What is the fee for karate belt exams and is it the same for all the schools?

They vary from school to school. Some schools include the lower belt exams in the cost of the classes. Some of them charge a reasonable fee to cover the belts, certificates and an honorarium for the testing instructor. Still others charge very high fees for tests.

Black Belt testing is also different. The belt itself can cost $100 with a bit more for embroidery. The Dan certificates are often put together at the headquarters of the association and shipped back to the location.

While some places are reasonable with the Black Belt testing fees, I've heard of others that charge ridiculous prices. I know one school that was charging $1500 to test for 1st degree black belt! In my style that much would cover two years of training and all of the testing fees including 1st degree.