Passport card vs passport book: where each works, what each costs and how long they last

A passport card is the cheaper, wallet-sized passport: $30 for an adult renewal against $130 for the book, with the same validity. But it works only for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and some Caribbean countries, and the State Department says plainly that you can't use it to fly to or from a foreign country. If you ever board an international flight, you need the book.

The card is still useful: it counts as proof of U.S. citizenship and identity, and TSA accepts it as ID on domestic flights.

• Cardwallet-sized plastic; no visa pagesland and sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and some Caribbean countries
• Bookall international travel, including by air
• $30 vs $130adult renewal fee, card vs book$160 for both
• Samevalidity for card and book10 years for adults, 5 for children under 16

Stand: October 2026 · Sources: travel.state.gov (Compare a Passport Card and Book; Passport Fees); CBP.

What the card is, and isn't

• International flights: book onlythe card can't be used to fly to or from a foreign country
• Driving back from Canada or Mexico: book or card
• Sea entry from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean: book or cardland and sea only for the card
• Domestic flights within the U.S.: eitherTSA accepts the passport card as ID
• Kids 15 and under, land or sea from Canada or Mexicoa birth certificate also works

Sources: travel.state.gov; CBP, Documents needed to enter the United States.

The State Department describes the card as a wallet-sized plastic passport with no visa pages. It is proof of citizenship and identity and has the same length of validity as the book: 10 years for adults, 5 for children under 16. It is meant for U.S. citizens who cross borders by land and sea, and the department calls it the document for people who live in northern and southern border communities.

That's the whole difference in use: the book is accepted everywhere a U.S. passport is, and the card only where land and sea rules allow it. Foreign countries set their own entry rules, so check your destination's requirements either way. For flights back into the United States, CBP requires a valid passport book; the card isn't enough to board.

Where each one works

For entering the United States by land or sea, CBP lists the passport and the passport card among the acceptable documents, together with an Enhanced Driver's License, an Enhanced Tribal Card and Trusted Traveler cards such as NEXUS or SENTRI. Global Entry cards are listed too, with a caveat: the Global Entry card is a U.S. entry document only and can't be used to enter Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean islands.

Children get a break: U.S. citizen children 15 and under arriving by land or sea from Canada or Mexico can present a birth certificate. Between 16 and 18, in an adult-supervised group, a birth certificate can also work. By air, everyone needs a passport book, babies included.

What each costs

Passport book, renewal by mail

$130

Passport card, renewal by mail

$30

Book and card together, renewal

$160

First-time adult book (DS-11)application fee + acceptance fee

$130 + $35

First-time adult card (DS-11)

$30 + $35

Child under 16: book, card, botheach plus the $35 acceptance fee

$100, $15, $115

Expedited service

+ $60

1–3 day return deliverynot available for a card alone

+ $22.05

As of October 2026, from the State Department fee tables. Fees change; confirm at travel.state.gov.

Adults renewing by mail pay $130 for the book, $30 for the card or $160 for both. First-time applicants and anyone not eligible to renew apply in person with Form DS-11 and also pay a $35 acceptance fee. Children under 16 pay $100 for a book, $15 for a card or $115 for both, plus the $35. Expedited service is $60 more, and 1–3 day return delivery is $22.05, which isn't offered when you apply for a card only. Cards are mailed by First Class Mail.

The passport renewal page has current processing times and who can renew by mail. For a first passport or a child's, the child passport page walks through the in-person steps.

Which one to get

If you travel abroad by plane even once, you need the book. The card makes sense as an addition, not a replacement: a cheap second ID for driving to Canada or Mexico, or for domestic flights without carrying the book. People who live near a border and never fly abroad can reasonably choose the card alone.

You can ask for either or both on the same application. And if you already have one, the State Department lets you add the other by mail as a "renewal" with Form DS-82 when you're eligible: send the document you hold, not the one you want. You can't do this online. When renewing both, send both. If you lose the card while holding the book, you can't renew the card with DS-82.

Lost or damaged

If either document is lost or stolen, the lost passport page walks through reporting and replacing it. As noted above, a lost card can't be renewed by mail with Form DS-82, so plan for an in-person application.

Keep both dates

Card and book can expire on different days, especially if you got them years apart. Photograph both and write both dates in your calendar. The passport six-month rule guide explains why some trips need more validity than the date suggests, and the REAL ID page covers the other IDs TSA accepts.

Paperlock reads the expiry from a photo of each, keeps them in a Face-ID-locked vault, and with reminders turned on prompts you six months, 30 days and 7 days ahead. Rules and fees come from the State Department and CBP, so check them before you travel.