Passport

I need to renew my kids' passports. Post office seem to only take applications earlier than 3pm so that means taking the kids out of school...not great. I'm no slouch at Googling, but haven't found a viable alternative.

Anyone have suggestions for other options?

The Clifton Post office. No appointments needed, open on Saturdays and you can get the pictures done there as well. I renewed my 13 year old son's passport there in mid-December; had the new passport in about 3 weeks.

811 Paulison Ave
Clifton, NJ 07011

Thanks for that! I work a lot of weekends so am trying to find a place that would be open later on a weekday. I should've mentioned that!

Clifton may still work for you...open until 7pm during the week and open Saturdays and Sundays.

Passport Acceptance Hours
Mon-Fri 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sat-Sun 9:00am - 5:00pm

Passport Photo Hours
Mon-Fri 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sat-Sun 9:00am - 5:00pm

That's a huge help! Thanks so much....

And both parents must be there (or you need a notarized something...)

The Essex County clerk does their "outreach", coming to different towns to take passport applications. There's a achedule of dates, locations and times on their web page. I think googling "Essex County Clerk" will produce the address.

Not what you asked, but you may want to consider enrolling your kids (and yourself) in the Global Entry program. I can't tell you how nice it is to go through the empty GOES line to get through customs when returning to the US! Having GOES on your passport also gives you a Known Traveler Number (KTN) which is needed to arrange for PreCheck, which is also very awesome.

Worth the money and minor hassle, IMO -

https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/main/goes

@pdg That's weird. We just did this when we came back from Jamaica but we never signed up for GOES. But we did the whole kiosk thing and handed them a receipt. Strange.

@pdg - good to know. We signed up for the Pre-Check program (going to Newark in a few weeks for the fingerprinting and interview). I'm all for any program that helps me avoid lines!!

TSA Pre-Check is great in most airports. And pretty good in Newark...except in Terminal A...where the only benefit is that you can leave your shoes on. I fly about three times a month and more than half the time from the terrible Terminal A. Newark Airport is basically the worst airport I have to deal with and unfortunately it's part of almost every trip I have to take.

You can get precheck without GOES. We got it through the United Frequent Flyer program at no charge.

Some versions of the Amex card will reimburse you for your global access or similar program , fees.

It was weird. We just got to the customers area and the sign told us to use the kiosks so we did.

@edisers - I recommend you go to NYC for your pre-check interview, etc. The Newark office is in a dangerous area and they screwed up my fingerprints.

Livingston post office has a late night for passports- just call and ask when- I can't remember but much closer than Clifton.

You might find it more efficient, and definitely much closer than Clifton, to try the union county passport office on North Avenue in Westfield. I can't imagine it only serves County residents. They don't do the photos there, you have to bring them with you, but that's easy at a place like CVS. They do normal weekday business hours, extended into the evening on Thursday, and a friend who went last week was in and out in about 10 minutes. The only slight complication is that I believe you have to pay with cash or check. Details are all listed online, with the bonus that if you call that office you get to speak with a live, knowledgeable human.

Short Hills post office does passports without an appointment. Tried Clifton and it was a zoo on a Saturday. Waited 10 minutes at Short Hills. And we paid for expedited service. For our two kids. Best kept secret it seems!

I wonder why Westfield didn't come up when I searched. Maybe I am not as adept as I would like to think. Short Hills is only open til 3. I called to confirm that and the person answering the phone was pretty rude...actually really rude for no good reason. I went there to replace my own passport a few months ago and it was pretty quick...perhaps the secret is out.

Try on Saturday. Both parents need to present with ID so it was the only day/time that worked for all four of us.

The guy on the phone at SH said they don't do passports on Saturdays. I signed the affadvit and got it notarized so we can just go with one parent...hopefully.

Also, the Westfield place is, I believe, a third-party expediter...not a government entity...which may account for the better service and more logical business hours.