New U.S. Passport: Polycarbonate Page, Chip, and Fees

The new U.S. passport design, known as the Next Generation passport, has been issued since 2021 and replaces the old paper data page with a rigid polycarbonate one, laser-engraves your photo and personal details into the plastic, and refreshes the interior artwork throughout the booklet. ¹ You don’t apply for it specifically. Whenever you renew, you’ll most likely receive this version.

The Polycarbonate Data Page

The biggest change is the page with your photo and biographical details. It’s now made of polycarbonate, the same rigid plastic used in credit cards, instead of paper sealed under a thin laminate. ² Pick up the booklet and the data page feels noticeably stiffer than the rest.

Polycarbonate resists bending, peeling, and water damage far better than the old laminate, which could separate from the paper underneath after years of handling. It also makes the page much harder to tamper with, since your information is fused into the plastic layers rather than printed on a surface beneath a removable cover.

Laser-Engraved Photo and Tactile Security

Your photo and personal details are no longer printed with ink. A laser burns them directly into the polycarbonate, producing a grayscale portrait with sharp contrast and fine detail. ¹ Because the image is etched into the material, any attempt to scrape, bleach, or chemically alter it leaves obvious physical damage.

The grayscale portrait might look like a downgrade from the older color photo, but a full-color digital version is still stored on the passport’s embedded chip. Border agents get two independent images to compare against the person in front of them.

The data page also has raised tactile elements and a secondary “ghost” image of your face that agents can feel by touch. These overlap with other design elements in patterns that are difficult to reproduce with standard scanning or printing equipment.

Updated Interior Artwork

The visa pages carry a refreshed collection of American landscapes and historical scenes, continuing the “American Icons” theme from previous editions with more intricate illustrations and richer color. ² National parks, symbolic architecture, and depictions of the country’s geographic diversity appear across the booklet.

The inks shift color when you tilt the page. Beyond the visual effect, color-shifting inks are difficult and expensive to counterfeit, so the artwork doubles as a security feature.

The Electronic Chip

Every U.S. passport book has contained an electronic chip since 2007, and the Next Generation version keeps it. A small contactless microprocessor in the back cover stores a digital copy of your photo, your biographical data, and a unique chip identification number. Any alteration to the chip’s contents fails verification at a border terminal.

At an automated e-gate or a staffed checkpoint, a reader wirelessly pulls the digital photo from the chip and compares it against your face. You don’t need to do anything. Walk up, the passport gets scanned, and the system handles it.

The 2026 Anniversary Edition

The State Department has announced a limited-edition passport commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence in July 2026. It features customized artwork but carries the same security features and legal validity as the standard Next Generation booklet.

You can’t specifically request it through mail-in or online channels. The anniversary version will be the default issue at the Washington Passport Agency for in-person renewals while supplies last. Everyone applying through other locations or online will get the regular Next Generation design.

The Redesign Applies to the Book, Not the Card

The Next Generation changes apply only to the passport book. The passport card, a wallet-sized plastic credential without visa pages, is a separate product. ³ It works only for land and sea crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and certain Caribbean countries, and it cannot be used for international air travel.

If there’s any chance you’ll fly internationally within the next decade, get the book. You can also apply for both at the same time for a combined fee. ⁴

Fees and Processing Times

As of February 2026, passport fees are: ⁴

Adult renewal by mail (DS-82): $130 for a book, $30 for a card, or $160 for both. No execution fee.
First-time adult (DS-11): $130 for a book plus a $35 execution fee paid to the acceptance facility, totaling $165. A card alone is $30 plus $35.
Minor under 18 (DS-11): $100 for a book plus a $35 execution fee, totaling $135. A card alone is $15 plus $35.

The execution fee goes directly to the acceptance facility where you apply in person, such as a post office or county clerk. Renewals by mail skip it because no in-person verification is needed.

Routine processing currently takes four to six weeks. Expedited processing runs two to three weeks and costs an additional $60. ⁵ Those windows cover processing only, not mailing time in either direction, so budget extra days on both ends if a trip is approaching. ⁶

What to Expect When You Renew

The Next Generation design has been rolling out through passport agencies and processing centers since 2021. ² Whether your new book arrives in the newer format depends on which facility processes your application. There’s no way to request one version over the other on the form. As remaining old-design inventory is used up at each location, the Next Generation booklet becomes the default.

If you already hold a valid passport in the older format, you don’t need to do anything. It remains fully valid until its expiration date. Adult books are valid for ten years; passports issued to children under 16 are valid for five years, and those issued to 16- and 17-year-olds are valid for ten. ⁷ No country has announced that it will reject the older U.S. design, and border systems worldwide handle both.

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U.S. Department of State. Information about the Next Generation U.S. Passport
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U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. Introducing the Next Generation Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Get a Passport Card
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U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
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USAGov. Get a Passport for a Minor under 18