How to Fill Out a Money Order for Passport Renewal

To fill out a money order for passport renewal, write “U.S. Department of State” on the payee line, enter the exact fee for the service you selected, print the applicant’s full legal name and date of birth in the memo section, and sign the purchaser line. Every field matters. A wrong amount, a misspelled payee, or a correction mark can suspend your application for weeks or get it rejected outright.¹

Before you buy anything, confirm you actually need a money order. Adults 25 and older whose most recent 10-year passport expires within a year or expired less than five years ago can now renew online with a credit or debit card, as long as they are not changing their name and not traveling within six weeks.² If that is you, skip the money order. If you are renewing by mail with Form DS-82, keep reading.

Know the Exact Amount Before You Buy

The clerk usually fills in the dollar amount at the counter, so you need the total ready. Passport renewal fees are:

Passport book: $130
Passport card: $30
Both book and card: $160
Expedited processing: add $60
1–3 day delivery of the finished passport: add $22.05

The $35 acceptance facility fee that first-time applicants pay in person does not apply to mail-in renewals.³ So an adult renewing a book with expedited processing and fast return delivery needs a money order for $212.05. If family members are renewing together, one money order can cover all of the applications in the envelope, provided the total is exact.⁴

USPS money orders go up to $1,000, which covers any renewal combination in a single instrument. The USPS fee is $2.55 for money orders up to $500 and $3.60 for amounts between $500.01 and $1,000.⁵ Banks, credit unions, and retailers sell them too, but a Postal Service money order is the cleanest option for a federal payment.

Fill It Out Field by Field

Do this at the counter, before you walk away. A blank money order is essentially cash if it gets lost.

Pay To

Write U.S. Department of State on the “Pay To” or “Pay to the Order Of” line. Spell it out. Do not shorten it to “Dept. of State” or “DOS.” Any variation risks rejection.³

Amount

Check both the numeric box and the written amount line. They must match, and they must match the fee you calculated. Underpayments can suspend processing for 30 days or lead to denial if the balance is not paid in time. Overpayments above $5 are refunded, but the refund adds delay.¹

Purchaser Information

Print your full legal name and current mailing address in the “From” or purchaser fields. This links the payment to your application if the money order and the DS-82 are ever separated during processing.³

Memo Line

On the memo or “For” line, write the applicant’s date of birth. The State Department asks for this so staff can match payments to the right applications. If you are paying for a spouse or child, put that person’s name and date of birth in the memo, not your own.³

Signature

Sign the line labeled “Purchaser,” “Signer,” or “Drawer” on the front. Do not sign the back. The back endorsement line belongs to the recipient, which is the Department of State.⁵

Mistakes That Will Get It Rejected

A few errors show up over and over:

Corrections, cross-outs, or white-out. A money order with any of these is treated as altered and will not be accepted. If you slip, do not try to fix it. Take it back to the issuer for a refund or replacement and start over.
The wrong payee name. Anything other than “U.S. Department of State” is a risk. Confirm spelling before leaving the counter.
An amount that does not match the exact fee. Underpaying stalls the application; overpaying triggers a refund process that slows things down.¹
Illegible handwriting. Print in ink. A smudged or unreadable field can void the document.

One more thing to know about payment methods: the State Department accepts personal checks, certified checks, cashier’s checks, traveler’s checks, and money orders by mail. Cash is not accepted. Credit and debit cards work only for online renewal, not by mail.⁴ If you were considering a personal check instead, note that temporary or “starter” checks without a pre-printed name and address are not acceptable, which is part of why money orders are a common choice.¹

Keep the Receipt and Attach the Payment

Every money order has a detachable receipt. Tear it off before mailing and keep it. It is your proof of payment and the only way to check through the issuer whether the money order has been cashed.⁵

Attach the money order to your completed DS-82 with a paperclip. Do not staple through the money order itself. A staple that pierces the barcode or the magnetic ink strip at the bottom can interfere with processing. Photos get stapled where the form tells you to; the money order does not.

1
Foreign Affairs Manual. 8 FAM 602.2 Passport Fees
2
U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
3
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
4
U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
5
USPS. Money Orders