I recently went to the designated post office in my area, with photos taken at CVS. I arrived about 15 minutes before the Passport window was due to close. There were several people ahead of me and much fussing was occurring because the camera for taking the photos was not working. The supervisor came by and said that those of us with photos who were RENEWING our passport could save the $30. processing fee the post office adds on for handling the application, if we wanted to fill out the form ourselves and mail it. He gave us an application form plus a standard size envelope. It was a breeze to fill out--took just a few minutes.
The completed form was then placed in an envelope with the 2 passport pictures, my soon to expire passport, and a personal check for
(I think) $67.. It is mailed to the address listed in the simple instruction page attached to the application form. The supervisor suggested that it be sent certified mail, return receipt requested, but said this is optional, not required.
The application form to RENEW a passport can be downloaded from the Internet at:
https://pptform2.state.gov/DS82/Eligibility.aspx
It's available as a pdf form that can be filled out on-line and printed out ready to sign and send. Or the blank form can be printed and filled in with pen.
A friend of mine submitted her application through the post office service a week before me. I received my renewed passport two weeks before she did. So it seems that having the post office process it did not expedite it.
NOTE: the above procedure cannot be used by people applying for their first passport. The procedure is outlined at:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html#
