A Closer Look at Passport Fees

Many of you have asked us questions about US passport fees, and expressed interest in our comprehensive Passport Fee page. Today we’re going to take an even closer look at the fees for US passports. Read on – by the end of this article, you will be a passport fee expert!

Why Do US Passports Cost $110?

The price of a US passport for adults over age 16 was set in July 2010. At that time, the price was raised to $110, an increase of $35 over the previous fee of $75. A close look at the US State Department’s Schedule of Fees for Consular Servicesreveals that the $110 charged for US passports is actually made up of two separate fees. The base fee for a passport book is $70, and there is a second fee of $40 for a “Passport Book Security Surcharge.” This surcharge is further broken down into a $22 charge to help cover the costs of meeting the increased demand for US passports, and an $18 “Enhanced Border Security Fee.”

In essence, the increased passport fees that you have had to pay since 2010 have gone toward helping the State Department pay for all the additional personnel they’ve had to hire to accommodate the surge of passport applications since 2006, and toward measures like the biometric chips and Automated Passport Control kiosks that have made international travel safer and more efficient.

What is a Passport Execution Fee?

If you are getting a first time passport, a replacement for a lost, stolen, or damaged passport, or a passport for a child age 15 or younger, you’re going to have to pay a Passport Execution Fee when you apply for your passport. The $25 Passport Execution Fee is a fee set by the US State Department, but it’s paid separately from your passport book (or card) fee.

The Passport Execution Fee is charged when you visit a Passport Acceptance Agent. Passport Acceptance Agents are typically found at large US Post Offices, Clerk of the Court offices, and other government facilities. The agents are not employees of the US State Department, but they are given the power to review your passport application and identity documents as the first step in your passport application service. Once your documents have been reviewed, the acceptance agent will seal them into an official envelope for processing. This procedure is called “executing” the passport, and the fee of $25 applies at every Passport Acceptance Agent across the country.

We have heard of applicants being charged slightly higher fees at Passport Acceptance Agents. Usually, this is just an extra dollar or two that is charged for photocopying services, or a fee of $10 or so if you have had passport photos taken on site. However, if any Passport Acceptance Agent tells you that the fee is more than $25, you should question why you have not been charged the official fee that was set by the US federal government!

Recently, a case came to light of a County Clerk who illegally waived the passport execution fees for hundreds of people. Cheryl Dinolfo, who was County Clerk of Monroe County, New York from 2009 to 2016, accepted passport applications from select applicants without charging the passport execution fee. This violates federal law, which requires all passport applicants to pay the same fee. The new County Clerk is now following up on past passport applications and attempting to collect the unpaid execution fees. While we don’t want you to be overcharged for a passport execution fee, you should also beware a bargain!