Cuba passport renewal in the United States

A Cuban passport renewed from the US costs $180 for applicants over 16 or $140 for those under 16, paid only by USPS Postal Money Order; a mailed request adds $20, and every request adds $5 in a separate money order (fees as published by the Consular Office of the Cuban Embassy, checked October 3, 2026). There is one Cuban consular office in the US, in Washington, DC.

Verified fees

ItemFee (USD)
Passport, applicants over 16$180
Passport, applicants under 16$140
Request sent by mail (trámite no personal)+$20
Additional amount, in a separate Postal Money Order+$5

Source: the consular office’s Spanish-language services page, checked October 3, 2026. Since the July 1, 2023 measures the ordinary passport is valid 10 years for holders 16 and older and 5 years for minors, and the two-year prórrogas were eliminated. The office’s English-language page still describes the older 6-year passport with extensions; the Spanish page is the current one. The fee section itself says “mayores de 16 años” ($180) and “menores de 16” ($140) without naming an applicant who is exactly 16, so confirm that applicant’s fee with the office.

Payment. The office accepts only USPS Postal Money Orders; a request paid with any other kind of money order is returned. The office’s money-order guide (a 2019 PDF) lists the payee as “Embajada de Cuba en Estados Unidos”, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009, with the consular service named in the memo line.

The consular-services page adds that the money order must be completed legibly in black or blue ink, without crossings-out or smudges (checked October 16, 2026).

How appointments actually work

The consular page (checked October 3, 2026) mentions no appointments and no booking system. It lists three channels for most services:

  1. In person at the consular office, 2639 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009 — open to the public Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (since March 4, 2024).
  2. By mail, addressed to Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 2630 16th St NW, Washington DC, 20009. The mailing address and the in-person address differ on the official page.
  3. Through an agency under contract with the consular office. The office posts its agency lists by US state on the same page.

Questions: (202) 797-8518 or recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu, as listed on the consular page, which takes questions about a procedure Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (checked October 23, 2026).

Documents

The consular page lists, for passport renewal:

  • A photocopy of the main page of your passport where your personal data appear
  • If you were born abroad to a Cuban mother or father and acquired Cuban citizenship: a photocopy of the Resolution granting your Cuban citizenship and of your Cuban birth certification (consular page, checked October 3, 2026)
  • Two high-resolution color passport photos, light background, face and head uncovered, no dark glasses. The Anexo 2 form gives the size: “2 fotos, de tamaño 4½ x 4½ cm, una de ellas debe ser pegada en la planilla” (two photos, 4½ x 4½ cm, one glued to the form) (checked October 17, 2026)
  • The application form (Anexo 2, Planilla para trámites consulares), completed legibly and signed inside the signature box — applicants under 16 and people with disabilities are exempt from signing. The form asks for your name exactly as on your birth certificate (“Certificado de Nacimiento”) and says women should “nunca escribir el apellido de casada” (never write the married surname)
  • A prepaid return envelope — required for mail and in-person requests. For mailed requests the office recommends tracked envelopes with 9.65 USD of postage, one per applicant, and asks that the return envelope be left unsealed.

To be renewed, the expired or expiring passport must have an issue date on or after January 1, 2010. Holders of an official (red) passport must present that original. A first Cuban passport, rather than a renewal, follows a different procedure that the office publishes separately and pays in two stages.

The Anexo 2 instructions add these completion rules (checked October 17, 2026):

  • The form is to be completed in block letters or typed.
  • Where a signature is required, use a thick stroke in black ink, trying to center it in the rectangle.
  • The form is invalid if it contains amendments, crossings-out or erasures.

The consular-services page also specifies that, when a signature is required, it must not touch the edges of the signature box (checked October 16, 2026).

The Anexo 2 instructions also require the applicant’s personal details to match those in the previous passport or identifying document (checked October 17, 2026).

When the passport cannot be renewed: the first-passport route

The consular-services page, read October 15, 2026, sends these cases to a first-passport application instead of a renewal, as long as the person left Cuba before January 1, 2014:

  • the passport was lost;
  • the expired passport has a gray cover;
  • the ordinary (blue) passport was issued before January 1, 2010;
  • there is no expired Cuban passport to show.

A first passport is requested only in person or through an agency under contract with the consular office, not by mail. The page asks for the Cuban birth certificate (original or a legible copy), two completed application forms (Annex 2), two passport photos and copies of any other ID you can provide, such as an identity card or driver’s license. Payment comes in two stages: an identity-verification payment of $20 when the request goes through an agency (consular page read October 15, 2026), then, once the applicant is identified as a Cuban citizen, the same passport fee shown in the table above plus the separate payment. If you apply in person, leave clear contact details so the office can reach you once you are identified.

The page also notes that holders of an official (red) passport can request an ordinary (blue) one, and that Cubans who reside permanently abroad must carry a valid Cuban passport to travel to Cuba.

Minors: parental authorization (checked October 16, 2026)

The consular page says: “Para realizar cualquier trámite relacionado con confección de pasaporte y viaje al exterior de menores de edad, se debe Autorizar mediante Poder Notarial dichos actos sobre su hijo menor de edad.” Applicants under 16 pay the $140 fee shown above and are exempt from signing the application form.

  • Channel: the authorization “solo se realizará si la solicitud se efectúa de manera presencial o a través de las Agencias que tienen contrato con el Consulado”. It is not done by mail.
  • In person: the parent completes Anexo 21 (Modelo de Solicitud de Autorizo de Pasaporte y Salida del menor) at the office. The parent presents a photocopy of the requesting parent’s Cuban passport or identity card (a passport must be valid and current), the child’s birth certificate, and a photocopy of the main page of the child’s Tarjeta de menor.
  • Fee in person: the office executes the power for 150.00 USD.
  • One child per document: one document cannot authorize two minors. Both parents can make a single document for one child.
  • Through an agency: the power must be notarized by a notary of the US state where the parent lives. Each legalization costs 140.00 USD, plus 20.00 USD for the non-personal procedure.
  • Form note: the Anexo 21 form adds several requirements:
    • The granting parent must appear before a notary public.
    • The parent must bring a valid Cuban passport, a legible copy of the parent’s own birth certificate, and copies of the child’s birth certificate and Tarjeta de menor.
    • A parent without a Cuban passport must first obtain one.
    • The web page’s list accepts a passport or an identity card; the form’s note names the passport.

More detail: Parental authorization for a minor’s Cuban passport.

Lost, stolen or expired passport: Documento de Viaje y Tránsito (checked October 16, 2026)

  • What it is: “El Documento de Viaje y Tránsito suple temporalmente el pasaporte cubano cuando este se haya extraviado, deteriorado, hurtado o esté vencido.”
  • Residents of Cuba: this covers a “Residente en el territorio nacional” who must travel immediately from the US to Cuba. The DVT is issued exceptionally, after consultation with the Dirección de Identificación, Inmigración y Extranjería of the Ministerio del Interior. It is valid for a single entry to Cuba within 30 days of issue.
  • “Residente en el Exterior” or “Emigrado”: these applicants may also request it if they have a humanitarian reason in Cuba and can prove it with documents. To return to the US or travel to another country, they must then get a new passport at the offices of the Consultoría Jurídica Internacional.
  • Documents:
    • the application form (Anexo 2);
    • a police report if the passport was stolen;
    • a photocopy of the passport if it was lost;
    • the original passport if it is expired;
    • a photocopy of the plane ticket;
    • two color passport photos.
  • Cost by mail: $140.00 USD ($20.00 USD for the request, $20.00 USD non-personal procedure, $100.00 USD for issuance).
  • Cost in person: $120.00 USD.

More detail: Cuban emergency travel document.

Cuba’s new Migration Law (Ley 171, published in the Gaceta Oficial on May 5, 2026; it enters into force 180 days after publication) lets Cuban residents abroad who arrive in Cuba with an expired passport, or one with no pages left, apply for a new one at Interior Ministry processing offices or through authorized law offices (Article 152.1), and its fifth transitional provision keeps current migration document taxes and consular fees in force until new regulations set them. In an interview MINREX published on July 21, 2026, the Interior Ministry says passport validity stays at 10 years for people over 16 and five years for younger people. Details and sources: Cuba’s 2026 migration laws.

Delivery

The passport is returned in the prepaid envelope you supply. The consular page does not publish a processing time.

US immigration documents are not on the requirements list

The renewal requirements list on the consular page (checked October 3, 2026) does not ask for any US immigration document or about US immigration status. Consular posts operate under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963).

Where to do it

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-17. General procedural information for educational purposes. Fees and requirements are those published by the Consular Office of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC, and change periodically. Verify directly with the consular office. Not legal advice.