certificate and her Passport. The DMV clerk grabbed the Passport and told me they prefer those over a Birth Certificate because they are several extra steps they have to go through with a BC to verify it is a legitimate certified copy since BC are far easier to forge or obtain frauduently.