- Whether you need a new passport or a passport renewal
- How quickly do you need your passport application processed?
- What additional services do you need?
Most applicants have no idea how much a passport costs can vary! Depending on your needs, you can expect a passport and related expenses to cost anywhere from approximately $200 to $1,000 or more.
There are extra expenses that you might have to pay to get a passport that are easy to overlook. This article will clarify all of the possible expenses involved in getting a U.S. passport. This way, you can have a better understanding of your total cost. If you are only interested in the required fees, visit our complete passport fee guide. However, if you are intrested in the true cost of getting a passport, read on.So, how much does it cost to get a passport? We have all the information you need to answer the question for yourself. This guide draws from our decades of first-hand experience helping US travelers with their passport-related questions and needs.
Table of Contents
- Required Passport Fees
- Special Service Fees for Passport Applications
- Additional Expenses for Getting a Passport
Required Passport Fees
There are only two required fees for getting a passport. One is the application processing fee. The amount you pay depends on how old you are and whether you want a passport book, a card, or both. Applicants age 16 or older pay $130 for a book, $30 for a card, and $160 for both.Minors age 15 or younger pay $100 for a book, $15 for a card, and $115 for both.
An execution fee of $35 is also required when submitting form DS-11 to get a new passport or replace one that has been lost, stolen, or damaged. This fee is not required when applying for a renewal using form DS-82. Note: passports issued to minors cannot be renewed. The applicant must appear in person in order to apply. Both the application and execution fees must be paid. Determine which fee or fees you will be required to pay and write down that amount. Read on to find out the rest of the factors that add up to the true cost of getting your passport.Special Service Fees for Passport Applications
- Expedited Processing Fee - applicants can pay an additional $60 to expedite the processing of a passport application form. This reduces the processing time by several weeks.
Expedited service can be requested when applying in person at a local facility, by mail for renewals, or at a regional passport agency.
- Expedited Delivery Fee - Another way to speed up the delivery of your new passport is to request 1-2 day delivery. The fee for this service is currently $21.36
. Note, this is only available for passport books.
Passport cards should be sent via First Class Mail. If you need your travel document quickly, you will probably want to pay for this service.
- File Search Fee - This special service only applies to applicants of new passports who do not have proof of citizenship, but who were previously issued a passport. These applicants can pay $150 for a File Search.
Passport Services will search their files to locate any record of U.S. citizenship for that applicant that they have archived.
Click here for the complete list of passport fees.
Will you be requesting any of these special services? If so, you need to add them to the required fees you will be paying. For example, an adult who is applying for a new passport at an application acceptance facility and who would like to expedite the process and have the new passport delivered quickly would pay four different fees.- Application Fee: $130
- Execution Fee: $35
- Expedited Service Fee: $60
- 1-2 Day Delivery: $21.36
- Total: $244.53
Additional Expenses for Getting a Passport
Other expenses that can be incurred during the application process but are often overlooked and not factored into the total cost of a passport include:
- passport photos
- postage and handling
- transportation
- parking
- food and lodging
When applying at a U.S. Passport Office location, you need to account for the cost of getting there and possibly paying to park.
If you need to travel to one of the 26 U.S. Regional Passport Agencies for urgent service, this could lead to steeper travel costs. In this case, you should budget for transportation, meals, and possibly even lodging (should you need to wait to retrieve your new passport).
Not all of these extra costs may apply to you and your situation, but some probably will. So, be sure to calculate these into the final price of your passport. You can easily identify the price of an envelope, shipping cost, transportation, parking, meals, and hotel rates either from personal experience or some quick online research. The amount can vary quite a lot, depending on how far you need to travel to apply. Ultimately, a person who submits an application at an acceptance facility close to their home may have additional expenses of less than $20. Someone who has to travel a long distance and stay overnight in order to apply at a regional agency might end up spending a couple hundred dollars or more.Time is Money When Applying for a Passport
Another aspect of the application process that should be factored into the cost of a passport is the time you spend preparing and submitting the application.
The time required to complete the online form, print it, schedule an appointment, get a photo taken, and visit an acceptance facility or a regional agency can take from an hour or so to a day or more. The value you place on your time needs to be factored into the total cost of your passport. Even if you give yourself an hourly rate of $15, spending just 7 hours on the passport process would add up to over $100. Add that to all the other expenses, and you could be looking at costs totaling over $400. If you have to travel to a regional agency, this number could be more than double.If these figures seem daunting, it may be worth considering getting the help of a passport expediting service.
A Fair Comparison of Passport Application Costs
When someone learns how much private passport courier fees are, they often claim that it's expensive. The fee for a reliable expediting service can run from $99 to $499 or more. Yes, it is expensive.
But applying to expedite a passport at a regional agency can be just as expensive. Depending on where you live and your available time, it could be much more. Once you factor in the many hours on the road, finding the location, parking, waiting in lines, waiting to go back to pick up your passport, and the trip back home (along with all the other expenses from such a trip), you can make a fairer comparison. Contracting an expediter is not the best solution for everyone. But, it is a great option for those who realize the true cost of all the additional expenses that go along with submitting a passport application in person.Passport expediting services are also ideal for those whose time and/or mobility prevent them from completing all the steps necessary to get a passport quickly.
In most cases, the total costs of getting an expedited passport on your own add up to a higher amount than the fee you would pay a registered courier to get your passport on your behalf.
So, how much does a passport cost? Again, it depends on the many variables we have listed above. The lowest possible price would be about $50 for the renewal of a passport card for an adult. This would include the application fee, passport photo, and postage. The highest amount an applicant might spend to get a passport can reach $750 or more. That's a pretty high price to pay for a passport and probably only worth the cost in emergency situations. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of all the expenses involved in getting a passport. With this information, you should have what you need to more accurately calculate what it will cost you to apply-whether you apply by mail, at an application acceptance facility, at a regional agency, or through a registered passport expediting service.Top 5 Questions About Expedited Passport Couriers
2. What exactly does a passport expediter do?
3. Are passport expediting services legitimate?
4. How can I identify a reliable passport expeditor?
5. Is expedited passport service worth it? Get answers to these questions and more in our Ultimate U.S. Traveler's Guide to Passport Expediters.
You can also visit our library of articles about passport expediting.
