How much does a passport cost?
A US passport book is $130 and almost nobody pays only that. The U.S. Department of State states that when you apply in person at a passport acceptance facility you pay two fees, one to the department and one to the facility, and the facility acceptance fee is $35. So a first-time adult book is $130 to the department plus $35 to the post office or clerk who takes the application, while an adult who is eligible to renew by mail or online pays the $130 and no acceptance fee at all. A passport card is $30 for an adult and $15 for a child under 16, and a child under 16 pays $100 for a book rather than $130. Rushing it is $60 on top, and having it back in one to three days after it is posted is another $23.36. Correcting a data error costs nothing.
$130
the application fee for an adult passport book, first time or renewal
$35
the separate acceptance fee, paid to the facility rather than to the department
$0
correcting a data error on a passport, on form DS-5504
The 2 figures above, drawn to one scale so the distance between them is visible rather than only stated. Each bar spans its own range, and the amount beside it is the one printed above.
Cost breakdown
Each table below comes from one source, named underneath it, with the date that source last revised the figures. Everything is a United States figure in USD.
An adult of 16 or older, applying for the first time or not eligible to renew
| Document | Form | Application fee | Facility acceptance fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport book | DS-11 | $130 | $35 |
| Passport card | DS-11 | $30 | $35 |
| Passport book and card | DS-11 | $160 | $35 |
An adult of 16 or older eligible to renew: passport book and passport card cost, by mail or online
| Document | How it is submitted | Application fee | Facility acceptance fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport book | By mail or online | $130 | None |
| Passport card | By mail or online | $30 | None |
| Passport book and card | By mail or online | $160 | None |
A child under 16
| Document | Form | Application fee | Facility acceptance fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport book | DS-11 | $100 | $35 |
| Passport card | DS-11 | $15 | $35 |
| Passport book and card | DS-11 | $115 | $35 |
Rushing it, and getting it back faster
| Service | Fee for each application | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Expedited service | $60 | How quickly the department processes the application |
| 1 to 3 day return delivery | $23.36 | How quickly it reaches you after the department posts it, and it is not offered on a card-only application |
Changing or correcting a passport you already have
| What you need | Form | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Correcting a data error | DS-5504 | $0 |
| A name change | Depends on the situation | The department directs you to its own fee calculator |
A bar for each row of the table above, 3 of them, drawn to the same scale so the spread is visible at a glance. The figure beside each bar is the one the table prints.
What changes the price
- Whether you can renew by mail
- The single largest factor and the only one that removes a whole fee. The U.S. Department of State charges $130 for an adult book either way, and adds a $35 acceptance fee only where the application is handed in at a facility.
- Your age, or your child’s
- The U.S. Department of State charges a child under 16 $100 for a book against an adult’s $130, and $15 for a card against $30. The $35 acceptance fee is the same at every age.
- A book, a card, or both
- The U.S. Department of State charges an adult $130 for a book, $30 for a card and $160 for both. A card is the cheapest document on the schedule by a wide margin, and it is limited to land and sea entry rather than air travel.
- How fast you need it
- The U.S. Department of State charges $60 for each expedited application, which is the department processing it sooner rather than it arriving sooner.
- How it gets back to you
- The U.S. Department of State charges $23.36 for one to three day return delivery, a separate purchase from the $60 above, and does not offer it on an application for a passport card alone.
- Whether the mistake was theirs
- The U.S. Department of State publishes $0 on form DS-5504 for correcting a data error. A name change has no single published figure and the department points to its own calculator instead.
How to pay less
- Find out whether you are eligible to renew before anything else
- It is the one answer that removes the U.S. Department of State’s $35 acceptance fee, because a renewal goes by mail or online and nobody takes it over a counter.
- Ask whether a card does what you need
- The U.S. Department of State charges an adult $30 for a passport card against $130 for a book, and $15 against $100 for a child. It is not valid for international air travel, so this is a question about your trip rather than about the price.
- Do not buy speed you are not using
- The U.S. Department of State publishes the $60 expedited fee and the $23.36 return delivery separately, because they shorten different halves of the wait.
- Ask for the expedite back if you did not get it
- The U.S. Department of State states that a refund of the $60 expedited fee can be requested where it was paid and expedited service was not received.
- Correct an error on the form that costs nothing
- Where the printed passport carries a data error, the U.S. Department of State puts it right on form DS-5504 at $0 rather than through a paid application.
- Count the acceptance fee once per person, not once per family
- The U.S. Department of State charges the $35 for each application handed in, and a child under 16 can never renew by mail, so four first-time applications is four of them.
Questions
How much does a passport cost?
An adult passport book is $130 in application fees to the U.S. Department of State. Where the application is handed in at an acceptance facility rather than renewed by mail, a further $35 acceptance fee is paid to that facility, and the department publishes the two as separate charges to separate payees.
How much does it cost to renew a passport?
The U.S. Department of State charges $130 for an adult book, $30 for a card and $160 for both, submitted by mail or online. No acceptance fee applies to a renewal, because nobody takes the application in person.
Why is there a $35 fee on top?
Because it is not the department’s fee. The U.S. Department of State states that applying in person at an acceptance facility means paying two fees, one to the department and one to the facility where the application is submitted.
How much is a passport for a child?
The U.S. Department of State charges a child under 16 $100 for a book, $15 for a card or $115 for both, plus the $35 acceptance fee. A child under 16 cannot renew by mail, so the acceptance fee always applies.
How much does a passport card cost?
The U.S. Department of State charges $30 for an adult and $15 for a child under 16, plus the $35 acceptance fee where it is applied for in person. It is the cheapest document on the schedule and it is not valid for international air travel.
How much is it to get a passport fast?
The U.S. Department of State charges $60 for each expedited application. Return delivery in one to three days after the department posts it is a separate $23.36, and the department does not offer it where the application is for a passport card only.
What does it cost to correct a mistake on a passport?
Nothing. The U.S. Department of State publishes a $0 fee on form DS-5504 for correcting a data error. A name change has no single published figure and the department directs you to its own calculator.
Where these figures come from
Every figure on this page is published by the U.S. Department of State on its own passport fee schedule, in US dollars, for the United States, and that page was last updated 19 March 2026 and read on 30 September 2026. It was read in a real browser because the site refuses an ordinary fetch. NOTHING HERE IS ADDED UP. The application fee and the acceptance fee are published as separate figures because they are separate payments to separate payees, and a total printed here would be this site’s arithmetic rather than the government’s figure, so both columns are shown and the reader adds. The one figure the department declines to give, the fee for a name change, is left as it leaves it, pointing at its own calculator rather than at an estimate. Fees on a government schedule change by rule rather than by market, so the date above is the whole of the guarantee: check the department’s page before you pay. Nothing here is averaged, turned into a ratio or restated as a typical cost.