To file an affidavit of a lost passport or vital document, you use the form the issuing agency requires: Form DS-64 for a U.S. passport, a certified-copy request (sometimes with a notarized affidavit of loss) through the state vital records office for a birth, marriage, or death certificate, and Form SS-5 for a Social Security card. Each form is signed under penalty of perjury, and each one is separate from the application you file to actually get a replacement.
Filing Form DS-64 for a Lost or Stolen Passport
Form DS-64, the Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card, is what the State Department uses to record the loss and cancel the document. You can submit it through the State Department’s Online Form Filler, which cancels the passport within one business day, or you can print it, sign it, and mail it to the address printed on the form.1U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen
A common misconception is that DS-64 has to be notarized. It does not. Your signature under penalty of perjury carries the legal weight on its own.2U.S. Department of State. Statement Regarding a Valid Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card – Form DS-64
The form asks for your full legal name, date and place of birth, the approximate date you last had the passport, and where the loss or theft occurred. If you filed a police report, put the report number on the form.1U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen Describe the circumstances honestly and specifically. Reviewing officers use those details to judge whether the claim is legitimate, and vague answers slow things down.
Once you report a passport lost or stolen, it is permanently canceled. Even if it turns up later in a coat pocket, you cannot use it for travel. The State Department warns that attempting to use a canceled passport can lead to delays or denied entry at foreign borders.1U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen If it does turn up, mail it back to the State Department or hand it in at a passport agency, embassy, or consulate.2U.S. Department of State. Statement Regarding a Valid Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card – Form DS-64
Reporting for a Child Under 16
Filing a DS-64 for a minor adds a parental consent layer. Both parents or legal guardians must sign the form and provide a photocopy of the front and back of their identification.2U.S. Department of State. Statement Regarding a Valid Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card – Form DS-64 If only one parent has legal authority to act, that parent can sign alone, but must include supporting documentation such as a court order granting sole legal custody or a completed Form DS-5525, Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances.
This two-parent rule catches many divorced or separated families off guard. Without a custody order or the other parent’s cooperation, expect delays and extra paperwork. Sort it out before you’re standing at an acceptance facility with a flight next week.
Applying for the Replacement Passport
Filing DS-64 does not give you a new passport. You have to apply separately using Form DS-11, the same form first-time applicants use, and appear in person at a passport acceptance facility or agency.1U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen You pay the full new-application fees rather than the lower renewal price.
For an adult (age 16 and older) replacing a lost passport book, the total is $165: a $130 application fee to the State Department plus a $35 execution fee to the acceptance facility.3U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees Minor applicants (under 16) pay $100 for a book plus the $35 execution fee.4U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities
Routine processing takes four to six weeks from the day the State Department receives your application, not counting mailing time on either end. Expedited service is $60 and brings processing down to two to three weeks.5U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports One-to-three-day delivery on the return leg costs $22.36.3U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
If You Lose It Abroad
Losing a passport overseas is a different level of urgency. Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate right away. You apply in person on Form DS-11 and provide proof of U.S. citizenship (a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or other qualifying evidence), a photo ID, a passport photo, and the applicable fees.6U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Passport Outside the United States If your citizenship documents are also gone, consular staff can sometimes verify identity through other means, but the process takes longer.
In truly urgent cases, an embassy or consulate can issue a limited-validity emergency passport, valid for one year or less and designed to get you home.7U.S. Department of State. How to Replace a Limited-Validity Passport Some countries may not accept an emergency passport for entry, so if your itinerary includes stops before returning to the U.S., check border rules for each country. Once you’re back, apply for a full-validity replacement.
Replacing a Birth Certificate
Birth certificates are handled at the state or territory level, not by any federal agency. Each state’s vital records office sets its own forms, fees, and processing times.8USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a U.S. Birth Certificate Some states require a notarized affidavit of loss. Others simply accept an application for a new certified copy without any sworn statement. Contact the vital records office in the state where you were born to find out what applies.
Fees for a certified copy typically run $10 to $30, though a few states charge more. Most offices take requests by mail, in person, or through an approved online portal. Online orders sometimes route through an authorized third-party vendor that adds a processing fee on top of the state’s base price, so read carefully who you are paying and how much. Processing usually runs two to six weeks by mail. In-person requests at a local office can sometimes be completed the same day.
If you were born abroad to U.S. citizen parents and need to replace a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, the process goes through the State Department. Use Form DS-5542, which must be completed and signed in front of a notary public, along with a photocopy of your photo ID and a $50 payment by check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State.9U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad Processing takes four to eight weeks after receipt.
Replacing a Marriage or Death Certificate
Marriage and death certificates follow the same pattern as birth certificates: contact the vital records office in the state (or county, depending on the jurisdiction) where the event was recorded. Fees vary. Marriage certificate copies generally cost $10 to $35, and death certificate copies fall in a similar range. Some jurisdictions charge extra for rush processing or additional copies ordered together.
You usually do not need to file a formal affidavit of loss for these records. Most offices simply process a new certified-copy request. Order a certified copy rather than a plain photocopy, because banks, courts, insurance companies, and government agencies generally require the version with the official seal to accept it as proof.
Replacing a Social Security Card
Replacement Social Security cards are free.10Social Security Administration. Replace Social Security Card There is a hard limit, though: no more than three replacement cards per calendar year and ten in your lifetime.11Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 422-0103 – Social Security Numbers Name changes and updates to immigration-related legends on the card do not count toward those limits. In rare cases involving significant hardship, the SSA grants exceptions.
Complete Form SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card, and submit it to your local Social Security office in person or by mail with proof of identity.12Social Security Administration. Application for a Social Security Card – Form SS-5 For identity proof, the SSA accepts a current U.S. driver’s license, state-issued ID card, or U.S. passport. If none of those are available, secondary documents such as an employee ID, school ID, health insurance card, or military ID may work if they show your name and identifying information such as date of birth or a recent photo.13Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card All documents must be originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. The SSA will not accept photocopies or notarized copies.
Extra Steps if the Document Was Stolen
A lost document and a stolen document call for different levels of response. If your passport was simply misplaced, filing the DS-64 and applying for a replacement may be enough. If there is any chance someone else has the document, the identity-theft clock is already running.
File a police report. Then file an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC’s process generates an Identity Theft Affidavit, which, combined with your police report, creates a formal Identity Theft Report that gives you specific legal rights when dealing with businesses and creditors.14Federal Trade Commission. Identity Theft – What to Do Right Away The combined report is worth more than either piece alone, because it is what proves to a bank or credit bureau that someone else used your identity.
Beyond those filings, consider a fraud alert or credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus. A stolen passport paired with a stolen Social Security card is enough raw material to open accounts, take out loans, or file tax returns in your name.
Penalties for False Statements
Every form in this process carries a perjury warning, and agencies take it seriously. Under the general federal perjury statute, knowingly making a false statement under penalty of perjury is punishable by up to five years in prison.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 1621 – Perjury Generally
Passport-related fraud carries steeper consequences. Making a false statement in a passport application can result in up to 10 years in prison for a first or second offense without aggravating factors.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport These penalties apply equally to someone who lies on a DS-64 to fraudulently cancel another person’s passport and to someone who fabricates a loss to obtain a second valid passport.
For documents related to citizenship and naturalization, a separate statute makes it a crime to submit false certificates, acknowledgments, or statements in connection with immigration or naturalization paperwork, also punishable by up to five years.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 1015 – Naturalization, Citizenship, and Alien Registry Fill out every form honestly. Agencies compare your statements against existing records, and inconsistencies trigger investigations far more expensive than whatever shortcut someone thought they were taking.