The US passport renewal fee was increased last year to $110. This
was done after a thorough study of the process and costs involved.
Note, this refers only to the application fee. It is only one you are
required to pay when applying for a passport renewal. However, there are
some optional fees and additional expenses that you may incur when
getting your passport renewed. These will be discussed briefly.
Optional Passport Fees
Overnight Delivery
- The U.S. Department of State offers overnight delivery of renewed
passports for those who wish to have their travel documents sent to them
in a speedy manner. The cost of this service is only $12.72 at the time
of writing.
File Search - Applicants who have lost the
document which they previously submitted as evidence of United States
citizenship, can include a written request for a file search with their
application. This fee is $150. If your document was a birth certificate,
you may want to consider applying for a certified copy through the
vital records office of the state or county in which you were born. It
would certainly be a lot less expensive. A problem arises when you need
to get your passport renewed quickly. Not every county or state offers
expedited services. Those that do not can sometimes take several weeks
to issue a certified copy. If you cannot wait this long, a file search
may be the best solution.
Expedited Service - Routine
processing takes 4-6 weeks. If you need to renew your passport more
quickly, you can pay the $60 fee for expedited service. By doing this,
you can get your travel document in up to 3 weeks if you submit the form
by mail or as fast as the same day if you personally submit it at a
regional agency.
Additional Expenses Related to Passport Renewals
Passport Photo
- Only one picture is not required. Even so, you probably will not find
a location that will make only one photo. For example, you will pay
$7.99 at CVS for two pictures.
Postage and Handling - You
are going to have to pay to mail your application, previously issued
passport, photo and payment. The method you choose to do this will
affect the amount you pay. The State Department recommends using a
traceable delivery method. You can request signature or confirmation
delivery. For fast delivery, you need to choose priority or express
mail. Postage fees can run from a few dollars to upwards of $50,
depending on where you live and the services you request.
Travel Expenses
- Applicants who apply for expedited service at a regional processing
center will have extra expenses. These might include transportation,
parking, meals and, even, lodging. Of course, personal delivery of the
application and supporting documents means you will not have any mail
delivery fees.
Registered Expediter Services - Those who
need to renew passports in less than two weeks but are unable to get to a
regional agency can authorize a registered expediting service to submit
the applications for them. Expediters charge a few for this service
which ranges from approximately $79 to get the renewal in about 10 days
to $299 to have the application processed the same day.
As you can
see, there are many more fees and expenses other than the passport
renewal application fee that you might need to pay in order to get your
travel document renewed. It will cost you more if you wait until the
last minute and require the assistance of a professional service to get
expedited passport renewal. Apply early so that your total expenses do
not go far beyond the basic US passport renewal fee.
Visit U.S. Passport Service Guide to download applications and get step-by-step instructions on how to renew a passport. Applicants with urgent travel plans can check out our guide to getting expedited passport renewals.
