How I Read the Passport Seva Fee Calculator and Payment Conditions

Why I looked this up

I was curious why searches for Indian passport fees can produce several different figures. The answer became clearer when I opened the official Passport Seva Fee Calculator: a fee is tied to a particular combination of application, age, validity, booklet size and processing scheme. It is not one universal passport price.

The calculator currently carries a notice that passport application fees were revised with effect from 1 July 2026. These are my notes from reading those current results alongside Passport Seva’s payment and Tatkaal conditions.

The key point

I would not start by asking, “What does a passport cost?” I would identify the applicant’s exact combination first:

1. Is this a fresh passport, re-issue or replacement for a lost or damaged passport?
2. Which age and validity combination applies?
3. Is the selected booklet 36 or 60 pages where that choice is available?
4. Is the application under the ordinary or Tatkaal scheme?
5. Does a discount or Tatkaal exclusion apply?

Changing any one of these can change the result or make Tatkaal unavailable.

Ordinary and Tatkaal results are not interchangeable

The current calculator shows the following totals for these specific combinations:

Exact selection	Ordinary fee	Tatkaal total
Fresh or re-issue, 36 pages, adult or applicant aged 15–18 choosing 10-year validity	₹2,500	₹5,000
Fresh or re-issue, 60 pages, adult or applicant aged 15–18 choosing 10-year validity	₹3,500	₹6,000
Fresh or re-issue, minor below 18, 36 pages, valid for five years or until age 18, whichever is earlier	₹1,750	₹4,250

I read the Tatkaal figure as the total applicable Tatkaal fee, not as an amount to add again to the ordinary fee. The current payment FAQ says a Tatkaal applicant must pay the entire applicable Tatkaal fee online.

These examples should not be carried across to another booklet size, age, validity or application type. The calculator needs to be run again for the actual combination.

Replacement cases need a separate eligibility check

The calculator’s ordinary results for replacement in lieu of a lost or damaged passport include:

Exact replacement selection	Ordinary fee
Adult or 15–18 applicant in the 10-year category, 36 pages	₹5,000
Adult or 15–18 applicant in the 10-year category, 60 pages	₹6,000
Minor below 18, 36 pages	₹4,250

I have deliberately not put Tatkaal totals in this table. The official list of categories not eligible for Tatkaal includes lost or stolen passport cases and passports damaged beyond recognition.

A recognisably damaged passport is narrower. The Tatkaal FAQ says Tatkaal may be considered when the passport number and name are legible and the photograph is intact, but the Passport Office has the final authority. A calculator figure by itself therefore does not establish Tatkaal eligibility for a replacement case.

Payment conditions I would check before booking

Passport Seva’s current fee-payment FAQ states that online payment is mandatory for booking appointments at PSKs and POPSKs. It lists these payment modes:

• MasterCard, Visa or RuPay credit/debit card
• Internet banking through SBI or other banks
• UPI
• SBI Wallet Payment

The same FAQ says:

• A payment remains valid for one year from the payment date when no appointment has been booked.
• Once an appointment is booked, fee validity is one year from the first appointment date.
• A fee paid against one Application Reference Number cannot be transferred to another ARN.
• Payment made for passport services is generally not refunded. Where multiple or excess payments were made, the concerned Regional Passport Office handles the excess-payment refund.
• If money was deducted but the payment status remains pending, the status should be checked on the next working day through Track Payment Status before booking the appointment.

A discount is not a general reduced rate

The calculator notes a 10% discount on passport fee for fresh applications by minors up to eight years of age and senior citizens above 60 years. It does not present this as a discount for every minor, every senior-related transaction or a re-issue.

I would therefore select the real application details and use the displayed result rather than subtracting 10% from an unrelated row.

What I found after looking further

The useful distinction is between price calculation and scheme eligibility. The calculator answers the price question for the selected combination. The Tatkaal material answers whether that route is available under the stated circumstances. Payment rules then determine how long the fee remains valid and whether it can be moved or refunded.

My practical reading order is: choose the exact application combination, note the ordinary result, check Tatkaal eligibility separately, and only then rely on the applicable total shown by Passport Seva. That avoids treating one adult, minor, booklet or replacement figure as the fee for everyone.