Everyone has been in a situation where something unexpected happens. In many cases, this just calls for some minor adjustments to our plans. When unexpected travel is thrown into the picture, there is a lot more that has to happen in order to pull it off. First and foremost, the person is going to have to get an expedited passport so that they can get their overseas ticket.

While the government may try and make the process quicker and easier, their idea of quick may not mesh with what the average person thinks is quick. Granted, they are quicker than they have ever been, but expedited services can give the whole process a much needed boost to get the passport back even quicker. By paying an extra fee, rush service can be ordered and the passport should come back in about two to three weeks.

This “rush service” that the government offers is the time it takes for the application to be accepted until the passport arrives in the applicants mailbox. This can be expedited even further by going to a private agency, but they are going to charge extra fees over and above what the State Department charges. When quicker service is needed, a passport can be had in as little as 24 hours.

As one might imagine, there is an additional cost for quicker processing. The typical application fees are $95 for an adult passport book and card and $25 for execution, a total of $120. For the book alone, the cost is $75 with the same administrative fee. For minors the same costs are $70 and $60 respectively and of course the same $25 fee applies to all processes except for the renewal of a valid passport.

If expedited service is needed, there will be a $60 fee tacked on to all of the other standard charges. In addition to these fees, the forms should be shipped via overnight mail for security reasons. Sending documents like this via regular mail is simply not recommended. This can be ordered when filling out all of the forms at the passport office.

Overnight delivery is not part of the fee structure and will cost another $15 or so. We know, the fees really start to add up, but the overnight shipping is a must for security reasons. Allowing this kind of documentation to travel through regular mail is insane. It is just too important and too sensitive to risk losing.

If expedited service is requested, the form that has to be filled out is the DS-82. This is in addition to the regular forms and does not replace the standard application. When mailing in the forms and documents, be sure to write “expedite” very large and clear on the outside of the envelope. The agents are trained to look for this and will make sure that the envelope is rushed through processing.

Using expedited pass port services is a great way to get the United States passport in hand quick. For some people, the extra fees are worth it just to know that the turnaround time will not be so long. If these services are not used, the application just goes into the pile and has to work its way to the top. If you are lucky, the passport will arrive in about two months. Sometimes, that is just too long to wait.