State Department to Launch DS-11 Passport Pilot Online via America.gov on November 16

The State Department plans to open its DS-11 Passport Pilot through America.gov on November 16, 2026, for two groups of adults in the United States: first-time applicants using a Certificate of Naturalization and former passport holders who cannot renew with DS-82. The online application will retain the $35 execution fee.

Applicants can check eligibility on the site. Those who qualify will verify their identity through Login.gov, then return to the application to finish and submit it. The test is limited to adults age 18 or older with identification accepted by Login.gov.

The launch group includes people who previously held a fully valid U.S. passport but are not eligible to renew using Form DS-82. It also includes first-time adult applicants who use a Certificate of Naturalization issued by USCIS as evidence of U.S. citizenship.

Applicants need an accepted identity document. The department lists valid U.S. passport books and cards, as well as valid driver’s licenses or non-driver identification cards issued by a state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory. Mobile driver’s licenses do not qualify.

People who want or need to submit an affidavit or court order will be directed to the paper application process. Technical limits may also prevent an otherwise eligible applicant from using the online system. The screening questions will route people who do not qualify to an appropriate process.

Applicants complete identity checks and record the oath online

The application proceeds through eligibility screening, identity verification and form completion. The department describes this sequence:

1. Answer questions about whether the application is for you, whether you are a U.S. citizen and whether you have urgent travel plans.
2. If eligible, sign in to or create a Login.gov account. Provide an accepted ID, pass a liveness check, enter your Social Security number and address, and verify the information.
3. Return to the application to review the biographical details transferred from Login.gov, including name, sex and date of birth. Correct imported information if needed, then accept the DS-11 terms.
4. Enter details not collected through Login.gov, including a USCIS or alien registration number if applicable, an emergency contact and occupation.
5. Upload an eligible passport photo, select the passport product and delivery method, review the application and record the oath stating under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct.

A passport agent reviews the recording and the other application materials. Once the agent accepts them, a passport authorizing officer adjudicates the case using the same procedures as paper DS-11 applications. Those procedures include system checks of citizenship records, including USCIS records. Approved passports will be mailed to the address entered in the application.

Passport agents review the oath, and the $35 execution fee remains

Moving the oath online does not remove the execution charge. The department expects the online review to cost about the same as an in-person DS-11 execution because staff must examine the application, identity evidence and recorded oath.

“Therefore, even though applications submitted by persons who are eligible for the pilot will not be executed in person, the $35 execution fee will still apply.”

Applicants who fall within the fee-exemption categories in 22 CFR 51.52(b) will remain exempt from passport and execution fees. The department says it will study the program’s costs and adjust its fee schedule as necessary.

The pilot temporarily changes certain in-person application and oath procedures, including provisions in 22 CFR 51.21. It does not change the underlying requirements to establish U.S. citizenship and identity. Applicants must still follow the department’s instructions and provide the required evidence.

The State Department has not specified what happens when a citizenship-record system check fails. The notice says applications will undergo checks, but it does not describe an outcome for a failed check.

The test extends online filing beyond DS-82 renewals

Before this test, online filing was available only to people eligible to renew with DS-82. The DS-11 process covers first-time applicants and others who cannot use that renewal form, making the pilot a separate route for selected groups.

The department processed 13,913,231 DS-11 applications in fiscal year 2025. Completing the existing application takes an average of 85 minutes per response, including gathering information, reviewing the form and submitting it. The agency expects online filing to reduce the time applicants spend, but it will measure any time saved during the test rather than treating that reduction as an established result.

At a September 29, 2026 event, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Starting next year, Americans will be able to apply for their first passport entirely online.” The pilot begins that effort with limited eligibility. The notice was signed by Matthew D. Pierce, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services; it lists Jennifer Tinianow of the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Passport Services Office of Adjudication as the contact at 202-765-6517.

The department may add more applicants as testing progresses

Possible later groups include first-time applicants using a qualifying certified U.S. birth certificate from a participating state’s vital-records authority, a Certificate of Citizenship issued by USCIS or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. Eligible applicants located overseas may also be included. The department has not set dates for adding these groups.

The pilot is scheduled to run through November 20, 2027, unless extended. The department says it will use the test to evaluate a possible permanent option for online DS-11 applications. It also welcomes comments on the initiative through Regulations.gov under docket DOS-2026-1222; comments will inform evaluation and possible future rulemaking but will not receive a response.

From the launch, applicants can use the department’s eligibility page to check whether the pilot applies to them and follow the site’s directions to the correct application process.