The expedited passport cost is a flat $60 surcharge on top of the standard application fees, which puts a first-time adult passport book at $225, an adult renewal by mail at $190, and a child’s passport at $195. Add the optional 1-to-3-day return delivery and those totals rise by $22.05. In exchange for the $60, processing drops from the routine four-to-six-week window to two to three weeks, not counting mail time in either direction.
What You Pay by Applicant Type
Every expedited application stacks the $60 expedite fee on the same fees you’d pay for routine service. For a passport book:
- Adult, first-time applicant: $130 application fee + $35 acceptance facility fee + $60 expedite fee = $225
- Adult renewal by mail: $130 application fee + $60 expedite fee = $190
- Child under 16: $100 application fee + $35 acceptance facility fee + $60 expedite fee = $195
The $35 acceptance facility fee goes to the location that takes your application, such as a post office or clerk’s office. Renewals skip it because you mail the paperwork straight to the State Department instead of appearing in person.
A passport photo is not included in any of these figures. USPS locations typically charge about $15, and pharmacies and other vendors vary.
Passport Card and Combination Costs
A passport card is valid for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda, but not for international air travel. The base fees are lower, and the $60 expedite fee stays the same:
- Adult, first-time card: $30 + $35 + $60 = $125
- Adult card renewal: $30 + $60 = $90
- Child card: $15 + $35 + $60 = $110
You can apply for both a book and a card at the same time. A first-time adult requesting both pays $160 in application fees plus one $35 facility fee and one $60 expedite fee, for a total of $255.
Return Delivery Upgrade
For $22.05, you can add 1-to-3-day delivery, which speeds up only the return trip of the finished passport from the processing center to your address. That brings a first-time adult book to $247.05 and an adult renewal to $212.05. The upgrade is not available for passport cards; cards ship by First Class Mail only.
If you’re applying in person with Form DS-11, you can also pay for Priority Mail Express at the acceptance facility to speed the outbound trip of your application to the processing center. That price varies by location.
Name Change Correction
If you legally changed your name less than a year after your most recent passport was issued, the only cost to expedite the correction is the $60 expedite fee itself. There’s no application fee and no acceptance facility fee for that specific correction. If the name change happened more than a year after issuance, you pay the full application fees for either a renewal or a new application, plus the $60.
What’s Refundable if Something Goes Wrong
By law, the application fee and the acceptance facility fee are non-refundable, even if your passport isn’t issued. The $60 expedite fee is different: if the State Department didn’t actually deliver expedited processing, you can request that fee back. Travel costs and other trip expenses are not reimbursable if you miss your trip.
Cheaper Option if You’re Not in a Rush
Online renewal costs $130 for a passport book with no acceptance facility fee and no expedite fee. It’s routine processing only, so you have to be willing to wait at least six weeks before traveling, and you need to be 25 or older, renewing a 10-year passport, and not changing your name or other personal information.
When You Need It Faster Than Two to Three Weeks
If two to three weeks still isn’t fast enough, the State Department’s regional passport agencies take walk-in appointments for people with international travel within 14 calendar days, or a foreign visa need within 28 calendar days. You book through the Online Passport Appointment System, which verifies your identity and holds your slot for 15 minutes after scheduling. If you’ve already mailed in an application and need to speed things up, call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 to arrange an agency appointment. Agencies accept credit cards, debit cards, and checks, which gives you more payment flexibility than acceptance facilities.
The agencies do not charge an extra fee beyond the standard expedited fees for taking an in-person appointment. What you’re paying for is access to the shorter turnaround.
Life-or-Death Emergencies
A separate emergency track exists when an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is dying, or has a life-threatening illness or injury. Immediate family here means a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, sibling, or grandparent. Aunts, uncles, and cousins don’t qualify, and traveling abroad for your own medical care doesn’t qualify either. You’ll need documentation of the emergency (a death certificate, mortuary statement, or a signed letter on hospital letterhead), proof of international travel within two weeks, a completed application, a photo, and a valid ID. Standard passport fees still apply; there is no additional emergency-processing surcharge.
Private Passport Couriers
Private courier companies advertise same-day or next-day service and often charge $200 to $500 or more on top of the government fees. They are private businesses, not part of the State Department. What they do is submit your application and pick up the finished passport at a regional agency for you. They do not have access to any faster processing lane than you do. If your paperwork requires Form DS-11, you still have to appear in person at an acceptance facility, courier or no courier, and the State Department accepts no responsibility if a courier loses or damages your documents. The only thing extra money buys here is convenience.