Need a new passport? Wait times just got shorter.

The wait for a U.S. passport has gotten shorter - again.

The State Department announced Thursday that the processing time for passports is now four to six weeks, down from the six to eight weeks that the agency had previously told travelers to expect. Expedited processing, which costs an extra $60, will continue to take two to three weeks.

That new time window is a steep drop from pandemic-related waits in 2021, when officials warned that it could take 12 to 18 weeks to process applications. Since then, times have dropped bit by bit; in early 2023, routine processing took 10 to 13 weeks.

“This announcement comes after months of issuing passports well under the 6-8 week commitment and showcases our progress to continuously improve the efficiency, equity, and accessibility of the U.S. passport application process,” the State Department said in a statement.

The current waits - which do not include mailing times - are the same whether people apply by paper or online.

Thursday’s announcement is the latest good news for Americans looking to travel abroad. Last month, the State Department said its online passport renewal system was “fully available to the public,” after years of more limited trials.

The online option is now available anytime for those who are eligible; an official with the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs told The Washington Post that an estimated 5 million Americans a year would be able to use it.