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Recently I needed to get a passport. I needed it pretty quickly, but the problem was that the U.S. Department of State said that passport processing was pretty delayed. My friend Aaron suggested that I use Passport Express to expedite the passport processing. Normally, I wouldn’t turn something like that to a third party, but Aaron had used them, and he highly recommended them.

So I went to their web site, somewhat overwhelmed at the amount of material required to prove that I am who I am. They have a nifty checklist that helps you be sure you have all you need. So you print the list, gather materials, go to the post office, get your picture taken, and have the passport agent at the USPS seal your envelope. Then you send your stuff up to Passport Express and they rush it through for you.

DHL picked up my application on Thursday afternoon, May 31 and delivered it to Passport Express before noon on June 1. Yesterday morning (11 days - only 5 business days later) my passport was delivered.

I used their “Urgent” processing, which isn’t cheap. (Actually, it seems that they have raised prices in the past 2 weeks…) Obviously, the most cost effective way of getting a new passport is to plan your trip 6 months in advance so that the Department of State can have plenty of time to process your application, but based on my experience with Passport Express, I would even consider using their “Regular” processing services for obtaining a passport that didn’t need to be expedited.

The only negative thing I can really say about the whole process is that when I called their support line for a quick question, I was on hold for about 10-15 minutes.  There could be any number of reasons for that, and once I got to speak with someone, the lady was really friendly and was able to answer my question right away.

Their checklist of things to get together was a huge benefit, since I had never processed a passport application before, and government forms tend to be somewhat wordy and confusing. Passport Express made it easy, and it was nice having someone working for me who is familiar with the process.