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Council adopts $15 passport‑photo fee; city to begin passport acceptance service
Summary
After a public hearing, the City Council adopted a $15 passport‑photo fee and accepted staff's plan to begin passport acceptance services with a soft launch the next day. The $15 charge covers the city’s photo service; federal passport application and acceptance fees are handled per Department of State rules.
The Irvine City Council on Oct. 14 adopted a resolution establishing a $15 fee for passport photos as part of a new city passport acceptance program.
Senior management analyst Justin Aquina explained the U.S. Department of State approached the city in early 2024 about becoming a passport acceptance facility to meet local demand. City staff completed training and system requirements and planned a soft launch for Oct. 15 and a full service opening in early 2026. The program will accept new passport applications and offer passport photos; passport renewals remain a federal online process, staff said.
Aquina said the $15 photo fee is discretionary for the city and aligns with fees charged by neighboring cities and private providers (Staples and similar retailers were cited as higher). The Finance Commission reviewed the proposal Oct. 6 and recommended the council adopt the $15 fee. Council members praised the service as a useful convenience for residents, given the time and distance required to travel to regional passport offices.
Council voted 7–0 to adopt the resolution establishing the passport‑photo fee. Staff noted the application acceptance fees that are submitted to the Department of State are set by federal rules and that the city‑collected fees only cover the photo service and city processing costs.
