There’s a new passport office available for Virginia residents, just in time for the busy summer travel season.

If you live in or near Roanoke, Virginia, you can now apply for a passport at the South County Library in Southwest Roanoke County. If you work during the day, you’ll be pleased to note that this new passport office location offers convenient evening and Saturday hours, too! No need to request time off work or to spend your lunch break doing paperwork instead of eating. Now, you can just make an appointment at the library.

As Michael Meise, Roanoke County Public Library assistant director, told the Roanoke Times:

“There is a limited number of passport acceptance facilities in the Roanoke Valley, and none of those are open past 5 p.m. Libraries are a natural fit for this type of service, and we are pleased to be able to help people get the official documents they need for foreign travel.”

Here’s the scoop on the new passport office:

Address: 

6303 Merriman Rd
Roanoke, VA 24018

Hours:

  • Monday – Saturday:  9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday & Thursday:  6:00 – 8:00 PM

Phone number:  (540) 777-8782

You do need to call ahead and make an appointment to use this passport office.

Payment Methods: 

Department of State Fees must be paid with a check or money order. The library’s execution fee of $35 may be paid by check, cash, money order or card.

Processing Time

This is a passport acceptance office, so your application is subject to standard Department of State processing times, usually 6-8 weeks for regular service and 2 to 3 weeks for expedited service. If you need your passport more quickly, you can either make an appointment at a Passport Agency (see a list of passport agencies here) or use a private expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Passport Processing in Roanoke, Virginia

The new passport office is here just in the nick of time. According to the Roanoke Times, passport applicants have had a hard time finding a place to turn in their passport applications this spring. In fact, writer Dan Casey reports that it took his family over a month to get an appointment at local post office.

If you’re having trouble getting a passport appointment to submit a passport application, the following tips can help you get your passport on time:

  • Make sure you actually need an appointment. While new passport applications and child passport applications must be submitted in person, many passport renewal applications can be submitted by mail. See if you qualify: Passport Renewal By Mail
  • Think outside of the post office. Not only is the library now accepting passport applications, local courthouses and county clerks’ offices often accept them as well. To find a list of all the passport offices in your area, search here.
  • Be sure you have everything you need the first time you go in. The  If you expedite with RushMyPassport, we break it down for you and provide a checklist so nothing is forgotten.
  • If you travel in less than two weeks, you can make an appointment at the nearest passport agency.  If you can’t make it to the agency or you just don’t want to deal with the hassle, you can use RushMyPassport to get your application processed in as little as 24 hours.

Need a passport quickly? Contact us today!

Photo credit: © Digidreamgrafix | Dreamstime.com – Roanoke Virginia City Skyline In The Mountain Valley Of Appalach Photo