State Department Cuts Fee to Renounce U.S. Citizenship by 80%, Now $450

(UNITED STATES) — The U.S. Department of State cut the fee to renounce U.S. citizenship to $450 after publishing a final rule on March 13, 2026 that reduces the cost by approximately 80% from $2,350.

The change takes effect April 13, 2026, giving U.S. citizens abroad a new price point that can affect when they schedule appointments and when they pay for consular processing tied to loss of nationality.

Under the rule, people who seek renunciation and related Certificate of Loss of Nationality services at U.S. consular posts will see the largest shift, because the fee drops from one of the highest U.S. citizen service charges to a much lower level.

Although many immigration processes run through domestic agencies, the State Department handles renunciation overseas as a consular service, and the change does not operate like a USCIS filing fee.

In the final rule, the Department framed the move as a policy decision responding to cost concerns from affected people living abroad, including frustration linked to tax administration and reporting.

“After significant deliberation, taking into account both the affected public’s concerns regarding the cost of the fee and the not insignificant anecdotal evidence regarding tax-related difficulties many U.S. nationals residing abroad encounter. the Department made a policy decision to propose alleviating the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN [Certificate of Loss of Nationality] services by returning to the below-cost fee of $450,” the Department said.

The Department also presented the reduction as an effort to bring the charge closer to other consular services priced below the government’s cost.

“This change will better align the fee for CLN services with fees for certain other services provided to U.S. citizens abroad, including, for example, applications for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which are similarly set significantly below cost,” the Department said.

In explaining the purpose, the Department said the reduction aims to “help alleviate the cost burden” for Americans abroad who feel compelled to renounce their citizenship due to administrative and tax complexities.

The fee reduction applies to administrative processing for requests for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, a document that records loss of U.S. nationality after a person completes the required steps with a consular officer.

The final rule’s title is “Schedule of Fees for Consular Services-Fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States,” and the Department listed it as 91 FR 12296.

The new lower fee generally matters most at the point a consular post collects payment for the service, meaning timing around April 13, 2026 can be important for applicants trying to budget or decide when to proceed.

The rule does not change eligibility standards for renunciation, and it does not alter the legal consequences of giving up U.S. nationality.

Consular appointment availability also sits outside what the rule changes, so applicants still must follow local post procedures for scheduling, documentation, and payment methods.

For readers who want to verify the change in the legal text, the Federal Register posted the rule online as Schedule of Fees for Consular Services; Fee for CLN.

The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs also maintains a public fee schedule and guidance on renunciation, including the updated amount, at its Official Schedule of Fees.

Applicants still need to confirm the instructions for their specific U.S. embassy or consulate before attending an appointment, because posts can differ on how they take payments and how they manage appointment intake.

The decision reverses a fee structure that had become a point of criticism in expatriate communities, particularly among people who said cost blocked them from completing a process they believed necessary.

Before 2010, there was no fee to renounce U.S. citizenship, and the State Department later added a charge as part of its consular fee schedule.

In 2010, the Department introduced a $450 fee intended to cover a portion of administrative costs.

In 2015, the Department raised the fee to $2,350, calling it a 422% increase that reflected the “full cost” of processing amid a surge in applications.

The return to a $450 fee therefore brings the price back to the 2010 level, even though the Department described the new amount as “below-cost.”

The fee’s history also shapes how many applicants interpret the latest shift, because the mid-2010s increase became associated with the idea that renunciation carried an unusually high administrative price.

Advocacy pressure also played a role in the public debate around the charge, with some groups arguing that the cost undermined access for people with limited means.

The change “marks the end of a six-year legal and advocacy campaign” by groups such as the Association of Accidental Americans (AAA), the summary of official records and statements said.

Those advocates focused attention on “Accidental Americans,” described as people who acquired citizenship by birth in the U.S. but have lived their entire lives abroad.

For that group, the issue often centered on whether U.S. citizenship created obligations they did not anticipate, including tax reporting tied to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

The summary described the former price as a “financial wall” that prevented some people from relinquishing citizenship, especially those who said they had limited ties to the United States and limited income.

The State Department’s rulemaking explanation also referenced the practical pressures faced by Americans abroad, including the “tax-related difficulties” the Department said many U.S. nationals abroad encounter.

The fee cut does not remove other costs associated with renunciation, including travel to a consular post if a person does not live nearby, or the time and documentation involved in scheduling and completing required steps.

Even with the $450 fee, the process remains a formal legal act that requires consular processing and results in the issuance and administration of a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, once approved.

People who delayed renunciation because of the prior price may find the new amount more workable, particularly among low-to-middle-income expatriates, as the Department’s stated goal centers on reducing the cost burden.

The rule also creates a timing question for those with appointments scheduled near the effective date, because the lower fee begins April 13, 2026, and applicants often pay at the appointment.

Starting on that date, applicants will save $1,900 in administrative fees compared with the prior charge, the summary said.

The State Department also drew a clear line between consular fees and tax law, emphasizing that a reduced fee does not change tax obligations that arise under separate rules.

The final rule said the lower fee does not change IRS “Exit Tax” requirements, the summary said.

High-net-worth individuals with “net worth over $2 million” may still be subject to the exit tax regardless of the reduced consular fee, it added.

The fee cut also does not compensate those who already paid, because the final rule does not provide retroactive refunds for people who paid $2,350 between 2015 and March 2026, the summary said.

That absence of refunds may matter for applicants who paid during the years when the higher charge applied and who pursued loss of nationality in part because they believed they had no practical alternative.

At the same time, the Department’s own justification described the reduction as a policy decision, meaning the revised amount reflects what the Department decided to charge now, rather than a repayment for prior payments.

For Americans abroad weighing whether to renounce U.S. citizenship, the practical next step is to check the effective date and confirm what fee will be collected at the time of service, based on their appointment timing.

The Department’s Federal Register rule provides the official regulatory text, while the Bureau of Consular Affairs fee schedule provides public-facing guidance that can be updated as the Department adjusts consular fees.

Applicants can also consult their local U.S. embassy or consulate’s instructions for how to schedule, what to bring, and how the post accepts payment, since local procedures can shape what happens on the day of an appointment.

By resetting the cost to $450, the State Department placed the price closer to other citizen services abroad that it described as “significantly below cost,” while leaving the legal and tax consequences of renunciation unchanged.