How Much Does It Cost to Renew a U.S. Passport?

Renewing an adult U.S. passport book costs $130, a passport card costs $30, and getting both at once costs $160. Those are the base application fees paid to the U.S. Department of State, and if you qualify to renew by mail or online there’s no separate acceptance fee on top. What you actually spend depends on whether you add expedited processing, faster delivery, and a new photo, and whether you’re truly eligible to renew or have to apply as a new applicant instead. That last distinction is where the cost of renewing a U.S. passport can jump by $35 or more.¹

The Base Fees for an Adult Renewal

If you qualify to renew, you pay only the application fee. Nothing else goes to the government at that stage.

Passport book: $130. Valid for international travel by air, land, and sea.
Passport card: $30. Valid only for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.
Book and card together: $160.

Mail renewals take a check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of State.” Online renewals take a credit or debit card.¹

Add-Ons That Push the Total Higher

Two optional services from the State Department raise the price. Expedited processing costs an extra $60 and shortens processing from the routine 4 to 6 weeks down to 2 to 3 weeks. Faster delivery of the finished book on the way back to you costs $22.05 for 1-to-3 day service, and it applies only to passport books shipped to U.S. addresses, not to cards.¹

Stack everything and a standard adult book renewal tops out at $212.05: $130 application, $60 expedite, $22.05 delivery. A new passport photo typically runs $8 to $17 at a retail location and more at a photography studio, which brings a maxed-out renewal to roughly $220 to $230.

Online renewal, worth noting, doesn’t offer expedited processing at all. If your trip is less than about six weeks away, the online path won’t work; you’ll need to mail your application with the expedite fee or book an in-person appointment.²

When You Don’t Actually Qualify to Renew

This is where people get caught. You can only use the renewal form (DS-82) if your most recent passport:

Was issued when you were 16 or older.
Was issued within the last 15 years.
Can be submitted with your application, meaning it isn’t lost, stolen, or significantly damaged.
Was issued in your current name, or you can document the name change.

Fail any one of those and you’re not renewing. You’re applying as a new applicant on Form DS-11, in person at an acceptance facility, and that adds a $35 facility acceptance fee to whatever the application costs. A new adult book runs $165 instead of $130.³¹

Someone whose passport lapsed more than 15 years ago, or who last got one as a teenager, falls into this category. So does anyone changing their name without documentation.

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Passports

A lost or stolen passport can’t be renewed at any price. You apply fresh on Form DS-11 and pay first-time applicant fees: $130 for a book plus the $35 acceptance fee, for $165 total. A replacement card is $65. Both together cost $195.⁴

Damaged passports follow the same route. Water damage, significant tears, unauthorized markings on the data page, or missing pages all require a DS-11 and a signed statement explaining the damage. Normal wear and tear doesn’t count.⁵

One more charge to know about: if you can’t provide any evidence of U.S. citizenship or a previously issued passport, the State Department adds a $150 file search fee.⁴

Children Under 16 Can’t Renew

Every child under 16 applies in person on Form DS-11, every time. There’s no mail renewal for kids, so the $35 acceptance fee always applies. The application fees themselves are lower than the adult ones:

Passport book: $100 application + $35 acceptance = $135.
Passport card: $15 application + $35 acceptance = $50.
Book and card together: $115 application + $35 acceptance = $150.

Children’s passports are valid for 5 years rather than the 10 years adults get, so families pay these fees twice as often.¹

A Free Correction Window for Name Changes

If your name changed less than one year after your current passport was issued, you can get a corrected passport at no charge using Form DS-5504 rather than paying to renew. You submit the form, the current passport, a passport photo, and an original or certified document proving the name change. The only possible cost is $60 if you want the correction expedited.⁶

Urgent Travel: Same Fees, Different Route

When even expedited mail service is too slow, two in-person options at a regional passport agency exist:

Urgent travel service, for trips within the next 2 to 3 weeks. You schedule an appointment within 14 days of your travel date, or within 28 days if you also need a foreign visa.
Life-or-death emergency service, for travel within 14 days because of a serious illness, injury, or death of an immediate family member abroad.

Neither appointment carries its own fee. You pay the standard application fee plus the $60 expedite fee, the same as any expedited application.⁷

Quick Reference

Adult book renewal, routine: $130.
Adult card renewal, routine: $30.
Adult book and card renewal, routine: $160.
Add expedited processing: +$60.
Add 1-to-3 day delivery of a book: +$22.05.
New adult book (not eligible to renew): $165.
Replacement book for a lost or stolen passport: $165.
Replacement card for a lost or stolen passport: $65.
Child book (under 16): $135.
Child card (under 16): $50.
Name correction within one year of issuance: free ($60 to expedite).
File search fee when no proof of prior citizenship or passport exists: $150.

1
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
2
U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
3
U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
4
U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
5
U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions about Passport Services
6
U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport
7
U.S. Department of State. How to Get my U.S. Passport Fast