Passports Are About to Get More Expensive — Here's What Travelers Will Pay

Alison Fox
·2 min read
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The U.S. Department of State is set to increase the cost of passports next week, making it even more expensive to get or renew a passport.

Starting Dec. 27, the fee for a passport book will increase by $20, according to the State Department. The price increase is in addition to the current application fee of $110 for an adult passport and the $60 people can pay to expedite their applications.

Children under 16 currently have to pay $115 ($80 for the application and $35 for an execution fee), which will increase to $135 next week.

Adults who are applying for a passport for the first time must also pay the $35 execution fee to get their passport.

"The increased fee is necessary to ensure we continue to produce one of the most secure travel and identity documents in the world," the State Department tweeted on Monday.

Close-up of American passport
Close-up of American passport

Tetra Images/Getty Images

Currently, the most convenient way to renew a passport is by mail, which can be used by travelers who were at least 16 years old when they got their last passport. To renew by mail, the passport must be undamaged and have been issued in the last 15 years.

Travelers may soon be able to renew their passports entirely online after ​​President Joe Biden signed an executive order last week requiring the government to design a new digital system. The new order is expected to take six to 12 months to implement.

The price increase comes months after the State Department dealt with an immense backlog in which passport applications were taking up to 18 weeks to process and mail out (12 weeks for processing and up to six weeks for mailing). That has since dropped to eight to 11 weeks for normal processing and five to seven weeks for expedited processing, according to the department.

Travelers can also choose to pay an additional $17.56 for one-day or two-day delivery for the return of their completed passport.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.