What Does It Cost to Renew a US Passport? Government Fees, Renewal Channels, Fee History and International Comparisons from the Federal Schedule of Consular Fees, 2000–2026

Passport renewal is among the most common transactions between US adults and the federal government, but its price is spread across several fee lines, channels and options. We reconstruct it from the Department of State schedule of fees (22 CFR 22.1), its annual editions since 2000, the Federal Register rules that changed it and the renewal and first-time application forms. An adult book renewal costs USD 130 in 2026: a USD 50 application fee and an USD 80 security surcharge. A first-time book costs USD 165; the whole USD 35 difference is the execution fee charged only on in-person applications. With expedited service and 1–3 day return delivery a renewal costs USD 212.05. The adult renewal fee rose from USD 40 in 2000 to USD 130, 3.25 times as much, in seven rule changes; in 2025 dollars it peaked at USD 157.44 in 2011 and stood at USD 130.00 in 2025, 1.74 times its 2000 real level. The security surcharge, absent in 2000, now makes up 61.5% of the fee. Online renewal, fully available since September 2024, is projected to handle about 60% of 10.5 million renewals in fiscal 2027, with government-estimated savings of USD 148.7 million a year in postage, photos and travel. At the USD 7.25 federal minimum wage, which applies in 20 states, the fee equals 17.9 hours of work, against 7.1 hours in the District of Columbia. Among 12 other countries' standard adult fees, converted at a single exchange-rate reading, the US renewal ranked fifth; per year of validity, at USD 13.00, it exceeded 16 of 20 countries compared.