Renewing Your US Passport by Mail in Belize: Super Easy

I moved to Belize 19 years ago – just as (or just before) the onset of the wild level of convenience that exists in most parts of the US. Amazon Prime that delivers in a few hours, DoorDash meal delivery day and night, Uber and Lyft…it wasn’t a thing…yet…in 2007. The first iPhone wouldn’t be released until a month or two after I’d moved here.

Now, living in Belize, I’m used to waiting on long lines at the bank, filling out government forms with a pen and getting a hand-written receipt…often from one of those books with a removable piece of carbon paper.

So I was ready for some real legwork to renew my US passport. My passport expired in January 2026, and I was ready to repeat what I’d done 10 years earlier. In January of 2016, I renewed my US passort in Belize – and it took 2 trips to Belize’s capital city of Belmopan. One for the appointment and one for the pick-up. A trip from San Pedro to Belmopan and back is a long day on boats and buses.

I kept putting it off. My passport expired a month ago….then 2 months ago and…

THEN, I found out I could renew my US passport without that long trip to Belmopan, basically without leaving San Pedro – I was surprised. And relieved. But still a bit incredulous.

Here is the US Embassy in Belize website that walks you thru the whole thing. And helps you figure out if you are eligible.

It needs to be in your current name. It needs to have been issued in the last 15 years. It needs to be in decent condition and in your possession. The portal will walk you thru the whole thing.

What You’ll Need To Have to Apply

• Fill out the Form DS-82 on-line (download and print)
• Your current passport
• Passport photos (I got mine at BeliColor in downtown San Pedro – no glasses, white background, 2″x2″ – I think it was $14bzd for 4 or 5 copies)
• You’ll make the payment online too – and you’ll need to include the receipt with your information. It’s gone up from $110USD to $130USD since my last application in 2016

How I Got it from San Pedro to Belmopan & the Embassy

• I used SpeedIt – it is recommended by the Embassy on their website
• You speak to them thru phone or WhatsApp 671-5334 – and make all payments via Belize bank transfer
• It was $35bzd each way – I dropped off at Tropic Air in San Pedro and then track it to the US Embassy in Belmopan (they drop it off their directly)

The Timeline

• About 6 weeks start to finish in your experience (though I forgot my payment receipt for the passport in my packet – and got a call from the Embassy…which I missed…so I probably added 2 weeks to the process!)

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

• Have copies of everything before you hand it over (on your computer or paper)
• Don’t cut it too close to traveling!
• Honestly…that’s it. You are sending your expired…or close-to-expiring US passport with the packet. So you will be passportless during this period. You DO get it back…but just make sure you’ve got any additional ID you might need during this time.
• Donald Trump IS NOT ON IT. Those are exclusive to the Washington Passport Office starting summer 2026…or so the internet tells me.

I had my new Belize passport so I didn’t feel completely naked. (You can read about getting my Belize citizenship in 2023 here)

Done. I have it back – a brand new passport that expires in 2036. The new passport has a rigid biodata page – like a large credit card with laser engraving…it’s kinda cool. I guess to make it harder to forge and easier to swipe at airports.

I also want to give a shoutout to my cat Cashew for helping with this blog post.