How to Easily Cancel or Reschedule Your Passport Appointment?

Needing to get a new passport or renew an expiring one? You’ll first need to make an appointment at a local passport agency or center. This appointment allows you to submit your passport application and required docs for processing.

But what if your travel plans suddenly change, and you need to cancel your passport appointment? Or you simply pick an appointment time that no longer works with your schedule?

No worries! It’s easy to cancel or reschedule a passport appointment either online or by phone.

In this detailed guide, you’ll learn:

• The quick process to cancel your appointment through the USPS website
• How to call and cancel an appointment over the phone
• Steps to reschedule your appointment instead
• What happens after cancelling a passport appointment
• Rules and tips for changing appointments
• Answers to common questions

Let’s get started!

How to Easily Cancel Your Passport Appointment Online?

To cancel your passport appointment online, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the USPS Appointment Scheduler website. This is the same website where you made the original appointment booking.
2. Click on the “Manage Appointments” tab.
3. Enter your existing appointment confirmation number. This is the long booking number sent in your confirmation email when scheduling the appointment.
4. Select the red “Cancel Appointment” button for the appointment details you want to cancel.
5. Confirm on the next page that you want to cancel and successfully cancel the appointment.
6. You will immediately receive an email confirming that your passport appointment is canceled.

And done! The appointment slot will automatically become available again for other customers to book. It’s that quick and easy to cancel online.

Tips for Cancelling Your Passport Appointment Online

Keep these tips in mind when canceling your passport appointment through the USPS website:

• You can only cancel up to 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time. Too close to the appointment cannot be canceled online.
• If you made a group booking with multiple appointments, canceling one appointment will automatically cancel all of them.
• Be sure to print or save the cancellation confirmation number for your records.
• You can also reschedule your appointment online instead of canceling if needed. The steps are the same.
• There is a limit of how many times you can change an appointment, usually two per application.

Cancelling online is fast and convenient if you have your appointment confirmation number handy. This 9 or 10-digit number is sent by email when you first make the booking.

How to Cancel a Passport Appointment by Phone?

Don’t have your confirmation number? Need to cancel less than 24 hours before the scheduled time? No problem! You can also cancel your passport appointment easily over the phone:

1. Call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778.
2. When prompted, say you need to change an existing appointment.
3. Give the customer service agent your confirmation number and details of the appointment you want to cancel.
4. The agent will then cancel the appointment in the system on your behalf.
5. Make sure to get a cancellation number for your records. The call usually takes 5-10 minutes.

You can call to cancel a passport appointment anytime. But if you call outside normal business hours, you may need to leave a voicemail message. Be sure to leave your full name, appointment confirmation number, and mention you want to cancel the booking.

Tips for Cancelling Your Appointment by Phone

To make your call to cancel a passport appointment go smoothly:

• Have your confirmation number from the email handy to provide to the agent. This makes finding your booking quicker.
• Note down the name of the customer service agent who helped cancel your appointment for your records.
• The passport agency phone number can get very busy, especially near holidays. Be patient and keep trying if you can’t get through right away.
• Leaving a voicemail is fine too. Just speak slowly and clearly when leaving your appointment details to cancel.
• If you need to cancel multiple bookings, provide the confirmation numbers for each appointment you need to cancel.

Either way, canceling by phone is quick and easy by calling the National Passport Center and working with the customer service agents.

How to Reschedule Instead of Cancel Your Passport Appointment?

Let’s say your schedule changes, but you still need to visit the passport agency – just at a different day or time. Instead of canceling, you can simply reschedule your passport appointment:

• When managing your appointment online or by phone, choose the “Reschedule” option instead of “Cancel”.
• Select a new date, time, and location that works better for your schedule.
• Get a new 9 or 10-digit confirmation number for your rescheduled appointment.
• Your old appointment will automatically be canceled when the new one is booked.

Rescheduling instead of canceling means you don’t have to restart the passport application process. But note that you can typically only reschedule an appointment two times per application year.

Reasons you may want to reschedule instead of cancel include:

• Conflicting plans or a schedule change.
• Needing a different appointment time slot.
• Made a mistake when booking the original appointment date.
• Unable to get required documents in time.

What Happens After You Cancel Your Passport Appointment?

Once you successfully cancel your passport appointment, here is what happens next:

• The appointment slot you booked will automatically become available for other customers to schedule.
• Your passport application is effectively cancelled since you no longer have an appointment.
• You can reapply and schedule a new appointment, but will have to restart the application process and pay fees again.
• Any refund of passport fees depends on how far in advance you canceled the appointment.
• You will have to book a new appointment at the passport agency when ready to reapply.

So in summary, canceling ends the application process and frees up the appointment for others. You’ll need to begin a new passport application when ready instead of picking up where you left off.

The one exception is if you choose to reschedule instead – then your application remains active for the new appointment time.

Appointment Cancellation Details for Other Situations

The above provides the overall steps to cancel your routine passport appointment. But here are some cancellation details for specific situations:

• Canceling a group booking: If you scheduled multiple passport appointments together, canceling one appointment will automatically cancel all of them. You will need to reschedule each family member separately.
• Canceling minor’s appointment: For those under 16, the child must be present for passport pickup after approval. Cancelling their appointment via authority letter will not work.
• Overseas appointments: If booking an appointment at an embassy or consulate abroad, be sure to cancel any unneeded slots well in advance to allow others to book the coveted openings.
• Emergency appointments: To cancel an urgent 2-3 day passport appointment, contact the National Passport Information Center directly for assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Canceling Appointments

Here are answers to some common questions about changing your passport appointment:

How late can I cancel my appointment?

You can cancel up to 24 hours before your scheduled appointment start time on the USPS website. Within 24 hours, you will need to call the passport agency to cancel over the phone instead.

Can I get a refund if I cancel my passport appointment?

Whether you get a full or partial refund of passport fees when canceling depends on how soon before your appointment you cancel. The closer to the appointment date, the less likely fees will be refunded.

Is it easy to reschedule my passport appointment?

Yes, it’s quick and easy to reschedule your passport appointment online or by phone by picking a new date/time. Just have your existing 9-10 digit confirmation number handy to manage the booking.

What happens if I cancel my new passport appointment?

Canceling a passport appointment for a new passport application ends the process. You’ll have to restart with a new DS-11 application when ready to reapply at a later date.

Can I cancel a minor’s passport appointment by email?

No, to cancel a minor’s passport appointment you must call the passport agency directly. Minors must be present for passport delivery, so cancellation by email or authority letter is not permitted.

Final Thoughts on Canceling Your Passport Appointment

Applying for a new or renewed passport requires making an important appointment at your local passport agency. But if plans change and you need to cancel your booking, don’t sweat!

As outlined in this guide, you can quickly cancel or reschedule your passport appointment either online via the USPS website or over the phone with customer service.

Within a few clicks or 5-10 minute call, your appointment will be cancelled and that slot freed up for another applicant to use.

Just be sure to have your existing confirmation number handy to easily manage the booking change. And print or note down any new confirmation numbers when you rebook your passport appointment.

So next time your schedule shifts or passport plans need to change, you’ll know the ins and outs of seamlessly cancelling and rebooking your important passport agency appointment. The process is easy and stress-free – now you can focus on preparing the rest of your exciting upcoming trip!