Just in time for the busy holiday season, the Department of State announced last week that the New Hampshire passport agency office in Portsmouth is now open to the public.

The office, located in the Pease Tradeport, has been open since 1992, and handles expedited passport request from all over the country. However, before November 23, 2010, it was not open to the public. Instead, New Hampshire residents had to travel to Boston or New York to get emergency passport applications processed. Now, with three new counters to allow employees to accept applications directly from members of the public, long-distance trips for passports will be unnecessary.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services Brenda Sprague told WCHS6.com, “This permits us to meet the needs of people who have emergencies which happen all the time. People have last minute business deals. Brides and grooms discover two hours before their destination wedding departure that their passport has expired. So we are able to help people out with this sort of thing.”

To use the emergency passport services available at the Portsmouth passport facility, you must have an international trip booked within the next 14 days, or 4 weeks if you also need to get a visa prior to travel. The passport office does not accept walk-ins; make an appointment by calling 1-877-487-2778.

The passport office has limited hours of operation, and is open between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. If you need emergency passport services but can’t make it to the facility, one option that is easier and more convenient for most people is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

When you use RushMyPassport, there’s no need to make an appointment or take time off work if you work during the day. Instead, if you need to submit your application in person, you simply go to a post office or other acceptance facility. There, the clerk will seal your documents so you can send them overnight to us. Then, we personally deliver them to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Let us help you get an emergency passport the easy way!