MANCHESTER, TN – Are you planning international travel in 2020?  The Manchester Post Office, located at 1601 Hillsboro Blvd., is hosting a Passport Fair this Saturday to assist those making international trips. Fair hours are 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Fairs serve customers on a first come, first served basis.  No appointments are needed. (There is a limited capacity for acceptance.)

You may need to allow for extra time if you are looking to apply for or renew a passport. According to the State Department, the average time for passport applications and renewals is currently six to eight weeks.
However, for an additional fee, the State Department will expedite the application and process it within three weeks.

NOTE: For appointments during regular passport processing hours, the U.S. Postal Service has made scheduling easier with the launch of the USPS Retail Customer Appointment Scheduler™ tool (RCAS) at http://www.usps.com/scheduler.  The RCAS™ tool provides customers with an easy, convenient way to schedule appointments to apply for a passport.

Customers who would like to know when their passport arrives for delivery now have an innovative option. Informed Delivery allows registered residential customers to view digital images of their incoming mail before it’s delivered to the mailbox. Information and registration is available at www.informeddelivery.usps.com. 

The Postal Service suggests travelers check the expiration date on their U.S. passport. Many countries require a passport have as much as six months’ validity remaining for entry.

Customers have the option of applying for a passport book (good for all international travel) or the passport card (good only for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda).

Passport fees

The fees listed above must be paid with a personal check or money order. There is a $35 processing/acceptance fee and a $15 fee for photos, which can be paid for by cash, personal check, debit and credit cards or money order.  The Passport Fair offices offer passport photo services.

Travelers are encouraged to apply for a passport several months before they are scheduled to travel overseas. The average time for passport applications and renewals is six weeks. However, for an additional fee, the State Department will expedite the application and process it within three weeks.

To apply for a passport, travelers need to complete Passport Application Form DS-11 (unsigned) and provide one of the following: a U.S. birth certificate from the Department of Vital Statistics (not a certificate of birth) or naturalization papers. Applicants must also show either a valid driver’s license, a previous or current U.S. passport book or card, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship, military I.D. or a federal, state or municipal government employee I.D. card. Applicants 15 & under must be present with both parents unless consent is given; ages 16 & 17 require only one parent be present.

For more information about passport application requirements and to download forms, visit the State Department’s travel website at www.travel.state.gov.

The Tennessee District serves ZIP Codes 370-374, 376-385 in Tennessee and 307 in northern Georgia.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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