Under the revised rules, passports issued to minor applicants below 18 years of age will be valid for five years or until the applicant turns 18, whichever is earlier.
For the Tatkaal service, which includes the normal fee, the charges are ₹5,000 for a 36-page passport and ₹6,000 for a 60-page passport.
For minor applicants below 18, a fresh or reissued ordinary 36-page passport will cost ₹1,750 under the normal service.
Under that category, a fresh or reissued 36-page passport costs ₹2,500 normally and ₹5,000 under Tatkaal.
However, applicants below 18 can also fall under the minor category, where the normal fee for a 36-page passport is ₹1,750.
India has changed the rules for passports issued to minors, with new provisions setting a five-year validity limit and revising the fee structure for fresh, reissued and Tatkaal passports.
The changes, notified by the Ministry of External Affairs under the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, came into effect from July 1.
What is the new passport validity for children?
Under the revised rules, passports issued to minor applicants below 18 years of age will be valid for five years or until the applicant turns 18, whichever is earlier.
This means a child who receives a passport at a younger age will not necessarily have it valid until five years after issuance if they turn 18 before that period ends. The validity will instead end when they reach 18.
How much will a new passport cost?
For applicants aged 18 and above, an ordinary fresh or reissued passport with 36 pages will cost ₹2,500 under the normal service, while a 60-page passport will cost ₹3,500.
For the Tatkaal service, which includes the normal fee, the charges are ₹5,000 for a 36-page passport and ₹6,000 for a 60-page passport.
For minor applicants below 18, a fresh or reissued ordinary 36-page passport will cost ₹1,750 under the normal service. The corresponding Tatkaal fee is ₹4,250.
There is a separate fee structure for passports issued in place of lost or damaged passports. For adults and minors applying under the relevant categories, the normal fee for a 36-page replacement passport is ₹5,000 and ₹4,250, respectively, while the Tatkaal charges are ₹7,500 and ₹6,750.
Discount for young children and senior citizens
The revised schedule also provides a 10% discount on passport fees for fresh applications made by minors up to eight years of age and senior citizens above 60 years.
The discount applies only to fresh applications and not to passport reissues.
What about applicants aged 15 to 18?
The notification allows applicants aged 15 to 18 years to apply under the category covering applicants aged 18 and above, if they choose that route. Under that category, a fresh or reissued 36-page passport costs ₹2,500 normally and ₹5,000 under Tatkaal.
However, applicants below 18 can also fall under the minor category, where the normal fee for a 36-page passport is ₹1,750. The notification states that passports issued under the adult category can have a validity of up to 10 years, while those issued under the minor category are valid for five years or until the applicant turns 18, whichever is earlier.
The revised rules also set the fee for services such as a Police Clearance Certificate, Surrender Certificate, Global Entry Programme verification and other miscellaneous passport-based certificates at ₹750 in India.
