Lost or Stolen US Passport 2026 — DS-64, DS-11, Fees and Timeline

Step 1: Report It With Form DS-64

Form DS-64, the Statement Regarding a Valid Lost or Stolen US Passport, is the act that invalidates your document. Until it is reported, the book in someone else’s pocket is still valid, and the department has no way to know it is gone. Reporting it is free and can be done three ways: online through the State Department form filler, by calling 1-877-487-2778, or in person at the same appointment where you apply for the replacement.

The online route is usually fastest. Fill out Form DS-64 on travel.state.gov, print it, sign it, and mail it with a photocopy of your photo identification to the address printed on the form. Alternatively, when you complete the online Form DS-11, a DS-64 is generated as part of the process, so the report and the replacement can happen in one visit if you are not in a rush.

Reporting has a consequence you should understand before you do it: the passport is cancelled. Once cancelled it cannot be used for travel, even if you find it a week later under a car seat. If you believe the passport is simply misplaced rather than stolen, you still report it — the department would rather reissue than leave a document active while you look for it.

Report the loss to local police as well, particularly if you were the victim of a theft. A police report is not required by the State Department, but it is the document insurers, banks and foreign authorities ask for, and it supports any fraud claim you later need to make. Keep the report number with your copies.

Step 2: Replace It With Form DS-11

You cannot renew a passport you no longer have. Because DS-82 mail renewal requires you to submit your most recent passport, a lost or stolen book forces you back onto Form DS-11, the same form used by first-time applicants. That means an in-person appointment at a passport acceptance facility, the full document set, and the acceptance fee.

Complete DS-11 online, print it, and do not sign it. Bring it with evidence of your US citizenship, your photo identification, a photocopy of that identification, one compliant 2x2 inch photo, your printed DS-64 if you filed it separately, and payment. The acceptance agent verifies everything, watches you sign, seals the envelope and forwards it.

Common evidence of citizenship includes a certified US birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a previous passport if you somehow still have it. If your birth certificate was also lost, you will need to order a new certified copy from the vital records office in the state where you were born before the passport office will accept it — budget a week or two for that, which is the hidden delay in most lost-passport cases.

If you are replacing a lost child passport, the same rules apply with the addition of parental consent: both parents appear, or the absent parent supplies notarized Form DS-3053. Our passport for minors guide covers the consent forms in full.

What Replacement Costs

A replacement costs exactly what the original costs. The State Department does not charge a penalty for losing a passport, and it does not discount a replacement either.

The application fee is a separate payment from the $35 acceptance fee, and both are made by check or money order. Do not combine them into one instrument. Report DS-64 itself carries no charge.

Expedited service is the one add-on worth considering when a trip is booked, cutting processing to roughly 2 to 3 weeks instead of the routine 4 to 6 weeks, before mailing time. If departure is inside two weeks, expedited mail will not save you — you need an urgent appointment at a passport agency, which is explained in the emergency passport guide.

If It Happens Abroad

Losing a passport overseas is a consular matter, not a domestic one. The first call is to the nearest US embassy or consulate. They will report the loss, cancel the book, and work out whether you need a replacement to stay where you are or an emergency passport to get home.

For most travelers the answer is a limited-validity emergency passport that permits the journey back to the United States. It is issued for a short term rather than the usual 10 years, and you renew for a full book once you are home. Where you need to remain abroad longer, the embassy can process a full replacement instead, though the timeline depends on the post and on whether your original documents are available.

Bring whatever you still have: a photocopy or photo of the passport data page, your driver’s license, a printed itinerary, and any police report. A clear photograph of your passport data page stored in your email or cloud drive before you travel is worth having, because it dramatically speeds up verification at the embassy.

If you are a lawful permanent resident rather than a citizen, the return document is different — you would look at a boarding foil under Form I-131A rather than a US passport. Our boarding foil guide explains that process, the fee and the carrier rules.

Fraud Protection and Identity Safety

Reporting with DS-64 is the primary protection, because it cancels the document at source. Beyond that, three steps are worth taking in the days that follow.

• Report passport fraud. If you suspect your passport details are being misused, or you were the victim of a passport scam, report it through the State Department’s reporting page, which routes passport fraud cases to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Suspected passport or visa fraud can also be sent to the dedicated State Department mailbox.
• Secure your identity. If you believe your personal information was stolen rather than just the document, file with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov, which produces a recovery plan and an identity theft report that creditors accept.
• Watch your credit. Place a fraud alert or a security freeze with the three credit bureaus, and review statements for accounts you did not open. A passport number on its own is not a Social Security number, but it is a strong identity anchor.

Be alert to the second wave of fraud that follows a lost passport: recovery scams. Nobody from the State Department will call demanding an immediate payment, gift card or wire transfer to release your passport. Fees are paid by check or money order to the correct payee, and any request for unusual payment is a scam. Report it rather than complying.

If your passport was physically stolen during travel, file a local police report the same day and keep the reference number. Travel insurance and card issuers routinely require it, and it documents the timeline if someone attempts to use your identity later.

When You Can Renew Instead

Renewal is cheaper, faster and far less work, so it is worth being precise about when it applies. You may renew by mail with Form DS-82, or online, only if you physically have your passport and it meets every condition: it is undamaged, it was issued when you were 16 or older, it was issued within the last 15 years, and your name is unchanged or you can document the change with a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order.

If any condition fails, you use DS-11. A damaged book, a book issued more than 15 years ago, a book issued when you were under 16, and a lost or stolen book all push you to the in-person route with the $35 acceptance fee attached.

There is one more nuance. Once a passport has been reported lost or stolen it is cancelled for good, so finding it later does not restore it. If you find the document, contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 before doing anything else, rather than assuming you can simply travel on it. Conversely, if you never actually reported it and you still hold it, you keep the cheaper renewal path — which is one more reason to search carefully before you report.

Timeline

The clock starts when the State Department receives your application, not when you mailed it. Routine processing currently runs about 4 to 6 weeks and expedited about 2 to 3 weeks, and both figures exclude mailing time — add up to two weeks in each direction for a mail-in package.

The variable most people underestimate is the supporting document, not the passport itself. If your certified birth certificate went missing with your passport, order a replacement before or immediately after you file, because the passport office will not accept anything less than a certified copy. Track the application at passportstatus.state.gov with your last name, date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number.

For a trip that is already booked, work backwards from departure: request the certified birth certificate today, take the earliest acceptance-facility appointment, pay for expedited service if you are inside six weeks, and switch to an agency appointment the moment you are inside 14 days. Check the live numbers on travel.state.gov before you commit, since processing times move during peak seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions