# What This Bill Does

This bill makes it easier and faster for Americans to get passports by expanding who can help process applications and improving how passports are delivered. Right now, passport acceptance is limited to certain government offices and a few other locations, which creates bottlenecks and long wait times. This bill opens up the process to more people and organizations.

The main change is that the Secretary of State can now authorize notary publics to accept passport applications. This is significant because there are notaries in almost every town—in banks, law offices, and other businesses. The bill also allows court employees, postal workers, military base employees, and workers at other federal agencies to serve as passport acceptance agents. Essentially, it's creating more entry points for people to submit their passport applications without having to travel to a passport office.

The bill also tackles the courier services that some people use to expedite their passport processing. These are private companies that hand-carry applications directly to passport agencies to jump the line. The bill requires the State Department to certify more of these companies and allow them to submit more applications each day, which should reduce wait times for people willing to pay for expedited service.

Finally, there's a quirky change to passport expiration dates. Instead of passports expiring on a standard date, they'll now expire on the applicant's birthday. This is mostly a technical adjustment that makes the system more organized, though it means some people might get passports with slightly shorter validity periods than they would have under the old system.

To authorize the Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents, and for other purposes.

Mast, Brian J.

This bill authorizes the Department of State to expand certain passport application processing services&nbsp;and directs related changes.The bill requires the State Department to increase&nbsp;(1) the number of companies certified to provide expedited processing&nbsp;(formally known as hand-carry courier services) of passport applications, and (2)&nbsp;the daily maximum number of passport applications that passport offices may accept from certified passport expeditors.The bill also authorizes the State Department to designate notaries public, among others, as passport acceptance agents.Additionally, the bill provides that passports issued 180 days or more after the bill's enactment shall expire on the passport holder's birthday.