US Passports 101 - How To Replace A Lost Or Stolen Passport

But before you even go to have your lost or stolen passport replaced, you need to report its loss immediately. You can do this by filling up a Form DS-64, which is a statement on the loss or theft of your US passport. This is an important step that you need to go through before having your passport replaced. Another option would be to call the Department of State in their toll-free numbers. Or if you lose your passport in another country, contact the US Embassy or Consulate nearest you as soon as possible.

When filling up your Form DS-64, make sure that you fill in every item correctly and exhaustively. This may also require you to remember details that surround the loss of your passport. Fill in any detail that you think will be helpful in replacing your passport. Once you are done with this step, you can then send the form to the Passport Services office of the US State Department.

How about in cases when the passport that you lost was still valid by the time it disappeared? You would be required to have your passport replaced. To do this, you would have to submit your Form DS-64, along with the DS-11 in person. The DS-11 is the form you fill up to apply for a replacement passport. You would then send these forms to your nearest passport agency or acceptance facility.

Your passport is invalidated once it's been reported stolen. Because of this, you will no longer be able to use that passport in case you are able to recover it. Another thing you should keep in mind is that you may no longer request an already invalidated passport to be revalidated. It will therefore be necessary for you to apply for a new passport.

In cases where you are able to find your passport after reporting it's theft or loss, you have to submit your recovered passport to the US Department of States Passport Services office. Once you submit it to them, you have the option of having it canceled and returned to you, or to have it destroyed by not requesting its return. The choice is yours to make.

Application for a replacement for lost or stolen passports require you to appear personally at the acceptance facility. Because you are required to travel, it is therefore advised that you check whether you have filled in all the forms, as well as supplied all the necessary documents to get a replacement passport. Doing this will help you save time and a lot of headache.

Now that we've covered everything you need to know about how to replace a lost United States passport, let's sum them up here. First, you would need to report the loss of your United States passport. From there, you can take care of getting a replacement. Just always make sure that you fulfill every requirement asked of you, as this saves you a lot of time in the process.