Emergency passport renewal is for qualifying life-or-death travel. You may use this process when an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is dying in hospice care, or has a life-threatening illness or injury, and you need to travel internationally within 14 days.
A passport can sometimes be issued within 72 hours, but the State Department does not guarantee that turnaround. Your appointment date, travel date, emergency documentation, and application all matter.
Do You Qualify for Emergency Passport Renewal?
You may qualify when an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is dying in hospice care, or has a life-threatening illness or injury, and you must travel internationally within 14 days.
- Bring documentation of the emergency and proof of international travel.
- For last-minute travel that is not life-or-death, use the urgent passport renewal process.
- If you are already outside the United States, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
A registered passport courier may be able to review your documents and handle the regional-agency submission logistics while you manage the family emergency and travel arrangements.
Handling the application yourself? See the emergency appointment steps.
You may need the renewal because the passport has expired, does not meet the destination’s three- or six-month validity rule, or lacks the blank pages required for a visa or entry stamp. The passport problem does not determine whether you qualify for emergency service; the life-or-death circumstances and travel date do.
Life-or-Death Eligibility Checklist
| Question | Emergency renewal requirement | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Is your international travel within 14 days? | Yes. The emergency must require international travel within the next 14 days. | Gather printed proof of travel. |
| Is the emergency outside the United States? | Yes. The immediate family member must be outside the United States. | Gather the medical, hospice, mortuary, or death documentation. |
| Does it involve immediate family? | A parent or legal guardian, child, spouse, sibling, or grandparent qualifies. | Confirm the relationship and prepare any supporting records requested. |
| Has the person died, entered hospice, or suffered a life-threatening illness or injury? | One of these circumstances must apply. | Obtain a death certificate, mortuary statement, or signed hospital letter. |
| Is the trip urgent but not life-or-death? | That does not qualify for emergency service. | Use the urgent passport renewal process instead. |
| Are you already outside the United States? | Domestic passport agency procedures do not apply. | Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. |
This page is only for life-or-death emergency renewal.
International travel within 14 days, by itself, is an urgent renewal situation. It becomes an emergency renewal only when it also meets the State Department’s life-or-death criteria.
What Counts as a Life-or-Death Emergency?
The State Department limits this service to international travel caused by the death, hospice care, life-threatening illness, or life-threatening injury of an immediate family member outside the United States.
For this service, immediate family means:
- Parent or legal guardian
- Child
- Spouse
- Sibling
- Grandparent
Aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives do not qualify. Travel for your own medical treatment also does not fit the life-or-death definition, although you may still qualify for ordinary urgent travel service.
What Proof Do You Need?
Prepare evidence of both the emergency and your international travel.
- A death certificate or statement from a mortuary.
- A hospital or medical letter on official letterhead, signed by a doctor, explaining the life-threatening illness or injury.
- A hospice letter when the family member is dying in hospice care.
- A professional English translation when the emergency document is not in English.
- Printed proof of international travel within 14 days.
The documents must clearly identify the emergency, the family member involved, and the need for international travel.
Confirm That You Can Use Form DS-82
You can use Form DS-82 only if your most recent passport is available, was issued within the last 15 years when you were at least 16, and is not significantly damaged.
The passport must also show your current name, or you must include the legal name-change document.
If the passport was lost, stolen, issued more than 15 years ago, issued before age 16, or significantly damaged, use the emergency new-passport process with Form DS-11. The life-or-death emergency affects the appointment category, not which application form you qualify to use.
How to Make a Life-or-Death Emergency Appointment
If you have not already applied, use the State Department’s online passport appointment system. Select the life-or-death emergency path and provide the requested travel details.
If an appointment is not available online, or you already submitted an application, call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
For a life-or-death emergency after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays, or on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, call 202-647-4000.
Passport agencies require appointments.
Do not travel to an agency without a confirmed appointment. Appointments are free, cannot be transferred, and should not be purchased from another person.
What to Bring to the Appointment
Bring a complete application package:
- Appointment confirmation.
- Printed proof of international travel.
- Documentation of the life-or-death emergency.
- Completed and signed Form DS-82, if you qualify to renew.
- Your most recent passport book or card.
- One compliant passport photo.
- Valid government-issued photo identification and a photocopy.
- Original or certified legal name-change documentation, when applicable.
- Payment for the passport and expedited-service fees.
Review our passport appointment checklist before leaving home.
Can You Receive the Passport Within 72 Hours?
Possibly. A passport agency may issue the passport on the appointment day or arrange pickup before departure. Timing depends on how soon you travel, when you can get an appointment, and whether the application is complete.
The State Department does not promise same-day, next-day, or 72-hour issuance. At the appointment, ask when the passport will be ready and whether you must return to pick it up.
When a Registered Passport Courier Can Be Especially Helpful
A life-or-death emergency is often the worst time to arrange a regional passport agency appointment, travel to the agency, wait through the appointment, and return for pickup. A registered passport courier may be able to review the application and handle those agency logistics for you.
That can leave you free to deal with flights, hospital or funeral arrangements, and your family. Availability depends on the courier, the agency access available for your travel date, and whether your documents are complete.
Only the State Department can approve the application and issue the passport. A courier cannot guarantee a 72-hour result.
Before choosing a provider, confirm its current emergency-renewal availability, required documents, total service fee, and expected return method. Compare audited options in our registered passport courier directory.
Emergency Renewal While Outside the United States
If you are already abroad, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. A U.S. regional passport agency or domestic courier cannot process your application from outside the country.
A consular officer may issue an emergency or limited-validity passport. These documents are often valid for one year or less and may need to be replaced after the trip.
Emergency Passports for Children
A child’s passport cannot be renewed. A child must apply for a new passport using Form DS-11, with the required parental consent and relationship evidence.
Use the emergency passport process for minors rather than Form DS-82.
What If the Trip Is Urgent but Not Life-or-Death?
Use the separate urgent passport renewal guide. That process applies to international travel within 14 days, or when a foreign visa is needed within 28 days, without a qualifying life-or-death emergency.
The urgent process has different proof requirements and does not require a life-or-death emergency.
Emergency Passport Renewal FAQs
It may be possible after a qualifying life-or-death emergency appointment, but issuance within 72 hours is not guaranteed.
No. Travel within 14 days qualifies for urgent service. Emergency service additionally requires a qualifying life-or-death situation involving immediate family outside the United States.
A parent or legal guardian, child, spouse, sibling, or grandparent. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives do not qualify.
Examples include a death certificate, mortuary statement, hospice letter, or signed hospital letter. Documents not written in English require a professional translation.
No. Passport agencies and centers require confirmed appointments.
A registered courier may review the application and handle the regional-agency submission logistics, saving you from arranging, traveling to, and attending the appointment yourself. Only the State Department can approve and issue the passport.
Yes, when the situation qualifies, but the child applies for a new passport with Form DS-11 rather than renewing.
Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for emergency passport assistance.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Our role: We explain the life-or-death emergency passport renewal process and the documents travelers need to prepare. The State Department decides whether the emergency qualifies, whether the application is approved, and when the passport is issued.
