MAHONING VALLEY Passport fees will rise this summer

The last passport fee adjustment was four years ago, and prices went down.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's going to be a little more expensive to buy a passport this summer.
Passport fees will go up in August, said Diana Slack of the Mahoning County Clerk of Courts office. Some increases will be as much as 50 percent. Fees are the same at all of the country's 4,500 passport outlets.
A passport for a person 16 and older will go from $45 to $55, and a passport for a person under 16 will go from $25 to $40. There is also an execution fee attached to each application, which will increase from $15 to $30.
The passport and execution fees must be paid separately because the execution fee is retained by the application agency.
Renewal cost
The cost of renewing a passport will increase from $40 to $55. The fee for expediting the process will jump from $35 to $60.
Slack said it can take up to six weeks to receive a passport after the application is submitted, though most are received within two to three weeks. That's about how long it takes to get a passport with the expedited process.
A passport is good for 10 years.
Passport fees are set by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs and can be changed only at the direction of the federal government, Slack said.
The last change was in 1998, when fees were slightly decreased.
The new fee structure, which goes into effect Aug. 19, includes a $45 file search fee, which is something new, Slack said. It's for people who want to find out how many passports have been issued in their own name.
"I have no idea why anyone would want to do that unless you're skeptical and worried someone else is using your name," Slack said.
A $100 fee for complex cases will be dropped from the current fee structure.
Reason for increase
She said the increase was brought on by a steady rise in the number of passports issued over the past five or so years. The increased demand means an increased workload on passport staff, she said.
According to the Passport Services Web site, there were some 7.1 million passports issued nationwide last year. That's up from 5.3 million in 1995 and 3.4 million in 1991.
A county-by-county breakdown of passport applications was not available.
Slack said the federal government hired an independent company to do a study before deciding on the new fee structure.
bjackson@vindy.com