*The passport fees have recently changed. As of April 2nd, 2018, the passport acceptance fee has gone up from $25 to $35.
On July 13th, the price to get a new passport will go up significantly, as will the cost for a passport renewal. One county DMV office in New York is helping residents beat the price increases by making it easier to apply before they go into effect.
Erie County, New York, which sits right along the US/Canadian border and depends heavily on tourism, has set up a temporary passport acceptance office in the Amherst, New York DMV office. Local residents are taking advantage of the help, and the passport team processed 10 applications in the first 5 minutes after the office opened.
In a report on local news website WBEN.com, Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul discussed the rationale for the temporary office:
“We’ re glad there’s a line, because …. our whole idea is to help people beat the 47 percent fee increase,” Hochul said. ” .. It helps people know that they can save a lot of money. It’s going from $100 to $135, a family of four wants to go to Marineland (Niagara Falls Ont,) that’s a big hit. So I’m encouraging people to come in now. There may be some lines but I’m telling you it will be worth it in the long run.”
The temporary passport office is open every day except Sunday, from 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. It will close down after the increased fees go into effect on Tuesday, July 13th.
For more about the passport fee increases, see Passport Fees Going Up July 13th
This passport office can help you submit your application for normal processing, which can take about 6 weeks, or for the Department of State’s expedited service, which can take 3 weeks. If you need your passport sooner than that, you’ll need to make an appointment at a different type of passport office, called a Regional Passport Agency office.
Another option, which is much more convenient, is to use a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport. An expediting company will deliver your application to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours with no need to wait in line or drive to a passport office.