Looking to renew a passport online, an Orlando traveler thought she was speeding things up. Instead, she shelled out $125 for something the government hands out for free.
Across Central Florida, slick, official-looking third-party websites are charging people for passport application forms that the U.S. Department of State already provides at no cost. Some travelers are only realizing they paid for a glorified download when they spot unfamiliar charges on their bank statements. Consumer advocates and federal officials say the problem is growing as copycat passport pages keep popping up in sponsored search results.
As reported by WKMG ClickOrlando, the Orlando woman typed “passport renewal” into a search engine and clicked the top sponsored link, which took her to uspassportandvisa.org. After paying $125, she received a pre-filled PDF of the standard renewal form - the same government form she could have downloaded for free. The website includes a small disclaimer that it is privately owned, but investigators found many users miss the notice on mobile screens and only realize what happened after checking their accounts.
How the sites trick you
Better Business Bureau CEO Holly Salmons told WKMG ClickOrlando that sponsored ads and a government-style layout make these sites feel like the real thing. Domain records show uspassportandvisa.org only launched in January 2025 and has already drawn hundreds of complaints.
“They believed that they were on a government site,” Salmons said, noting that people are not just handing over payment. They are also typing in Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other sensitive data, which carries an added risk of identity theft.
Official warnings and where to go
The U.S. Department of State cautions travelers that travel.state.gov is the only official website for U.S. passport services, according to the department’s guidance. The same guidance directs travelers with urgent needs to call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778.
On the official site, the State Department explains how to download free passport forms and how to schedule appointments at passport agencies or acceptance facilities without paying any extra online “processing” or “service” fees.
If you paid, take these steps
If you already paid a third-party passport site, contact your card issuer right away and ask about disputing the charge. If you entered sensitive personal information, you may also want to consider freezing your credit as a precaution.
Travelers can report the seller to the Federal Trade Commission and to the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker, where consumer complaints about these websites are documented. For step-by-step help if you are worried about identity theft, the government directs people to IdentityTheft.gov.
Local fix coming
There is some relief on the horizon for Central Florida travelers. Congressman Maxwell Frost’s office says the State Department has signed a lease to open a new Orlando passport office at 5520 Gatlin Avenue, with substantial completion expected in summer 2027. Officials say the office is intended to make urgent passport service more accessible for local residents and to cut down on long, last-minute drives to Miami for same-day or emergency appointments.
Bottom line: passport application and renewal forms are free, and appointments at State Department passport agencies do not cost anything extra. To avoid paying a third-party site that only looks official, use travel.state.gov and call 1-877-487-2778 if you have urgent travel coming up.
