An ordinary 36-page Indian passport now costs INR 2,500 for a fresh application or a re-issue, and INR 5,000 in total if you apply under Tatkaal. The fees in force were set by the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified as G.S.R. 516(E) dated 20 June 2026, which substituted Schedule IV of the Passports Rules, 1980 with effect from 1 July 2026 (G.S.R. 516(E), Passport Seva, accessed 2026-08-27). The INR 1,500 figure that most published fee tables still carry has been out of date since that day.
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group.
How Zurich Kotak fits in: A passport fee is a government charge no insurer can change, but the trip it unlocks is exactly what Zurich Kotak covers. Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans pay for emergency medical treatment abroad, medical evacuation, baggage loss or delay and trip cancellation for specified reasons, up to the limits of the plan you buy, and are issued online once your travel dates are fixed.
Last verified: 2026-08-27.
What changed on 1 July 2026
Passport fees rose across the board on 1 July 2026, and the standard 36-page passport went up by two thirds.
Service | Fee before 2026-07-01 | Fee from 2026-07-01 |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 36 pages | INR 1,500 | INR 2,500 |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 60 pages | INR 2,000 | INR 3,500 |
Fresh passport or re-issue, minor below 18, 36 pages | INR 1,000 | INR 1,750 |
Replacement of a lost, damaged or stolen passport, 36 pages | INR 3,000 | INR 4,250 (5-year) or INR 5,000 (10-year) |
Replacement of a lost, damaged or stolen passport, 60 pages | INR 3,500 | INR 6,000 |
Deletion of ECR or change of personal particulars, 36 pages | INR 1,500 | INR 2,500 |
Additional Tatkaal fee | INR 2,000 | INR 2,500 |
Police Clearance Certificate | INR 500 | INR 750 |
The old schedule priced replacement of a lost or damaged 36-page passport as one figure. The new one splits it, because a minor’s passport runs five years and an adult’s ten.
Source: G.S.R. 516(E) read against the Passport Seva fee structure page, which publishes both the pre and post 1 July 2026 tables (Passport Seva, accessed 2026-08-27). Gazette and portal reconcile exactly.
The official route
Fees are paid on the Passport Seva portal at passportindia.gov.in , and nowhere else. Type the domain rather than following an advertisement, and use the portal’s own Fee Calculator to confirm the amount for your case before you pay.
On intermediaries the Government of India is direct: it “has not authorised any intermediary/representative” to arrange urgent appointments or faster delivery (Passport Seva, accessed 2026-08-27). Nobody gets a passport faster by paying more than the schedule below.
The complete passport fee table, India, from 1 July 2026
This is the full list of what the Government of India charges for a passport and its related certificates. The Tatkaal amount is an addition to the application fee, not a replacement for it.
Service | Application fee | Additional Tatkaal fee | Total under Tatkaal |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 36 pages, 10-year validity | INR 2,500 | INR 2,500 | INR 5,000 |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 60 pages, 10-year validity | INR 3,500 | INR 2,500 | INR 6,000 |
Fresh passport or re-issue for a minor below 18, 36 pages, 5-year validity or until the minor turns 18 | INR 1,750 | INR 2,500 | INR 4,250 |
Replacement in lieu of a lost, damaged or stolen passport, 36 pages, 5-year validity | INR 4,250 | INR 2,500 | INR 6,750 |
Replacement in lieu of a lost, damaged or stolen passport, 36 pages, 10-year validity | INR 5,000 | INR 2,500 | INR 7,500 |
Replacement in lieu of a lost, damaged or stolen passport, 60 pages | INR 6,000 | INR 2,500 | INR 8,500 |
Replacement, 36 pages, for deletion of ECR or a change in personal particulars, 10-year validity | INR 2,500 | INR 2,500 | INR 5,000 |
Replacement, 60 pages, for deletion of ECR or a change in personal particulars, 10-year validity | INR 3,500 | INR 2,500 | INR 6,000 |
Replacement, 36 pages, for deletion of ECR or a change in personal particulars, minor below 18 | INR 1,750 | INR 2,500 | INR 4,250 |
Police Clearance Certificate, surrender certificate, Global Entry Program verification or another certificate based on the passport | INR 750 | Not available | INR 750 |
Certificate of Identity | INR 1,000 | Not available | INR 1,000 |
Sources: G.S.R. 516(E), Schedule IV as substituted, and the Passport Seva fee structure page, accessed 2026-08-27. The 36-page row also covers an additional booklet when visa pages are exhausted, and a minor aged 15 to 18 opting for full 10-year validity. A replacement produces a fresh booklet.
Three things this table settles that are commonly got wrong:
1. A lost or stolen passport cannot be applied for under Tatkaal at all, and neither can one damaged beyond recognition. The Tatkaal column on those rows applies only where a passport is damaged but the number, the name and the photograph are still legible. There is no Tatkaal option for a PCC either.
2. There is no 60-page option priced for a minor. The statutory schedule does not contain one.
3. The 5-year and 10-year labels on the replacement rows are the age split expressed as validity. A minor’s passport runs five years, an adult’s ten.
Applying from outside India
At an Indian Mission or Post abroad the same schedule applies, in US dollars.
Service | Normal | Tatkaal |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 36 pages | USD 125 | USD 250 |
Fresh passport or re-issue, 60 pages | USD 175 | USD 300 |
In lieu of a lost or damaged passport, 36 pages | USD 250 | USD 375 |
In lieu of a lost or damaged passport, 60 pages | USD 300 | USD 425 |
Minor below 18, fresh or re-issue, 36 pages | USD 90 | USD 215 |
Minor below 18, in lieu of a lost or damaged passport, 36 pages | USD 215 | USD 340 |
Emergency Certificate | USD 15 | Not available |
Certificate of Identity | USD 50 | Not available |
Police Clearance Certificate or another certificate | USD 40 | Not available |
Source: G.S.R. 516(E), Schedule IV. The Emergency Certificate exists only abroad.
What a passport costs for a child
A child’s passport is cheaper and shorter, and a 15 to 18 year old gets a choice that changes the price.
Applicant | Validity | Fee, 36 pages |
Below 15 | 5 years, or until the child turns 18, whichever is earlier | INR 1,750 |
15 to 18, choosing the short passport | Until the applicant turns 18 | INR 1,750 |
15 to 18, choosing a full-validity passport | 10 years | INR 2,500 |
18 and above | Up to 10 years | INR 2,500 |
Source: G.S.R. 516(E), Note 2. A 15 to 18 year old taking the 10-year option must also produce proof of Non-ECR eligibility, or ECR status is applied to the passport.
The one concession, and who does not get it
There is a 10 percent discount on the passport fee for minors up to the age of 8 and for applicants above the age of 60, and it applies to fresh applications only. The gazette wording is: “There shall be a discount of ten per cent. in passport fee for fresh applications (and not for re-issue) in respect of minors up to the age of 8 years and senior citizens (persons above the age of 60 years)” (G.S.R. 516(E), Note 3, accessed 2026-08-27).
Read the exclusion carefully, because it is the part that catches people. A 65-year-old replacing an expiring passport is applying for a re-issue, not a fresh passport, and gets no discount. It is a percentage, not a flat amount, and it is the only concession in the schedule.
The Tatkaal supplement
Tatkaal adds a flat INR 2,500 to whatever the application fee is, and the whole amount is payable online when you book. For a 36-page adult passport that means INR 2,500 plus INR 2,500, so INR 5,000.
Tatkaal buys faster processing and moves police verification to after issue. It is not open to everyone and it demands different documents. How the scheme works, who is excluded and what the timeline really looks like are on Tatkal passport: fees, process and timeline .
How to pay
Online payment is mandatory before you can book an appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. You pay first, and the appointment slot is released to you after the payment succeeds.
Accepted modes, as listed on the portal (Passport Seva, accessed 2026-08-27):
Mode | Notes |
Credit or debit card | MasterCard, Visa and RuPay. The bank charges 1.5 percent plus service tax |
Internet banking | State Bank of India and other banks. No charge on SBI internet banking |
UPI | Listed on the portal’s getting-started fee page |
SBI bank challan and SBI wallet | Listed in the portal’s fee payment FAQ |
The gateway is SBI’s. If the money leaves your account but the portal shows the payment as failed, SBI refunds it to your bank within seven working days.
Counter payment survives only at District Passport Cells, Speed Post Centres and Citizen Service Centres, which take fresh applications only: a demand draft in favour of “PAO-MEA” at a DPC, cash or a draft at an SPC, cash or a card at a CSC (Instruction Booklet V3.0, Section E, accessed 2026-08-27).
When a passport fee is refundable, and when it is not
The passport fee is non-refundable. The portal’s own wording is that no claim for refund, return or exchange of fee will be entertained for passport-related services.
The narrow exceptions are mechanical, not discretionary:
Situation | What happens to the money |
You paid but never submitted the application at a PSK or POPSK | The payment stays valid one year from the first appointment date. After that the fee is forfeited |
You paid twice against the same Application Reference Number | The excess is refunded by the Regional Passport Office concerned |
Your account was debited but the portal shows the payment as failed | SBI refunds it to your bank within seven working days. After that, follow up with your bank |
You want to move a payment to a different application | Not possible. A fee once paid cannot be transferred between Application Reference Numbers |
You change your mind, or the application is refused | The fee is not refunded |
Source: Passport Seva getting-started fee section and fee payment FAQ, accessed 2026-08-27.
The one-year rule is worth planning around. Pay, postpone the trip and let the appointment lapse, and you have twelve months from the first appointment date to turn up. Miss it and you start again at whatever the fee is by then.
Common mistakes
Almost every costly mistake on this page is a stale number or an invented charge.
Mistake | What happens | The correct position |
Budgeting INR 1,500 for a 36-page passport | You arrive short and cannot complete the payment | INR 2,500 since 1 July 2026 |
Paying an extra INR 500 as a “PSK fee” | Money handed over for nothing | There is no PSK fee. No such charge appears in G.S.R. 516(E), in the portal’s fee table, or in the instruction booklet. It appears only on third-party sites |
Expecting the senior citizen discount on a renewal | A higher bill than budgeted | The 10 percent concession is for fresh applications only, explicitly not re-issue |
Treating the Tatkaal fee as the total | You underpay and the booking fails | Tatkaal is an addition: INR 2,500 plus INR 2,500 for a 36-page adult passport |
Choosing a 60-page passport for a child | The option is not there | The schedule prices no 60-page passport for a minor |
Asking for a 64-page “jumbo” passport | Confusion at the counter | The schedule prices 36 and 60 pages only. A 2014 advisory still on the passport website refers to a 64-page booklet and says additional booklets do not exist; both statements are out of date |
Paying and then not turning up for a year | The fee is forfeited | A payment is valid one year from the first appointment date |
Paying an agent to “get the fee waived” | Money lost | There is no waiver and no authorised intermediary |
Where this sits in the journey
The fee comes after you know which documents you need, and before you book a slot.
· Documents required for an Indian passport is what to gather before you pay for anything.
· Passport appointment and PSK slot booking comes straight after payment, because the slot is released only once the fee clears.
· Tatkal passport: fees, process and timeline is the paid alternative if the trip is close.
· Passport renewal process covers re-issue, which is what most people with an existing passport are actually doing.
A passport fee has nothing to do with travel insurance, and this page will not pretend otherwise. If you are getting a passport because a trip is already booked, travel insurance is a separate decision closer to departure.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an Indian passport cost in 2026?
A fresh 36-page passport or a re-issue costs INR 2,500 for an applicant aged 18 or above, a 60-page passport costs INR 3,500, and a passport for a minor below 18 costs INR 1,750. These fees have applied since 1 July 2026 under the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
What is the Tatkaal passport fee?
Tatkaal adds a flat INR 2,500 to the application fee, so a 36-page adult passport costs INR 5,000 in total and a 60-page passport INR 6,000. The whole amount is payable online when you book the appointment.
Is there a separate PSK fee of INR 500?
No. There is no PSK fee. No such charge appears in the gazette notification that sets passport fees, in the Passport Seva fee table, or in the official instruction booklet. It appears only on third-party sites.
Do senior citizens get a discount on passport fees?
Applicants above the age of 60 get a 10 percent discount on the passport fee, but only on a fresh application and explicitly not on a re-issue. Minors up to the age of 8 get the same concession on the same terms.
Is the passport fee refundable?
No. The Passport Seva portal states that no claim for refund, return or exchange of fee will be entertained for passport-related services. An excess paid twice against the same Application Reference Number is refunded by the Regional Passport Office, and a failed online payment that was debited comes back from the bank, but a completed fee is not refundable.
How much does a Police Clearance Certificate cost?
A Police Clearance Certificate costs INR 750 since 1 July 2026, up from INR 500. There is no Tatkaal option for a PCC, so no way to pay more for a faster one.
