ESTA Fee Rises to $40.62 on 16 Oct 2026: OTA & Airline Update

A blank fee slip with a green bar beside a short stack of coins

The government line moves by cents. The checkout still has to match it. Illustration: SimpleVisa

The U.S. government fee for an ESTA travel authorization goes up on 16 October 2026. A Department of Homeland Security notice published in the Federal Register on 1 October 2026 (document 2026-20185, 91 FR 62534) sets the fiscal year 2027 inflation adjustments that the 2025 budget law, HR-1 (Public Law 119-21), requires every year. The ESTA authorization fee moves from $40.27 to $40.62.

The increase is $0.35. It still touches every price display, checkout line, and partner pack that quotes the ESTA government fee. For OTAs, airlines, and travel-tech teams that show U.S. entry costs, the job is to have the correct numbers live before 16 October, and to keep this fee change in its own message.

This note is for product, pricing, and partner teams. It is not legal advice.

Milestone Date Status

FY2026 ESTA fee of $40.27 took effect (90 FR 52085) 1 Jan 2026 Confirmed

FY2027 notice 2026-20185 published 1 Oct 2026 Confirmed

CBP begins assessing the FY2027 amounts 16 Oct 2026 Confirmed

The FY2027 fees at a glance

From the notice (Table 2 and sections II.A–D). CBP begins assessing the new ESTA, EVUS, and I-94 amounts, and CBP, USCIS, and ICE the parole fee, on 16 October 2026.

Fee FY2026 FY2027 Change

ESTA authorization (approved application) $40.27 $40.62 +$0.35

ESTA, denied application (cost-recovery portion only) $10.27 $10.62 +$0.35

EVUS enrollment $30.75 $31.75 +$1.00

Form I-94 at a land border (total) $30 $30 $0

HR-1 parole fee $1,020 $1,050 +$30

How the ESTA number is built, per the notice: $17 travel-authorization fee + $10.62 cost-recovery fee + $13 fee = $40.62. Only the cost-recovery portion is indexed to inflation. It rose by the CPI-U increase between July 2025 and July 2026 (3.36%, per the notice). If an application is denied, only the cost-recovery fee, $10.62 for FY2027, is charged.

I-94 at air and sea ports: no fee. The notice says CBP does not assess the I-94 fee for travelers arriving by air or sea, because they do not apply for an I-94. The $30 total (a $6 land-border fee plus the $24 HR-1 fee) applies to land-border applications only, and that total stays $30.

EVUS applies to nationals of the People's Republic of China holding 10-year B-1, B-2, or B-1/B-2 visas, as described in the notice. The FY2027 enrollment amount is $31.75.

The parole fee is relevant to very few leisure or business bookings. It is part of the same notice and is assessed on parole granted on or after 16 October 2026, at $1,050.

What this does not change

Already-issued ESTAs. The notice adjusts the fee charged when an application is submitted. It does not reprice or cancel authorizations that have already been approved. Those stay valid for their stated period unless CBP revokes them for other reasons.

Eligibility and Visa Waiver Program rules. Nothing in the notice changes who can use ESTA, the length of stay, or the questions on the form.

Other ESTA proposals. Separate proposed changes to ESTA, including proposals on social-media and other additional data collection, remain proposals. They are outside notice 2026-20185. Fee updates and customer messaging should describe this notice only.

Pricing and checkout checklist

Do these before 16 October 2026.

Government fee line for ESTA set to $40.62 for applications submitted from 16 October. The notice gives a date, and no time of day. Confirm against what esta.cbp.dhs.gov actually charges on 16 October.

Separate the government fee from the service fee in every display. The service fee is yours. The $40.62 is CBP's. A combined total needs its own label.

Denied-application copy updated: if the traveler is refused, the government keeps $10.62. Refund terms on your side stay consistent and clearly separate.

Currency conversions recalculated from $40.62. EUR and GBP displays drift. Refresh FX and rounding rules.

Cached and static content (FAQ pages, email templates, PDFs, app strings, SEO snippets, ad copy) searched for "40.27" and replaced.

EVUS price displays, if you serve PRC-national travelers, set to $31.75.

Land-border I-94 content, if any, left at $30.

Official link present. Travelers can apply directly at esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

Applications in progress around 16 October. Decide and document which fee applies to baskets started before and paid after the change. The government charge follows what CBP charges at submission.

Airline and partner-pack checklist

Partner and affiliate packs (rate cards, white-label configs, B2B price sheets) re-issued with the FY2027 numbers and the effective date.

Call-centre macros updated: "The U.S. government ESTA fee is $40.62 from 16 October 2026. Existing approved ESTAs remain valid."

Pre-departure emails for U.S. itineraries. If they quote the fee, update them. Better: link to the official site and avoid hard-coding the amount.

Keep the stamp message separate. CBP's change to routine passport stamping is an arrival-process change. The fee change is this note. See CBP ends routine passport stamps at primary inspection.

Timeline

Date Event

1 Jan 2026 FY2026 ESTA fee ($40.27) took effect (90 FR 52085)

1 Oct 2026 FY2027 notice 2026-20185 published in the Federal Register

16 Oct 2026 CBP begins assessing $40.62 ESTA, $10.62 on a denial, $31.75 EVUS, and a $1,050 parole fee

For OTAs and TMCs, the eVisa API for OTAs and airlines is how government fees, service fees, and official links stay distinct across destinations. Partner and pricing teams can take one email per fee or rule change for the destinations they sell.

We will add a one-line update on 16 October only if the text needs to say the new amount is then in effect. The amount actually charged remains the one shown on esta.cbp.dhs.gov at submission.

Watch the United States

Coverage alerts send one email per rule change for the destinations you pick, from the partner console. Systems can take the same events as webhooks; the shape is in the developer docs. The live requirement for any passport is always in the requirements checker.

This article is general industry information for travel businesses. It is not legal or immigration advice. Fee amounts are taken from Federal Register notice 2026-20185. The amount actually charged is the one shown on the official CBP ESTA website at the time of application. Eligibility and admission decisions rest with CBP.

Sources

Federal Register, notice 2026-20185 verified 5 Oct 2026 · Official ESTA application site verified 5 Oct 2026 · CBP, ESTA verified 5 Oct 2026 · CBP, I-94 verified 5 Oct 2026

The notice cites the prior FY2026 inflation adjustments at 90 FR 52085 (19 November 2025), effective 1 January 2026.

Loris Mazloum

Founder, SimpleVisa

Loris Mazloum founded SimpleVisa and writes the coverage notes on this blog for airlines, OTAs, and other travel companies. Each note is checked against the government source named at the bottom before it publishes. SimpleVisa keeps requirement data for 190+ destinations and files applications where a government channel exists.