If you thought learning how to change a name on a passport was stressful, losing a passport is incredibly stressful—especially when it happens in the days or weeks before a significant trip abroad. Countless passport information questions are likely running through your mind, like how to replace or how to renew your passport. What if someone steals my passport photo and identity? Can I still travel out of the United States?
In this guide, we’ll answer all of these passport information questions and more. We’ll describe the passport service process for reporting a lost or stolen passport, make a list of other institutions you should monitor to avoid identity theft, and help you apply for new documents to avoid delays to your travel plans.
The first step in learning how to replace a lost passport? Don’t panic—take a deep breath, remind yourself of your positive travel experiences to come, and follow the steps in our simple passport info guide below.
Whether you’ve lost your current passport among the countless piles of clothes you’re packing for your trans-Atlantic trip or you’re confident it was stolen, reporting a loss or theft of your passport as soon as possible is the most crucial step to replacing it and maintaining your travel plans.
You can report the loss or theft either online, by mail, or over the phone. When you do so, you’ll have to provide a few key passport info details, so make sure you have the following information ready when you report:
The United States Department of Homeland Security may also ask for the following details to help identify your lost or stolen passport. If you can provide these document details, the United States Department can much more easily track down your current passport and prevent thieves from using it:
While you may not have these document details available if you only purchased a passport book, travelers who’ve also applied for a passport card may have such details at their disposal. While the information above isn’t required for reporting a lost or stolen passport, travelers will be asked for the information during the reporting process.
If you’re traveling soon, you’re probably worried about how to get a replacement passport if yours is lost or stolen. While this is a valid concern, and you should apply for US passport online services as soon as possible, you should also consider the other institutions a thief could access with your passport.
Be sure to check in with the following to prevent fraud and identity theft:
All of the institutions above navigate your credit and your identity using your social security number, which an identity thief could easily access once they have your damaged passport in hand.
And, since you can use your passport details to verify your identity for credit checks, your passport in the hands of a shyster is a particularly dangerous proposition. Alerting the above agencies and institutions to your potential identity theft is crucial to monitoring your financial security.
At this point, you are probably curious about how to get a second passport. Replacing your damaged passport is just as crucial as reporting it lost or stolen. In fact, replacing your passport is particularly important if:
The passport theft and loss reporting form will ask you if you’d like to apply for a new U.S. passport at the same time that you report your loss. However, it’s integral that you ensure all necessary steps are completed to secure a new passport during this process. That can mean learning how to successfully navigate the appropriate government websites.
The cost to replace your passport book will vary depending on whether you need to expedite the process. Take a look at the passport fee pricing below:
Standard processing takes approximately 8–11 weeks, while expedited processing takes between 5–7 weeks. Keep in mind, these estimates don’t include mailing time from the passport office, so if you want to speed up the process even further, you may want to consider paying an additional passport fee of $18.32 for 1–2 day expedited passport delivery.
To avoid the hustle and bustle of getting a passport replacement in person, simply fill out this DS-11 form to apply for a new passport right now.
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