US Passport Costs in 2026
The direct answer: a first adult passport book is $165, an adult renewal is $130, and a child’s book lands at $135 all in.
The two-payment split on in-person applications is worth keeping straight, because it explains the loudest myth of the year: articles announcing a “new $165 passport fee” are simply adding the $130 application fee and the $35 execution fee together. Nothing increased. The core fees have not moved since the December 2021 schedule — the only fee that changed in 2026 is the delivery charge in the table’s last row, covered below.
One thing on the schedule is genuinely new: since April 2026, qualifying first responders can receive no-fee passports under the First Responders Passport Act.
Passport Prices 2026: Every Fee in One Table
Every 2026 passport price, one table — each figure is the State Department’s own published fee, current as of August 2026:
| First adult passport book — apply in person, Form DS-11 | $165 ($130 application + $35 execution, two payments) |
|---|---|
| Adult renewal — Form DS-82, mail or online | $130 |
| Child under 16 — passport book | $135 ($100 + $35 execution) |
| Child under 16 — passport card | $15 + $35 execution |
| Adult passport card, first-time | $30 + $35 execution |
| Adult book + card together, first-time | $160 + one $35 execution |
| Expedited service | +$60 per application |
| 1–3 Day Return Delivery — books only | $23.36 |
US Passport Renewal Fees 2026
$130, flat. A renewal goes on Form DS-82, by mail or online, and the $35 execution fee does not apply — that fee belongs to in-person, first-time applications, and a renewal is neither.
Online renewal costs exactly what mail renewal costs — the same $130, no portal surcharge and no discount either. Pick whichever one you will actually finish.
The practical upshot: the widely quoted $165 is a first-timer’s number. If you are renewing, every total on this page is $35 lighter for you.
How much is a passport for a child?
Children under 16 always apply in person, on Form DS-11 — there is no mail or online renewal for kids, so every child passport is a full application with the same two-payment split:
| Passport book, under 16 | $100 + the $35 execution fee |
|---|---|
| Passport card, under 16 | $15 + the $35 execution fee |
| Book and card together | $115 + one $35 execution fee |
The book lands at $135 all in — $100 to the State Department, $35 to the acceptance facility.
The child’s photo is held to the same spec as an adult’s, and for a baby, taking it is the hard part of the whole application — the sheet-on-the-floor setup has its own guide.
Passport card vs. book: what does the $30 card actually cover?
The card is the cheap one, and the catch sits in a single line: it is not valid for international air travel. It covers land and sea crossings to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean — drive across, cruise home. The moment a trip involves boarding a plane out of the country, you need the book.
| Passport card, adult, first-time | $30 + the $35 execution fee |
|---|---|
| Passport card, adult, renewal | $30 |
| Book + card together, first-time | $160 + one $35 execution fee |
If you want both documents, the bundle is the route: a first-time application for book and card together is $160, with a single $35 execution fee.
How much is the passport expedite fee — and what does delivery cost?
Expedited service is $60 on top, per application — a family expediting four passports pays it four times. It is also the rare government fee with a guarantee attached: if the expedited timeframe is not met, the $60 is refundable.
Getting the finished book back quickly is a separate charge: 1–3 Day Return Delivery is $23.36 — books only, US addresses, and not available on card-only applications. It rose from $22.05 in June 2026, which makes it the one passport fee that actually went up this year. Cards ship First-Class Mail at no charge.
| Expedited service | +$60 per application — refundable if the timeframe is not met |
|---|---|
| 1–3 Day Return Delivery (books only, US addresses) | $23.36 |
| Passport card delivery | First-Class Mail — no charge |
| File search, if citizenship evidence can’t be produced | $150 |
| Correcting a data error — Form DS-5504 | $0 |
The bottom two rows are edge cases most people never meet: the $150 file search applies when you cannot produce evidence of citizenship and the State Department searches its own records instead, and correcting a data error in a passport you already received costs nothing.
The fee no table includes: the photo
Run a finger down every table above and one line item is missing: the photo. No government fee includes one — you supply it, and it is measured against an exact spec: head at 50–69% of the photo's height (1 to 1⅜ in / 25–35 mm), eyes 56–69% up from the bottom of the photo, on a background matching: Plain white or off-white, in a JPEG sized 2×2 in (51×51 mm) · 600×600 to 1200×1200 pixels, square.
At a drugstore photo counter, that photo runs roughly $17–18 for two prints — pharmacy by pharmacy, the prices are their own post, linked below.
Or skip the counter entirely: the maker replaces whatever background your selfie has with pure white — which is how a photo taken in a kitchen becomes a compliant file — crops the head to spec, and exports 600×600 JPEG · 2×2 in print sheet · pure white background. The download includes a print-ready 4×6 sheet (6 copies): have it printed at any photo counter as an ordinary print and cut along the guides. You see the finished photo and its full check report free before paying anything.
These are the eight checks a US passport photo is measured against here:
- Exactly one face, looking straight ahead
- Head sized 50–69% of frame
- Eyes at the required height (56–69% from the bottom)
- No head tilt
- Background replaced with pure white
- Even, uniform background
- Sharp focus — no blur
- Natural exposure — not too dark or bright
The reason to measure before you mail anything: a rejected photo costs none of the fees above and all of the time. The State Department suspends the application and waits for a replacement — and the $60 you may have paid to expedite does not re-crop your head for you. A failed check right now costs a one-minute retake instead.
Upload a selfie — see it pass free
See your finished photo and its full check report free · download it for $16.99at CVS; ours is $9 · refunded if the government rejects it