Record 24.5 million passports issued in fiscal year 2024

According to the US State Department, the record for processing US passports has been broken.

According to the ministry, about 24.5 million passport books and cards were issued for the 2024 fiscal year. That number is half a million more than last year’s record-breaking total. It is the third year in a row that the record has been broken.

More than one million Americans applied for a passport renewal through the Online Passport Renewal System, which was fully launched in September 2024.

In the coming years, the department will open six new passport facilities in Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Utah. The city receiving the facility in Texas will be San Antonio.

The six facilities will expand the agency’s footprint to 35, according to the State Department.

The announcement comes as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to “provide enhanced personal and emergency passport services for residents living in a significant population center that is more than a five-hour drive from a currently established location.” “Passport agency,” says a press release from U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.

The facilities will help reduce travel time for those needing passport appointments or other essential services.

The State Department announces San Antonio as the future headquarters of the new passport authority