French passport in the US: renewal and first passport
A French passport is renewed in the United States at a consulate, in person, because the fingerprints are taken on the spot. It is a biometric passport valid ten years for an adult and five for a minor, and it is not printed at the consulate: it is made in France and arrives a few weeks later.
You can follow its progress on the France Titres (ANTS) website.
What it costs and how to pay
The fee is set in euros and charged in dollars at the chancery rate, the same across the US network: 96 euros, $109.00, for an adult on October 1, 2026, less for minors.
The network asks you to pay beforehand with the electronic tax stamp on timbres.impots.gouv.fr, in euros; if you cannot buy it, you can pay at the appointment, where consulates take debit cards.
Booking the appointment
Appointments are booked on consulat.gouv.fr, from the link for your consulate on the network's passport page. One appointment covers one person, adult or child, and a passport and an ID card for the same person fit in one slot.
Children of any age come in person with a parent, and the network has you print the 2026 application form before the day if you did not pre-apply online.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Adult | $109.00 (€96) |
| Minor 15 or older | $59.04 (€52) |
| Minor under 15 | $30.66 (€27) |
| Validity | 10 years for adults, 5 for minors |
| Pickup deadline | 3 months, then the passport is destroyed |
| Handover by an honorary consul | $11.35 (€10) |
- The application form, printed, or your online pre-application
- Proof of address less than a year old (or a valid US ID or driver’s license)
- Your old passport, or proof of identity and of French nationality for a first passport
- The electronic tax stamp, or a debit card for the consulate
- For mail delivery: the envelope your consulate asks for
Bring proof of address less than a year old, or a valid US ID or driver's license with your current address. A first adult passport, or one replacing a document expired for more than five years, also needs proof of identity and of French nationality.
The French and English versions of the New Orleans page do not say the same thing. The French one warns that its consular section “ne délivre ni documents d’identité ni documents de voyage” and sends every request to Houston; the English one says the section “issues identity and travel documents”.
The passport and ID card pages list no appointment link for New Orleans, which backs the French version: plan on Houston. (sources: 1, 2)
Getting it back
If you are on the Registre of the consulate where you apply, you can ask at the appointment to have the passport mailed home, in the envelope that consulate specifies.
When it arrives you confirm receipt online, on the télé-réception service, and you send the old passport back to the consulate within 40 days, or the new one is canceled.
Otherwise you collect it within three months, after which it is destroyed.
Some consulates hand passports over without an appointment and others ask you to book; you can also ask, when you apply, to collect it from an authorized honorary consul of your district, who charges the dollar equivalent of 10 euros.
Several consulates also take passport applications on the road: Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Washington published outreach missions in 2026, and Chicago, Boston and San Francisco reserve theirs for people on their Registre.
Register with the Registre before you apply: it is what lets the passport come home by mail.Official sources: Passeport; Tarifs des droits de chancellerie; Tournées consulaires 2026; Tournées consulaires 2026.
Details checked against the official pages on October 6, 2026.
This site is an independent directory. frenchconsulates.us is not the Embassy of France or any of its consulates, and it handles no applications.
We gather what us.diplomatie.gouv.fr publishes and flag it when its own pages disagree. Confirm with the consulate before you go.