WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State published a rule that will increase the passport execution fee by $10 beginning April 2.
People wanting to avoid the $10 increase will have to renew or apply for their passport before April 2, when the fee will go up to $35.
Those who apply for a passport renewal by mail will not see a fee increase, according to the U.S. Department of State.
The USDS gave the following explanation for the price hike:
The Department of State generally sets consular fees at an amount calculated to achieve recovery of the costs to the U.S. government of providing the consular service. The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs determines the cost of each service through a Cost of Service Model. The most recently approved update to the Cost of Service Model showed that the costs associated with passport execution were higher than the current fee of $25. A similar study conducted by the U.S. Postal Service came to the same conclusion. In both cases, the studies showed that the cost of the passport execution service was close to $35. The Department seeks to recover for the U.S. government, as far as possible, the cost of providing consular services through the collection of consular fees.