Renewing an ESTA
There is no renewal process. You submit a new application, it costs $40.27 again, and it is assessed exactly like a first-time one.
The word “renewal” is used loosely across the internet, including by sites charging extra for it. There is no shortcut, no discounted repeat application, and no way to extend an existing authorization.
When you must reapply
Your ESTA expired. They last two years from approval.
Your passport was replaced. This is the one that catches people. The authorization is tied to the specific passport, so a renewal, replacement, lost or stolen passport all void it — even with eighteen months left to run.
Your name changed. Marriage, divorce, deed poll. The name must match the passport.
Your citizenship changed, or you acquired another one.
Any answer to the eligibility questions changed. An arrest, a conviction, a visa refusal, or travel to one of the restricted countries since you last applied. Travelling on an authorization that no longer reflects the truth is a misrepresentation, whatever the original answers were.
When you do not need to
- Change of address, job or phone number — those are informational
- A new email address
- Travel plans changing entirely, including destination and dates
An ESTA is not tied to a specific trip.
When to do it
About a month before it expires, if you travel regularly. There is no penalty for applying while an existing one is still valid — the new one simply replaces it.
Do not leave it to the airport. CBP advises 72 hours, most decisions come back in minutes, but the ones that go to manual review take up to three days and there is no way to hurry them.
A useful habit: check your expiry date when you book, not when you pack.
Checking before you travel
Look yourself up on the official CBP site with your application number, passport number and date of birth. If you have lost the application number there is a retrieval option using your passport details.
There is no reminder from CBP. No email, no warning. Set your own.
What happens to the old one
Nothing you need to do. A superseded authorization simply stops being the current record. You do not need to cancel anything.
If your circumstances have changed
A previous approval does not guarantee the next one. If something material has changed — an arrest, a visa refusal elsewhere, travel to a restricted country — the new application is assessed on those facts.
Answer honestly anyway. Being refused is recoverable; a false statement to the US government is much harder to undo, and it follows you into any subsequent visa application. See what to do after a refusal.