When you carry a passport in your pocket, you’ve got a key to the world. See a not-to-be-missed price on a ticket to Paris? Your passport can help you take advantage of remarkable travel opportunities as they arise. Whether or not you are currently planning a trip or just want to be ready for anything, a passport is a traveler’s must-have you don’t want to be without.

Now is the right time to get your passport

Did you know that passport requirements are poised to change in 2018? It’s true. This is but one of the very good reasons that now is the right time to smile for the passport camera and get your travel docs in order.

As of January 2007, all US citizens who wish to travel anywhere outside the United States is by law required to carry a valid passport. Until that time, Americans were entitled to cross borders at Mexico and Canada without showing a passport. This is not the case anymore. In fact, you now need a passport to travel to the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Bermuda, too. In a few cases, an Air NEXUS card, Alien Registration card, or US Coast Guard / Merchant Mariner doc may grant you access to these countries, but don’t count on it. If you wish to see any place beyond United States borders, expect to be asked for your passport, explain travel gurus at She Knows magazine.

 

A passport is more than an imperative travel document

If you lose your driver’s license, a valid US passport can come in quite handy. Your passport can be accepted as your primary source of identification. In fact, you may present your passport as photo ID anytime you wish to vote or purchase alcohol in any of the fifty states. Once you have a passport in your name, it’s a whole lot easier to replace a lost or stolen driver’s license, too.

 

A few more things to know about passports

Typically, the passport obtainment process is a lot quicker between the months of September and December. The busiest time of year at the passport office generally occurs in January. The US State Department is the agency that registers passports, and more than 20 million passports are issued and/or renewed each and every year.

If you see that your passport is about to expire, you may be able to renew it by snail mail, says Conde Nast Traveler. You may not need a passport to travel from your home state to Renaissance Indian Wells Resort and Spa by Marriott, but it’s a great idea to have one in your pocket, anyway.

We live in a beautiful world with a wealth of places to go and things to see. Don’t let a lack of paper preclude your travel plans. It takes a while to be approved for a passport, and there’s no better time to begin the process than right now.