Getting a Passport in San Francisco
Notes on how to get a US Passport in San Francisco:
Do you meet the requirements to renew by mail? Lucky you!
Otherwise, you'll have to apply in person...here are the places you can do that in San Francisco (long story short is you'll probably end up at the P&DC Post Office in Hunter's Point):
Need your passport in less than the routine processing time (6 weeks as of April 2016) for upcoming international travel?
San Francisco Passport Agency
M-F 8-4
450 Golden Gate Ave (Phillip Burton Federal Building), 3rd Floor, Suite 3-2501
Note that as of 2016 it is no longer at 95 Hawthorne St
Call for appointment 877-487-2778 M-F 8-10 and Sat 10-3 Eastern (in other words, M-F 5-7 / Sat 7-12 Pacific)
note that as of December 2015 they'll only give you an appointment if you have proof of travel within 2 weeks (or need a visa within 4 weeks)
appointments aren't required—they just let you skip (some of) the lines
Yelp reviews recommend getting there ~30 minutes before your appointment time...they also recommend getting there ~6 AM if you don't have an appointment
Typical turn-around time is 8 business days, but for imminent, ticketed international travel they can usually get you the passport sooner
it's not unheard of to even apply & receive your passport the same day
Note: costs $60 extra for Expedited Service
Otherwise (full list at https://iafdb.travel.state.gov)
SF P&DC Finance Post Office (Hunter's Point)
1300 Evans Ave
Passport Hours M-F 7:30-3:30 and Sat 7-12
(note that their website says they open at 8 AM on Saturdays but according to a postal worker in April 2016, they open at 7)
415-550-5211 --> no longer does appointments (as of April 2016)
Saturdays are the most busy day, and they only accept 75 applications on that day—so get there early (before they open at 7 AM to be sure of getting a number)
weekdays are drop-in and generally less crowded...we went on a Thursday at ~12:45 which seemed ideal (they were on number 9 and we pulled number 14, and were seen within ~20 minutes...the whole thing took less than an hour)
Yelp reviews suggest that on Saturdays sometimes all the walk-in numbers are taken before 8 AM
Marina Post Office
2055 Lombard St
By appointment only M-Th/Sat 10-3
415-351-1875
Yelp reviews suggest that they never pick up their phone to allow you to make an appointment, and if you go in person they're usually booked over a month...and sure enough, when I called in April 2016, they didn't pick up their phone
Noe Valley Post Office
4083 24th St (@ Castro)
By appointment only during M-F 10-3:30
415-821-3914 or 415-821-3863...when I called in April 2016, the earliest appointment was July
Excelsior Post Office
15 Onondaga Ave (between Alamany & Mission, just south of Ocean Ave)
415-334-1057
By appointment only during M-F 10-3
San Francisco Treasurer/Tax Collector
City Hall, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl, Room 140
By appointment only during M-F 9-11:30 and 2-4
Call 311 or 415-701-2311 or book online (as of April 2016 the next slot was mid-June), can be scheduled up to 60 days in advance
...note that options are pretty slim if you work Monday through Friday (!).
Stuff to bring:
Passport photos
Note the State Department's requirements
have a young child who needs photos? both our friends and we liked www.notaryphotolivescanshipping.com on Mission & Cesar Chavez
Filled-out application (you can fill it out online and print the PDF, or fill it out by hand)
Child under 16: both parents and the child
If only 1 parent can come, the other can do a notarized consent form
Proof of citizenship and identification
Usually a certified birth certificate or old passport
Checkbook (you often need two checks, one for the State Department and one for the "execution fee", which goes to the place you apply)
at the Passport Agency you can also use credit cards