Your passport is lost or stolen. Here's the order of operations.
The passportphoto.digital team · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Reporting is the right move and it is also irreversible: the moment a passport is reported lost, it is dead, and finding it in a coat pocket next week changes nothing. Here is what to do, in what order.
The short version
- Report it. A reported passport is invalidated permanently and cannot be reinstated if it turns up.
- Replacement is always an in-person DS-11 application, plus Form DS-64 to report the loss.
- Abroad, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate — they can issue a limited-validity emergency passport.
Report it, and understand what that does
Report a lost or stolen passport to the State Department as soon as you are reasonably sure it is gone. You can do it online, by phone through the National Passport Information Center, or by mailing Form DS-64. Reporting protects you: a stolen passport is a valuable identity document and you do not want it in circulation under your name.
The moment it is reported, it is invalidated. This is permanent. If the passport surfaces two weeks later in a jacket pocket, it is still invalid, and traveling on it is not an option — you will be stopped.
So the one judgment call is timing. If you genuinely think it is in the house, spend a day looking. If it was in a bag that was stolen, report it now and start the replacement.
Replacing it at home
Replacement is always an in-person application on Form DS-11, even if you have held passports for thirty years. Mail renewal is not available, because the whole point of the process is verifying you are who you say you are without the document that would normally prove it.
You bring the same things as a first-time applicant: original proof of citizenship, photo ID plus a photocopy, one 2 × 2 inch photo, and the two fees. Add Form DS-64 if you have not already reported the loss separately.
If your citizenship document is also gone — a common problem, since people store the birth certificate with the passport — order a certified copy from the vital records office in your state of birth first. That is a separate wait, so start it the same day.
Losing it abroad
Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. This is the priority, ahead of the airline and ahead of your travel insurer, because nothing else can move until you have a travel document.
Consulates can issue a limited-validity emergency passport, often quickly, which is enough to get you home or to finish urgent travel. It is then replaced with a full-validity passport once you are back. Report the theft to local police too, and get a copy of the report — some consulates ask for it, and insurers generally do.
You will need a photo. Some posts can take one, many cannot, and a consulate in a small city on a Friday afternoon is not a place you want to be hunting for a photo booth. If you carry a digital copy of a compliant photo on your phone alongside a scan of your passport's data page, you have removed the two hardest parts of a bad day.
What to do before it happens
Photograph or scan the data page and keep it somewhere you can reach without the passport — email it to yourself, put it in a password manager. It does not replace the passport, but it makes every conversation that follows faster.
Keep a compliant digital photo in the same place. It costs nothing to store and it is the item most likely to be genuinely hard to obtain in a hurry in an unfamiliar country.
Do not carry the passport when you do not need it. In most countries a photocopy plus a driver's license is fine for day-to-day identification, and the passport is safer in the hotel safe than in a back pocket.
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Check my photo freeFrequently asked
What if I find my passport after reporting it lost?+
It stays invalid permanently. You cannot travel on it and it cannot be reinstated — you have to apply for a replacement.
Can I replace a lost passport by mail?+
No. Replacement requires an in-person DS-11 application along with Form DS-64 reporting the loss.
What do I do if my passport is stolen overseas?+
Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate immediately. They can issue a limited-validity emergency passport to get you home.
Do I need a police report?+
Not always for the State Department, but get one anyway — some consulates ask for it and most travel insurers require it.
Is replacing a lost passport more expensive?+
It costs the same as a first-time application: the application fee plus the $35 execution fee, since it must be done in person.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Fees, forms and processing times are revised regularly — the linked government page is the authority. Written and maintained by the passportphoto.digital team.