Passport execution fee (acceptance fee)
The $35 execution fee pays for the agent who checks your identity and takes your oath. It applies to Form DS-11 only.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
First passport, age 18+: what you pay
$165
Arrives between November 14, 2026 and December 26, 2026
| Application fee · DS-11 | $130 |
|---|---|
| Execution (acceptance) fee | $35 |
| Check or money order to “U.S. Department of State” | $130 |
| Separate payment to the acceptance facility | $35 |
| Total | $165 |
| Mail to the State Department | up to 2 weeks |
|---|---|
| Processing | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Mail back to you | up to 2 weeks |
| Last day to apply, routine, worst case | November 6, 2026 |
| Last day to apply, expedited, worst case | November 27, 2026 |
Arrives before your trip even with the slowest published times.
Official rule: routine service if you travel in 6 weeks or more.
How this was calculated
- Fees from the State Department chart “United States Passport Fees”, October 2026 edition, and 22 CFR 22.1 ($50 application + $80 security surcharge = $130 for an adult book).
- Times from the processing-time page updated October 5, 2026: routine 4 to 6 weeks, expedited 2 to 3 weeks, mail up to 2 weeks each way. The earliest date leaves mail out, the latest adds both legs.
- Not included: photos, the price of faster USPS mail to the State Department (set by the facility), and any private expediter fee.
Estimate from the State Department’s published fees and processing times. Mailing times vary and the Department decides each case. Independent site, not affiliated with the Department of State; we sell no expediting service. Method and sources
The execution fee, also called the acceptance fee, is $35 per application in 2026. It is item 1 of the federal fee schedule in 22 CFR 22.1, “required for first-time applicants and others who must apply in person”, and it is paid to the acceptance facility, a post office, clerk of court, library or county office, as a payment separate from the check to the U.S. Department of State. Everyone who files Form DS-11 owes it: adults applying for the first time, every child under 16, teens of 16 and 17, and anyone replacing a lost, stolen or damaged passport. It does not apply to an eligible renewal by mail on Form DS-82, and the State Department warns that postal employees should not charge it when you simply mail a renewal. Online renewals have no execution fee either. A family of four applying in person pays it four times, $140, on top of the application fees.
One fee per application, not per document
The fee pays for a service, the execution of the application, so it is owed once per person, whatever you order. A book and card requested together on one DS-11 carry one $35; requested on two separate visits, they carry two. That is one of the reasons the State Department notes that ordering both documents at once saves $35.
How to pay it
The State Department fixes the amount but not the payment method. Its fee page sends you to the facility to find out what it accepts, and practices differ: one post office takes a card, the county clerk next door wants a check made out to the county. Prepare it as a payment of its own, never added to the check payable to “U.S. Department of State”, which must contain only the application fee and the options. At one of the 26 passport agencies or centers, which handle urgent travel by appointment, both are paid to the Department by card, and the calculator shows the agency total of $225 for a first adult book, expedite fee included.
When it cannot be avoided
Any first passport, any child, any lost or stolen passport and any passport issued more than 15 years ago goes through an acceptance agent. If you are eligible for renewal by mail or online, though, the fee disappears, and so does the trip to the facility.
Where the $130 comes from: 22 CFR 22.1
| Item of the fee schedule | Age 16+ | Under 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Book application services | $50 | $20 |
| Security surcharge (enhanced border security fee) | $80 | $80 |
| Book, total | $130 | $100 |
| Card application services | $30 | $15 |
| Execution fee | $35 | $35 |