Travel alert: Passport fee increase coming on April 2

WASHINGTON -- If you need a United States passport, you can save $10 by getting it before April.

On April 2, the passport execution fee will increase from $25 to $35. That's the fee that you're charged for submitting your passport application to a passport acceptance agent (a United States Post Office, state or local government or State Department official) for verification and review.

The execution fee is imposed in addition to the application fee, which has not changed. That fee can run anywhere between $15 and $110 depending on your age and the type of passport for which you are applying.

A passport book application fee is $80 for applicants under 16 and $110 for those 16 and older. For a passport card - which only allows for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda - you'll pay $15 for children and $30 for adults 16 and older.

The execution fee is not imposed on passport renewals for adults.

The Department of State upped the price after its research showed that the current passport fee wasn't covering the costs associated with providing passport-related consular services.