How to get an emergency passport?

Book an appointment at one of the 26 U.S. passport agencies through travel.state.gov, prove travel within 14 days (or 28 days if you also need a visa), bring your DS-11 or DS-82 form plus all supporting documents, pay $190 ($130 + $60 expedite) plus the agency execution fee, and walk out with the passport same-day or next-day. Slots open every weekday at 10am ET and disappear in seconds, so set an alarm.

What is an emergency passport?

There are two things people call 'emergency passports': a U.S. passport agency appointment that produces a regular 10-year passport in 24-72 hours, or a limited-validity emergency passport issued by a U.S. embassy/consulate when you're stranded abroad. The domestic version is what you want for last-minute travel from the U.S.

How much is an emergency passport?

$190 minimum for a book ($130 application + $60 expedite), or $220 for new passports that also have a $30 execution fee. Add $19 for 1-2 day return shipping if you can't pick up in person. Same prices regardless of how urgent. There is no separate 'emergency' fee.

Can I get an emergency passport same day?

Yes. The passport agency hands you the passport in person at the end of your appointment for most cases, or sometimes asks you to come back the next day. The catch: you have to physically travel to one of 26 agencies (often hours from home) and you need an appointment, which is the actual hard part.

How fast can you get an emergency passport?

Same-day if you have the appointment and your travel is within 72 hours. Next business day if travel is 4-14 days out. The agency books appointments based on imminence of travel, so bring proof (booked flights, paid hotel reservation) so they can prioritize correctly.

What if I can't get a passport agency appointment?

Three options: (1) call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 every morning at 8am ET, since they sometimes hold back appointments not visible online; (2) drive to a different agency further away (less competition); (3) keep checking the online system through the day, because appointments are released and cancelled all the time. Every applicant books through the same State Department system.

Can I get an emergency passport without an appointment?

Walk-ins are no longer accepted at any of the 26 passport agencies. Without a confirmed appointment, you cannot get past security. The only exception is for life-or-death emergencies, which the National Passport Information Center routes through after-hours staff at 1-877-487-2778.

What documents do I need for an emergency passport appointment?

Form DS-11 (new) or DS-82 (renewal), evidence of U.S. citizenship (certified birth certificate or naturalization certificate), photo ID, a 2x2 passport photo, payment, and PROOF OF TRAVEL within 14 days (booked flight + paid lodging works best). Print everything, because they don't accept screenshots on phones.

How to get a passport in 48 hours (emergency travel)

Step-by-step process for urgent passport requests: passport agency appointments, required documents, and what to do if you can't get an appointment.

TL;DR

Real “emergency passport” in the United States = an appointment at one of 26 U.S. passport agencies, where the State Department prints your passport while you wait (or by the next business day). Cost is the same $190 you’d pay for normal expedited service. The hard part isn’t the application. It’s getting an appointment.

You qualify if you have international travel within 14 days (28 if you also need a visa). Bring proof, bring everything printed, and arrive early.

Two definitions of “emergency passport”

People mean different things by this:

Term	What it actually is	Who issues
Same-day passport agency appointment (what most people mean)	A regular 10-year passport book/card, processed in person while you wait	One of 26 U.S. passport agencies
Emergency passport in the strict sense	A limited-validity (often 1 year) passport issued to U.S. citizens stranded abroad without docs	U.S. embassies/consulates overseas

This guide is about the first: getting a regular full-validity passport fast in the U.S. If you’re stranded abroad, contact the nearest U.S. embassy directly.

Are you eligible?

You can get a passport agency appointment if you have proven international travel in one of these windows:

Within 14 days: book a “Life-or-Death Emergency” or “Urgent Travel Service” appointment
Within 28 days AND you also need to apply for a foreign visa first

Acceptable proof includes:

Flight itinerary with paid ticket (not a hold, not a quote)
Hotel/Airbnb confirmation with name and dates
Cruise booking confirmation
Death/illness documentation for life-or-death cases (hospital letter on letterhead, funeral home contact)
Visa application appointment for the 28-day window

If your travel is more than 14 days out, you don’t qualify for an agency appointment. The State Department’s expedited processing by mail is the option open to you.

What you’ll need

Print everything. The agencies do not accept phone screenshots, even in 2026.

Form DS-11 (new passport / first-time / lost-stolen) OR Form DS-82 (renewal). Don’t sign DS-11 in advance; sign in front of the agent.
Evidence of U.S. citizenship: certified birth certificate WITH RAISED SEAL (not a photocopy), Consular Report of Birth Abroad, naturalization/citizenship certificate, OR a previous undamaged passport (DS-82 only).
Photo ID: state driver’s license, military ID, or government employee ID. Out-of-state IDs require a secondary ID (utility bill, voter registration).
One passport photo: 2×2, white background, taken in last 6 months. Many agencies have on-site photo booths for $15.
Payment: card, check, or money order. No cash at most agencies.
Proof of travel, printed.

Step-by-step

1. Find the closest passport agency

The State Department operates 26 passport agencies + 2 satellite offices, listed at travel.state.gov. They are NOT the same as acceptance facilities (post offices, libraries, courthouses).

Major agencies: Atlanta, Aurora (CO), Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Portsmouth (NH), San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle, St. Albans (VT), Tucson, Washington DC.

Drive distance matters. A 4-hour drive to Buffalo with an open slot beats waiting 3 days for a Boston slot.

2. Book the appointment

Two channels:

Online: travel.state.gov → Get Fast → Make an appointment. Slots release every weekday morning around 10am ET for 1–14 days out.
Phone: 1-877-487-2778. Open 24/7. Wait times can be 30–90 minutes. Call right at 8am ET, when they release a separate phone-only batch.

If everything is sold out, try again in 30 minutes. Cancellations open up constantly. Set a browser tab to auto-refresh on the booking page.

3. Print and pack

Folder organized like this:

Travel proof on top (the agent looks at this first)
Photo ID
Citizenship evidence + photocopy
Completed form (DS-11 unsigned, DS-82 signed in black ink)
Passport photo in a paper sleeve so it doesn’t bend
Check or card

4. Get to the agency early

Arrive 30 minutes before your slot. Security screening is airport-style. Phones are usually allowed but no recording. Plan for 90 minutes inside.

The agent reviews your file, takes your fee, and either:

Hands you the passport at the end of the appointment (most likely if travel is within 72 hours), OR
Tells you to come back tomorrow to pick up, OR
Mails it overnight if you can’t return (extra $19).

5. Pick up or receive

Same-day pickup is at the agency’s pickup window. Bring photo ID and your appointment confirmation. Mailed passports arrive in 1–2 business days via the carrier you selected.

Costs

Service	Form fee	Execution fee	Expedite	Overnight delivery	Total
New passport (DS-11) book	$130	$35	$60	$19	$244
Renewal (DS-82) book	$130	$0	$60	$19	$209
Passport card add-on	$30	$0	$60 if alone	–	$30–90

Same prices whether you walk in for “regular” expedite or for emergency. There is no separate emergency fee. The cost is the appointment itself.

What to do if you can’t get an appointment

This is the real bottleneck. Three escalation paths:

Refresh aggressively at 10am ET each weekday. Slots evaporate in seconds.
Call NPIC at 8am ET sharp. They hold a phone-only batch.
Check other agencies. A passport agency a few hours’ drive away may have openings when your nearest one doesn’t. Every applicant books through the same State Department system, and no private company has a faster line to it.

If you genuinely cannot get to an agency before your travel:

Reschedule the trip if possible.
For business-critical travel, escalate via a Congressional office. Your House rep’s district office can call the agency directly. This works surprisingly well.

Common pitfalls

Booking a slot you can’t physically reach. Atlanta opens up but you live in Maine. You must show up in person, no proxies.
Bringing a digital travel proof. Print it. They don’t accept phone screens.
Photocopy of a birth certificate. Must be the original or a certified copy with raised seal from the issuing county/state.
Signing the DS-11 in advance. New-passport applicants sign in front of the agent, not at home.
Cash. Most agencies stopped accepting it years ago. Bring a card or check.
Not budgeting for security delays. Treat it like an airport: arrive early, no large bags, no recording.
Assuming you can bring a friend. Children are fine; adults without an appointment are turned away at security.

What our tiers cover

Our service is application preparation, plus hand delivery to the State Department by our courier agents on the Priority Courier and Urgent Travel tiers. Processing times are set by the State Department, not by us. They are the same whether you use a preparation service or apply on your own.

Smart Choice: $89 + government fees

Pre-filled DS-11 or DS-82, photo validation, mailing instructions
For routine processing by mail (State Department estimate: 4–6 weeks)
Not suited to travel within 14 days

Expedited (State Dept.): $129 + government fees

Same as Smart Choice, prepared for the State Department’s expedited processing. Its $60 expedite fee is included in your government-fee total
For travel more than a few weeks out (State Department estimate: 2–3 weeks)

Priority Courier: $350 + government fees

Hand-carried to the State Department by our courier agents: no mail time, and your application stays with our agents until it reaches the Department
Dedicated agent and status monitoring from start to finish
The State Department sets the processing time

Urgent Travel: $500 + government fees

The same hand-carry service, for urgent travel: your application prepared within 48 hours, then hand-carried to the State Department by our courier agents
Every document, photo, and printout checked before it goes
The State Department decides when your passport is ready

Refund policy in plain English

24-hour no-questions-asked refund of our service fee. Email or call within 24 hours of payment for 100% back.
After 24 hours, our preparation work has usually started, so the egovrush fee becomes non-refundable.
Government fees ($130 / $190 / $220) go directly to the State Department and are never refundable through us.

Full details on the refund policy page.

If you have any flexibility on travel, the cheapest fast path is still mail-in expedited (DS-82) at 2–3 weeks. Agency appointments are reserved for genuine emergencies, and the $500 Emergency tier exists because securing one yourself in 14 days is the single hardest part of U.S. passport processing.