National Passport Day is Saturday, March 9th

[Jan115]

Need to renew your passport, sign up for a new passport, or get your family their own passports?

National Passport Day is this Saturday, March 9, giving busy travelers and work-life balancers an opportunity to check off this important to-do.

Do note, however, that due to the budget sequestration, Department of State Passport Agencies will not be participating and will be CLOSED on Saturday, March 9. However, many Non-Department of State Passport Acceptance Facilities, such as post offices, clerks of court, and libraries will still participate.

National Passport Day happens twice a year and was set up to make getting or renewing passports a little simpler. On this day, U.S. citizens can forgo the required appointment and simply stop by their local passport agency to sign up or renew their passport.

According to the U.S. Department of State, "Convenient Saturday hours ensure most parents don't have to miss work to apply for their child's U.S. passport. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to an agency or participating acceptance facility where there will be special activities for children."

That's the good news. The bad news is that you're likely be waiting in line with plenty of others. To ensure you get in and out of there with enough time to salvage your Saturday, follow this advice:

1. Go first thing in the morning or around lunchtime, when most families are eating or in the middle of their weekend activities.
2. Make sure you have printed out everything you need before you arrive: identification, proof of U.S. citizenship, expired passport (if necessary), passport photos, and your passport fee.

If you're a first-time passport applicant, visit the State Department website for a checklist of items you'll need to bring.

For more information, or to find the closest acceptance facility to you, go to: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_5535.html

Source: U.S. Dept. of State and Boston.com

[DebbieandJerry]

Thanks for this, Jan. I just passed it along to a friend who's passport needs to be renewed this fall.

[Jan115]

Glad I could help!

[WeCruiseToo]

We always travel with our passports. Even just flying within the US it seems like you get through security a little quicker with a passport.

Many of our friends assume our passports have tons of stamps because we’ve been so many places. We have to explain that you don’t get a stamp at each port on a cruise, so we’ve only got a few stamps in ours.

Any of you frequent travelers ever have to add pages because you’ve filled your passport?

Are there any stamps in your passport that you’re particularly “proud” of?