Once the system goes live, citizens do not need to physically visit an authorized passport facility to get their passport.
By Catholics for Catholics
If you are planning to apply for a passport next year, you are in luck, according to the U.S. Secretary of State.
Starting next year, U.S. citizens will be able to apply online for their first passport, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“By the end of 2027, our goal is for the vast majority of Americans to be able to apply for a passport or a passport card on America.gov,” Rubio said during a Sept. 29 remark at an event launching the America.gov platform.
According to a story by the Epoch Times, this style of application makes the process “more accessible and easier for Americans,” he said.
“So, whether you live in the middle of a major city or you live in a rural town, you’ll be able to apply from anywhere,” Rubio said.
Gone will be the old school way, when U.S. citizens had to apply in person only at authorized places, Rubio said. People had to fill out forms with personal information and forms of identification and a plethora of other details.
A big benefit of the online application system is that applicants can find existing personal details after signing in to the platform through their login.gov account and do not have to “type the same thing over and over and over again” during the application process.
🚨 JUST IN: Sec. Marco Rubio announces Americans will be able to apply for passports ENTIRELY ONLINE instead of spending HOURS and frustration doing it in-person
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 29, 2026
"No printing forms, no drug store hostage photo, no appointment, no line, no middleman…and REAL-TIME STATUS,… pic.twitter.com/4DIyrHMOIR
The new system also makes the photo submission process easier.
Presently, folks must submit one passport photo. It must meet certain criteria, such as being in color, being taken in the past six months, and using a plain white or off-white background free of objects or shadows.
But in the online application process, people would take a photo of themselves through their phones and upload it.
“No printing forms, no drugstore hostage photo, no appointment, no line, no middleman that you’re paying to do something that should be available to you,” Rubio said.
“You tell America.gov what you’re trying to do, and it walks you through every single step and tells you exactly what comes next.”
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