U.S. Regional Passport Agencies
If you're traveling internationally inside the next 14 days and don't have a valid passport, you don't go to a Post Office — you go to a regional passport agency. The Department of State operates a small network of these specialized offices that handle in-person urgent and life-or-death applications, with the goal of producing a passport in days rather than weeks.
What a regional agency does
Unlike acceptance facilities (Post Offices, libraries, county clerks) that forward applications to a centralized processing center, regional agencies are themselves the processing center. They take your application, verify your documents, take or accept your photo, and produce a finished passport on-site or within a few business days. Same-day issuance is possible in genuinely emergency situations; most appointments produce a passport within 2 to 5 days.
Who qualifies
Regional agency appointments are reserved for two situations:
- International travel within 14 days. You must show a confirmed itinerary — a printed flight or cruise booking with your name on it — that begins inside the next two weeks.
- A foreign visa application within 28 days. Some destinations (China, Russia, India, certain African nations) require a passport to be in hand for visa processing, and the regional agency can help you meet the visa application's deadlines.
Without one of those two qualifying conditions, you cannot book a regional agency appointment, regardless of how urgent your timeline feels.
Where they are
The Department of State operates roughly 25 regional and limited-service agencies. Major locations include:
- Atlanta, GA — Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
- Boston, MA — Tip O'Neill Federal Building
- Chicago, IL — Kluczynski Federal Building
- Dallas, TX — Earle Cabell Federal Building
- Denver, CO — Cherry Creek Plaza II
- Detroit, MI — Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building
- El Paso, TX — Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative regional office
- Honolulu, HI — Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building
- Houston, TX — Mickey Leland Federal Building
- Los Angeles, CA — Federal Building
- Miami, FL — Claude Pepper Federal Building
- Minneapolis, MN — Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building
- New Orleans, LA — One Canal Place
- New York, NY — Greater New York Regional Agency
- Norwalk, CT — Connecticut Passport Agency
- Philadelphia, PA — U.S. Custom House
- Portsmouth, NH — National Passport Center
- San Diego, CA — Robert F. Adamic Federal Building
- San Francisco, CA — 95 Hawthorne Street
- Seattle, WA — Henry M. Jackson Federal Building
- Tucson, AZ — Tucson Federal Building
- Washington, D.C. — Sidney Yates Building
- San Juan, PR — San Juan Regional Agency
How to book
Appointments are booked exclusively through the National Passport Information Center: 1-877-487-2778. The line opens at 8 a.m. Eastern; appointments fill within an hour during peak season. You'll need your travel date, destination, and current document status when you call. Walk-ins are not accepted at any regional agency.
The wait time on the phone is often long. Have your documents and itinerary ready before calling so you can complete the booking quickly when an agent picks up.
What to bring
- A completed Form DS-11 (first-time applicants) or DS-82 (renewals), unsigned until requested.
- Proof of U.S. citizenship: certified birth certificate (raised seal), Consular Report of Birth Abroad, naturalization certificate, or your existing passport.
- A photocopy of the citizenship document.
- A government-issued photo ID and a photocopy of both sides.
- One 2"×2" color passport photo.
- Proof of imminent international travel (printed itinerary).
- Two payments: application fee + the $60 expedited surcharge to the U.S. Department of State, and any acceptance fee where applicable.
If you can't get to a regional agency
If no agency is within reasonable distance and your travel is genuinely imminent, the State Department contracts with several private "passport expediters" who can hand-walk your application through a regional agency for an additional service fee (typically $100-$400). These services are legitimate but expensive. For non-emergency travel beyond two weeks out, the routine and expedited mail-in processes are more cost-effective.