How Much Does a US Passport Cost? Fee Components, Regulatory History, Issuance and International Comparison from 22 CFR 22.1, Federal Register, CRS, GAO and Official Foreign Fee Data, 2000–2026

The US passport fee is set by regulation and has changed in discrete steps, but its components, history and weight relative to wages, demand and foreign fees are rarely assembled in one place. We decompose the 2026 fee schedule of 22 CFR 22.1, reconstruct the adult first-time book fee since 2000 from annual editions of the regulation and Federal Register rules, and combine it with issuance statistics from the Congressional Research Service, the Government Accountability Office and the State Department, state population and minimum-wage data, and the official fees of 13 other countries converted at one Federal Reserve H.10 reading. A first-time adult book cost USD 165 in 2026 (a USD 50 application fee, an USD 80 security surcharge and a USD 35 execution fee); renewal cost USD 130, a first-time card USD 65 and a minor book USD 135 for five years' validity, and full rush service raised the book to USD 247.05. The fee rose from USD 60 in 2000 in six regulatory steps; in constant 2025 dollars it peaked at USD 199.32 after 2010 and has since declined to USD 165. The United States issued a record 27,348,416 passports in fiscal 2025, and valid passports reached 183,170,240; measured routine processing time doubled from 5.2 weeks in 2019 to 10.5 weeks in 2023. Fiscal 2025 issuance per 1,000 residents ranged from 29.2 in West Virginia to 99.5 in New Jersey, and the fee equalled 22.8 hours of work at the federal minimum wage. Among 14 countries, adult fees ranged from USD 26.08 in India to USD 300.08 in Australia, with the United States fourth. All inputs are public.