Lucas Meyer
An ESTA now costs 40 dollars. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization, the online clearance that Visa Waiver Program travellers need before flying to the United States, rose from 21 dollars to 40 dollars on 30 September 2025 under a change in US law. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which runs the system, advises applying at least 72 hours before departure, and an approved ESTA remains valid for two years. The law also provides for annual inflation adjustments after the rise, so check the official site for the exact total on the day you apply and pay only there.
Quick Facts About the ESTA Fee Change
- What it is: ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
- New headline fee: 40 dollars, up from 21 dollars.
- Change date: 30 September 2025, under the 2025 fee law (Public Law 119-21).
- Official website: esta.cbp.dhs.gov, plus the official ESTA Mobile app. No other site is official.
- Validity: Generally 2 years from approval, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
- Stay per visit: Up to 90 days per trip under the Visa Waiver Program, for tourism or business.
- When to apply: CBP advises no later than 72 hours before you travel.
- Inflation adjustments: The law requires yearly adjustments, so the precise total can sit slightly above 40 dollars. Confirm the live figure on the official site.
Who needs an ESTA and what did the price change actually change?
ESTA is the pre-travel screening layer of the Visa Waiver Program. Citizens of the program’s participating countries, which include the United Kingdom, most of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, use it to travel to the United States for up to 90 days for tourism or business without a visa. Travellers need an electronic passport, an approved ESTA before boarding, and a return or onward ticket. The September 2025 change altered the price, not the eligibility rules. The same travellers need it, for the same trips, with the same two-year validity. What changed is the arithmetic of a family holiday: four applications that cost 84 dollars in total before the rise start at 160 dollars now, before any inflation adjustment.
Domestic travel inside the United States has its own documentation shift this year, covered in our guide to REAL ID for US domestic flights. International visitors should treat the two systems as separate: REAL ID concerns identification at domestic checkpoints, while ESTA is the border authorization that gets you into the country in the first place. Travellers combining the US with an onward trip to Asia will meet the newer digital arrival forms there too, as our guide to the Taiwan online arrival card explains.
What does the 40 dollars cover?
The ESTA charge has always been built from two parts: a processing fee charged on every application, and an authorization fee charged when the application is approved. The 2025 law raised the combined total to a 40 dollar statutory figure, and it added a mechanism the old fee never had, an annual inflation adjustment. That is why reliable sources quoting slightly different totals can both be describing the same system at different dates: the base figure set in September 2025 was 40 dollars, and subsequent fiscal-year adjustments nudge the exact amount upward by small increments. The only figure that matters for your trip is the one the official CBP site displays when you apply. Budget 40 dollars per person as the planning number, expect the possibility of a small adjustment on top, and treat any site quoting a large round sum well above that level as a commercial reseller.
How do you apply, and when does the 72-hour rule bite?
Apply on esta.cbp.dhs.gov or through the official ESTA Mobile app. The form asks for passport details, contact information, travel information and a series of eligibility questions, and payment is taken by card at submission. CBP states that authorization decisions can take up to 72 hours, which is why its standing advice is to apply at least 72 hours before departure. In practice many applications resolve far faster, but a pending application is not an approval, and airlines will not board a Visa Waiver traveller whose ESTA is not approved. Because an approved ESTA lasts two years, there is never a reason to gamble on the window. Apply when you book, not when you pack.
An existing ESTA approved before the fee rise stays valid until its own expiry date or until your passport expires. The higher fee applies when you next apply, not retroactively. If you renew your passport, your old ESTA dies with the old passport, and a fresh application at the current fee is required before your next trip.
How do you avoid ESTA scam sites?
Fake and reseller ESTA sites are among the oldest scams in travel paperwork, and a headline fee change gives them fresh cover to quote invented new prices. The defences are unchanged. The official address ends in .gov, specifically esta.cbp.dhs.gov. The official process never adds express fees, call centre charges or document checking upsells. Search advertisements are the main trap, so type the address directly. If a site has already taken a large payment, CBP cannot refund money paid to a third party, which is why prevention matters more than complaints afterwards.
What an ESTA does not do
An approved ESTA authorizes you to travel to a US port of entry and request admission. It is not a visa and it does not guarantee entry. The CBP officer at the desk makes the admission decision and sets your stay, up to the 90-day Visa Waiver maximum. ESTA travellers cannot extend that stay or change status in the ordinary way a visa holder sometimes can, and working in the United States on a Visa Waiver entry is not permitted. Travellers who have visited certain countries, who hold dual nationality involving restricted states, or who answer yes to eligibility questions may find ESTA unavailable and need to apply for a visitor visa instead. That process runs through a US embassy or consulate and takes far longer than 72 hours, which is one more reason to file the ESTA early: it is the test that tells you whether the simple route is open at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is an ESTA now?
The fee rose to 40 dollars on 30 September 2025, up from 21 dollars. The law also requires annual inflation adjustments, so the exact total on the official site may be slightly above 40 dollars. Check esta.cbp.dhs.gov on the day you apply.
Does an ESTA approved before the rise stay valid?
Yes. It remains valid until its original expiry date, generally two years from approval, or until your passport expires. The new fee applies to your next application.
How long is an ESTA valid?
Generally two years from approval, or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. It covers multiple trips, each of up to 90 days.
How early should you apply?
CBP advises at least 72 hours before travel, because a decision can take that long. Applying when you book is safer and costs nothing in validity.
Is ESTA the same as a visa?
No. ESTA is the screening authorization for Visa Waiver Program travellers. It does not guarantee admission, and travellers who are ineligible for ESTA need a visa instead.
What happens if your ESTA is denied?
You cannot travel under the Visa Waiver Program on that application. The route is a visitor visa application through a US embassy or consulate, which takes considerably longer, so apply early enough to leave that option open.
