You can renew your existing passport by mail without a personal appearance only if you meet the following requirements. If you are not eligible to apply for your passport by mail, you must appear at the Embassy or one of our Consulates in person and execute a passport application. Follow this link for full details on applying in person.

You can renew your existing passport by mail without a personal appearance only if ...

  You can submit your most recent passport, and

  You were issued your most recent U.S. passport at age 16 or older, and

  Your most recent passport was issued within the past fifteen years, and

Please note that except for residents of the outer islands, our Consulate in Naha does not accept passport applications by mail.


Here's what you'll need to renew your passport by mail...


Please complete one copy of Form DS-82 , available for download (forms are also available for pick-up in our offices and are available on base for military persons).

Note that the online version of the application form includes instructions on the backside written for use in the U.S., which do not apply to your application in Japan. Please follow specific instructions provided below:

The form you print must be clear and sharp, with black print on white paper, 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches or, in Japan, A4 size. Thermal paper, dye-sublimation paper, special inkjet paper, and other shiny papers are not acceptable. Sorry.




The photos must be sized 2" x 2" (or 5 cm x 5 cm) with a white background.

Be careful with the size-- "passport photos" you get at a local photographer's shop are likely too small and are intended for Japanese people to use to obtain a Japanese passport.

Please don't staple the photos to the application form. Just write the applicant's name on the back of the photos with a felt tip pen (ball point can press through and mar the picture) and include them with the application.

Here's what your photo should look like:



The photo must be 2 inches by 2 inches with the face size as specified.Your browser may not display the graphic above as the right size.

One of the most common problems with passport applications we receive is that the photos are the wrong size.The photo in your current US passport may be a different size from what is needed for a new passport, as standards have changed from time-to-time.

The best way to make sure your photos are the right size is to download and print out a passport application (see above).The drawing of a proper photo is right on the application form.



You must submit your old passport with your mail-in application. We will cancel the old passport and return it to you along with the new one.




Please send along a self-addressed pre-purchased "Expack 500" envelope, available at Japanese post offices and most convenience stores for 500 yen. The "Expack 500" provides express return of your documents and includes a barcode so you can track your documents as they make their way through the Japanese postal system.

Persons using an APO address should include a regular legal size or larger self-addressed envelope marked "MPS", except on Okinawa where things will be returned to you by military courier. Please note: persons using an APO address cannot use the "Expack 500".



The fee for a renewal passport is $75 for adults.

All mail-in applications must be paid in dollars by International Postal Money Order (kokusai yubin kawase). This money order (payable in Japanese currency only) is available from the Japanese Post Office. Please address the money order to:

Recipient: US Embassy Tokyo
Address: Unit 9800, Box 114
APO AP 96303-0114
USA

We cannot accept cash through the mail.

Military application fees are payable only by US postal money order in the exact dollar amount made out to:

Recipient: US Embassy Tokyo
Address: Unit 9800, Box 114
APO AP 96303-0114
USA

Military members seeking a "No Fee" passport must submit form DD 1056 in lieu of the fee.

We cannot accept personal checks or credit cards.



Please send us the old passport and all the items listed above, along with your self-addressed Expack 500 envelope. Please mail them to "PASSPORT UNIT" serving your part of Japan.




Processing time is about three to four weeks after we receive your application in good order, as all passport printing now must be done in the U.S. However, because computers break, typhoons happen and mail is sometimes delivered late, please don't make any unchangeable travel plans until you have your new passport in hand.

Please be aware that at times, applications received by mail require the applicant to appear at the Embassy in person. In these cases, an Embassy employee will contact the applicant.

Under Section 51.70 (a) (8) of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a passport, except for direct return to the United States, will not be issued in any case in which the applicant has been certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as notified by a state agency to be in arrears of child support in an amount exceeding $2,500.00. Your passport will be revoked if you fall under this regulation, including when you apply for additional pages, seek a renewal or process a Report of Birth application. Please direct any questions to the appropriate State child support enforcement agency. You may go to the Department of Health and Human Services - State Child Support Enforcement Web Site for a listing of HHS state and local agencies.