If you’re in need of a new passport, or haven’t renewed yours in a long while, now’s the time. A fee increase will be going into effect come April.
The U.S. Department of State announced the increase of the passport “execution fee” from $25 to $35 for new passports and long overdue renewals (which are basically new passports). An extra $10 may not seem like a lot, but when you tack it onto the total cost of getting a new passport—now $135, soon to be $145—every dollar counts. Besides, if you needed to do it anyway, you can use this warning as extra motivation to get it done sooner rather than later. Don’t forget: it takes four to six weeks to apply and receive a passport (two to three weeks if you pay extra to expedite the process).
It’s important to note that this fee increase does not affect passport renewals as long as:
You got your current passport after you turned 16.
Your previous passport wasn’t lost, stolen, or damaged.
It’s been less than 15 years since you were last issued your passport.
You haven’t changed your name (or you can document your name change with an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order).
Regular ol’ passport renewals by mail will still cost $110 as they did before. But even if this new fee doesn’t affect you, go ahead and take this as a reminder to check your passport’s expiration date just to be sure.