If you’ve found yourself staring at the expiration date on your passport in shock, wondering how a decade could pass in a blink of an eye, you should know that you’re not alone. The same thing happens even to people who travel for a living.

For example, travel writer Crai S. Bower recently planned to jet off to Mexico with his family. Unfortunately, as he explained on the Huffington Post:

Like the cobbler who fails to provide his kids with footwear, this writer of more than 100 travel stories a year failed to get his kids’ passports together for a weeklong multigenerational trip to Sayulita, Mexico, forcing him to cancel the trip, an especially aggravating gaffe considering said travel writer’s partner is a sun-starved school administrator with limited vacation windows.

In his defense, it’s easier to overlook the expiration date on a child’s passport because they are only good for 5 years after they’re issued, instead of 10 years like an adult passport is. Mr. Bower ended up canceling the trip to Mexico and heading to California instead. However, if you find yourself in this predicament, there are ways that you can get your passport renewal rushed. Depending on the method you use and when you discovered the issue, there’s a good chance you can even keep your original travel plans.

If you have at least three weeks to go, you can simply request expedited passport renewal service from the Department of State. This will set you back an additional $60, and you should get your passport back within 3 weeks. Do check the processing timelines at the Department of State’s website, though – they sometimes vary depending on the number of applications that need to be processed.

If you’re really short on time, you can make an appointment to get your passport renewal at a regional passport agency office. The issue here is that there are only 22 of these offices serving the entire US, so it may be a trip in and of itself to get there. Plus, they have limited operating hours, like a bank but more so. If you work during the day, this means you’ll definitely have to take time off.

The third option is to use a private company like RushMyPassport. We’ll personally deliver your passport renewal application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport renewal today!