in effect
This is a final rule from the U.S. Department of State that sets an official government fee. It lowers the price charged for processing a request for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (the document confirming someone has given up or lost U.S. citizenship or non-citizen national status). It was published March 13, 2026, and finalizes a change first proposed in October 2023.
The fee for administrative processing of a Certificate of Loss of Nationality drops from $2,350 to $450 — a decrease of $1,900, or about 80 percent. The new fee takes effect April 13, 2026. The $450 amount restores the price that was in place from 2010 to 2014, and the Department states it still covers only a fraction of the government’s actual cost to provide the service. The rule does not offer refunds to people who already paid $2,350, and it does not apply retroactively. It also keeps the existing requirement that the process be done in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate, rather than by videoconference.
The change applies to U.S. nationals (U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals) who ask the government to document that they have renounced or otherwise lost their nationality, including those taking an oath of renunciation abroad. These individuals will pay $1,900 less than before. The U.S. government absorbs the effect through lower revenue — based on roughly 4,661 applications a year, the Department estimates about $8.86 million less collected annually, all of which had gone to the U.S. Treasury.