Living in France as an American comes with a myriad of challenges: from dealing with new cultural norms, to dealing with the prefecture, to needing to renew your passport in France as an American while living abroad.

As a frequent traveler and also nearing the time where I can finally apply for French citizenship, I went through every hoop possible this summer to renew my U.S. passport in France.

Luckily, I went from mailing my old passport to getting my new one back in under two weeks. To help prevent any other fellow Americans living abroad in France from endlessly googling questions on how to renew their passports, I’m going to share everything I learned throughout the process and answer some of your biggest questions: including the different ways you can renew your US passport from France, how long it takes, and if you get your old passport back in the process.

🇺🇸 Renewing Your U.S. Passport in France at a Glance 🇫🇷

Category	Information
📍 Where Can You Renew?	At the U.S. Embassy in Paris or the U.S. Consulates in Marseille or Strasbourg, depending on your application type and appointment availability. :contentReference[oaicite:0]
⏳ Processing Time	The official estimate is 4–6 weeks. However, based on my own renewal experience and talking with several other Americans living in Paris, most of us received our new passports in closer to 2–3 weeks. Official times can still vary depending on demand.
💵 Passport Fees	Passport Book: $130 Passport Card: $30 Passport Book + Card: $160 (renewals).
📦 Additional Costs	If renewing by mail, you'll also need a pre-paid, self-addressed Colissimo return envelope. If you renew in person instead, factor in the cost of traveling to one of the three U.S. diplomatic missions in France.
💡 My Experience	I personally found the renewal process much quicker than the official estimate. From mailing my application to picking up my new passport, the process took under 2 weeks, and that matched the experiences of several other Americans I spoke with living in Paris.

How Do I Renew my US Passport in France?

As of the past few years, American passport renewals in France are highly encouraged to be done by mail – where you will send a self-addressed envelope to the U.S. Embassy and eventually receive both your old and new passport book to your place of residence.

However, if you’re anything like me, you might have trouble getting mail to your apartment in Paris or elsewhere in France. After making a few calls to the U.S. Embassy in Paris and also getting in touch

🇺🇸💡 Tips to Get Your U.S. Passport Faster in France 💡🇫🇷

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Contact Your Congressman

If you still have an address back in the U.S., contact your local congressman or congresswoman. Mine was able to reach out to the U.S. Embassy in Paris on my behalf and explain the urgency of my situation, asking if they could help me receive both my old and new passport as quickly as possible.

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Drop It Off & Pick It Up

If you live close enough to Paris, Marseille, or Strasbourg, I highly recommend dropping your passport off and picking it up in person. You'll save yourself a few extra days by not waiting for La Poste to deliver it between the embassy and your home.

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Avoid Holiday Periods

We all know France pretty much shuts down in August, and the U.S. takes holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's very seriously. Even if your passport still has a little time left on it, I'd try to renew it outside of these busy periods if you can.

Can’t I renew my US passport online?

It’s true that as of September 2024, the US Department of State allows American citizens to renew their passport online. My parents did this recently, and they got their new passports within two weeks. While this is a more convenient process and allows you to keep your current passport in your possession – Americans living abroad are not allowed to renew their US passports online.

I called the US Department of State to confirm this myself. While they said you could renew it this way if you plan to stay in the US throughout the processing, you can’t do it if you’re currently residing abroad.

Now, there are quite a few stories on the internet of people who choose to do it this way anyways – and have someone in the US mail them their new passport to France. I strongly advise against doing this, as if your new passport is lost in the mail, you’ll have to share with the Department of State that you did it online in the first place – creating more problems than solutions in the end.

Step-by-Step: How I Renewed My US Passport from Paris, France (2026)

Required Documents to Renew US Passport in France

Here’s a snapshot of the required documents you’ll need to renew your U.S. passport in France:

Passport Renewal Form DS-82 (you can print this on size A4 paper)
One color passport size photo (you can get these done either at the photobooth at the US embassy itself, or at any Kodak photoshop – which will take them in US passport measurements for you to save the hassle of trying to get the dimensions right yourself)
A photocopy of the data page of your current passport (I didn’t submit this with mine, but you can if you want)
Your current passport
Proof of paying the $130 renewal fee on the US government’s payment site (I just printed the email that confirmed I paid)
A self-addressed prepaid envelope to have your passport mailed back to your residence in France (if you don’t plan on picking it up at the embassy)

You can verify all of the required documents here on the US Embassy’s official website for passport renewals in France.

Taking Your US Passport Pictures

I still have fond memories of driving home from a babysitting gig to my local CVS to get my first passport photos taken at midnight.

This time, I opted for something similar – I walked to the nearest Kodak Express (in this case, it was the one in the 9th arrondissement near Cadet metro station on line 7) to have the photos done.

A lot of people opt to take them by themselves, but I always find it to be a hassle as it’s hard to get the dimensions just right. If you do it at a Kodak Express, it’s only €15 – and they’ll hand you both the paper copies (which you’ll need for renewing your passport in France) in addition to emailing you the digital copies.

Filling Out Your DS-82 Renewal Form

Filling out the renewal form is easy: you can either edit it as a PDF on your laptop and print the digitized entries, or print it out and complete the form in black ink. However, if you make any errors – note that you can’t cross it out, and will have to print it out and start it all over again from scratch.

Paying the Passport Renewal Fee

Also, note that once you pay the standard renewal fee for your passport – you have 30 days to submit your passport. Make sure to take a screenshot just in case the page times out and in the event you don’t get a confirmation email from them. I recommend first making a pay.gov account before paying the passport renewal fee, as you’ll then be able to sign in and view your payment history – meaning you’ll have access to the document you need for your passport renewal at all times. I made the error of making the account after I had already paid, meaning my payment history didn’t show up in my account.

Buying a Pre-Paid Envelope or Booking Appointment at U.S. Embassy

Last but not least, you’ll need to buy a self-addressed, Colissimo Prêt-à-Envoyer France (ready-to-send) envelope to have your passport mailed back to you. The Embassy will often reject your US passport application if you don’t have this in your folder when mailing it to the embassy.

If you bring it to the embassy, someone at the counter may argue with you that it can only be mailed back to you – but that’s not true. Kindly ask that you prefer to pick it up. They will often check with someone behind the counter, and then tell you they will email you when it’s ready to be picked up.

If you do drop it off at the embassy, but prefer to have it mailed back to you – there’s a place at the US Embassy in Paris itself where you can buy one of these envelopes for €14 on the spot.

After all that, you’ll be ready to send in your US passport renewal!

U.S. passport in pink case with various euro bills

How Long Does it Take to Renew My US Passport in France?

According to the US Embassy in Paris, it takes around 4-6 weeks for your US passport to be renewed. When I went to the US Embassy in Paris to renew my passport, the guy at the counter told me it would be 4 weeks – but it ended up being less than 2!

I’ve heard a similar anecdote from the majority of my friends that live in France: they often got their new passport in less than a month.

That being said, it’s always best to plan as if you’ll be without a passport for as long as they tell you to be (which is the standard 4 to 6 weeks). Plan for the worst, and hope for the best!

Here’s a breakdown of my US passport renewal in Paris to get an idea of how long it takes:

🇺🇸 My U.S. Passport Renewal Timeline in France (2026) 🇫🇷

Date	What Happened
📅 July 15, 2026	I hand-delivered my current U.S. passport to the U.S. Embassy in Paris during my passport renewal appointment.
📅 July 20, 2026	The Travel.State.Gov status changed to "In Process", confirming that my passport had been received. The website also noted that processing would take 4–6 weeks from the date they received the passport – not from when I mailed or delivered it.
📅 July 23, 2026	The status changed to "Mailed", indicating my new passport had been shipped back to the U.S. Embassy in Paris. I called the U.S. Department of State to confirm whether this also meant my cancelled passport was being returned. They confirmed that both my old and new passports had been sent back, explaining that the tracking system uses automated status messages that aren't tailored for overseas embassy renewals.
📅 July 28, 2026	I received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Paris letting me know my passport was ready for pickup. There was no appointment required – but I had to show the email to the security guards and arrive between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
📅 July 30, 2026	I picked up both my new passport and my cancelled passport from the U.S. Embassy in Paris, officially completing the renewal process in just over two weeks.

Where is My New US Passport Printed if I Live Abroad?

I used to be under the impression that my US passport would be mailed all the way back to Washington D.C. (which is where I’m from, ironically) – but it turns out that it’s not the case.

After calling the US Department of State, they confirmed to me that when a passport locator number starts with the number 47 (which mine was), it means that it’s being processed at an overseas facility. Whether those passport printing places are in Belgium or Germany has never been confirmed (and is probably confidential) – but it appears that if you live in France, your passport doesn’t go very far to be renewed.

Do I Need to Notify the Prefecture That My Passport Number Changed?

There’s no rule strictly stating anywhere that Americans living in France must notify the Préfecture that their US passport number has changed.

Personally, I aimed to renew mine before my French citizenship application was submitted to avoid this exact fiasco – as many people are often shunned for the French government for applying for things like a carte de séjour or citizenship without a valid passport.

If you want to be safe, you can notify the Préfecture – but there’s no rule written down saying that it’s required. I do however, think it’s a good idea to notify your employer in France when your passport number changes.

And there you have it!

That’s everything you need to know about renewing your US Passport while living in France.

🇺🇸📘 U.S. Passport Renewal in France FAQs 📘🇫🇷

🇺🇸 How do I renew my U.S. passport in France?

You can renew your U.S. passport in France by either mailing it to the U.S. Embassy in Paris with a self-addressed return envelope, or by dropping it off at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Paris, Strasbourg, or Marseille. You'll need to complete the DS-82 renewal form, include two correctly sized passport photos, your current passport, and proof that you've paid the renewal fee.

⏳ How long does it take to renew a U.S. passport in France?

According to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, standard processing takes around 4–6 weeks. However, both my own experience and that of many other Americans I know living in France was much faster, with a typical turnaround time of around 2–3 weeks.

💻 Can I renew my U.S. passport online while living abroad?

No. You can't renew your U.S. passport online while living abroad. In fact, even if you use a VPN, the website will detect that you're outside the United States and won't let you complete the renewal process online.

📖 Will I get my old U.S. passport back when I renew it in France?

Yes! You'll receive both your old and new passports back at the same time. Whether you renew by mail or choose to drop it off and pick it up in person, your old passport will be returned to you with two punched holes to mark it as invalid while still allowing you to keep it for your records.

⚡ What is the easiest way to renew my U.S. passport in France?

I personally think the easiest and fastest way to renew your U.S. passport in France is by going directly through the U.S. Embassy in Paris. My renewal only took about two weeks, and you avoid many of the potential delays that can come with a mail-only renewal. Just be sure to book your appointment in advance.

🌍 Are there places overseas that print U.S. passports?

Yes. There are facilities overseas that print U.S. passports. While their exact locations aren't publicly disclosed, if your passport number begins with 47, it means your passport was produced at an overseas passport printing facility.

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About the Author

Hi, I'm Stephanie Safdie, a travel writer and content creator based in Paris. Since living here, I've spent years exploring the city and regularly update my Paris travel guides with firsthand experience while also exploring destinations across Europe and beyond as a solo female traveler. I've been solo traveling for the past decade, having visited more than 70 cities and nearly 30 countries before turning 30.

Before moving abroad, I grew up moving all around the United States, having lived in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Tampa – which sparked my desire to discover and experience new places and cultures from a young age.

As a true writer at heart passionate about being open-minded, adventurous, and diaristic – it's my goal to share honest, practical travel advice, local insights, detailed itineraries, and real-life experiences that go beyond typical tourist recommendations. With over 200 guides published on Destination Dreamer Diaries, I’m here help you plan the most memorable trip of a lifetime with confidence.

When I'm not traveling or working professionally in content creation, you'll find me doing just about anything creative: writing, practicing my photography skills (the large majority of photos featured on this blog were taken during my own travels), playing my music at open mic nights, editing videos for my YouTube channel, cooking, or creating travel content.

Last updated: August 8, 2026

How to Renew Your U.S. Passport in France