PBS Passport Cost: Prices, Fees & Ways to Save

PBS Passport is not a subscription sold by PBS itself. It is a perk that local PBS member stations give to donors who give at or above a minimum amount. The minimum is set by each station, which is why the price you see depends on where you live and which station you support.

For years the common minimum was a monthly sustaining gift or an annual gift of a fixed amount. Since 2026 several stations have raised that minimum, citing the loss of federal funding for public media. The tables below show what individual stations publish, so check your own station before you give.

Stations that kept the long-standing minimum include WHYY in Philadelphia and PBS SoCal, which both list $5/mo for sustaining members. Stations that raised it include KQED in San Francisco, PBS North Carolina, and East Tennessee PBS, which each list $8/mo for monthly donors.

East Tennessee PBS announced that its minimum would rise on January 1, 2026, and that annual donors at the old minimum would move to the higher amount at their next renewal. PBS North Carolina says its new minimum applies to Passport access and asks existing donors to raise their gift to keep it.

Many stations also accept a single yearly gift in place of monthly giving.

WQLN in Erie and New Mexico PBS list $60/yr. KQED and PBS North Carolina list $96/yr.

If your station offers both options, compare them. A yearly gift can lock in a lower rate before a change takes effect, as East Tennessee PBS noted when it told donors they could prepay at the old annual rate before the deadline.

1. Find your local station on the PBS website or search for its name.
2. Make a donation at or above the station's Passport minimum.
3. Activate Passport using the code or link the station gives you after the gift, or in a confirmation email.
4. Sign in to the PBS app or the PBS video site with your PBS account to start streaming.

Some stations show an activation prompt on the thank-you page after you donate. Others send an email. Use the same email address you gave to the station so activation matches your account.

• Your station. Each station sets its own Passport minimum, so two viewers in different cities can pay different amounts.
• Monthly or annual giving. Both options exist at many stations, and a recent change in the minimum may affect them differently.
• Timing. When a station raises its minimum, donors at the old level usually have a transition period. Read the station's notice.
• Station participation. Not every station offers Passport, so check that yours does.

Passport is described by stations as a thank-you for a gift to a nonprofit. WQLN, for example, calls the gift tax deductible. Whether any part of your gift is deductible depends on your situation and on the value of any benefit you receive, so ask your station for its donor receipt policy and consider asking a tax professional.