Can I Use an Expired Passport as Proof of Citizenship?

An expired U.S. passport still works as proof of citizenship in some situations and not in others. The State Department accepts it as primary citizenship evidence when you apply for a new passport, with no cutoff on how long ago it expired. Federal Medicaid rules accept it regardless of expiration date. TSA takes it at airport checkpoints for up to two years past expiration. But it does not work for international travel, it cannot be used for Form I-9 employment verification, and most other agencies require unexpired documents. Which side of that line you fall on depends entirely on who is asking and why.

Applying for a New U.S. Passport

This is where an expired passport carries the most weight. The State Department accepts an expired U.S. passport as primary evidence of U.S. citizenship when you apply for a replacement, with no time limit on how long ago it expired.¹ A passport that expired three years ago and one that expired thirty years ago both satisfy the citizenship requirement.

What the expiration date changes is the application path, not whether your citizenship is proven. If your passport expired less than five years ago, you’re at least 25, and you’re not changing personal information, you can renew online.² If it expired within the last 15 years and was issued when you were 16 or older, you can renew by mail using Form DS-82.³ If it expired more than 15 years ago, or was issued when you were under 16, you apply in person using Form DS-11 at an acceptance facility. The document still proves you’re a citizen in every case.

TSA Screening for Domestic Flights

TSA accepts expired identification, including a U.S. passport, for up to two years after the expiration date.⁴ A passport that expired in 2024 still gets you through a checkpoint through 2026.

That two-year window matters more since May 7, 2025, when state-issued driver’s licenses that aren’t REAL ID-compliant stopped being accepted at airport checkpoints.⁴ If you don’t have a REAL ID license, a recently expired passport is a valid backup. Starting February 1, 2026, passengers without acceptable ID can pay a $45 fee to use TSA’s ConfirmID verification service, but that process is slower and less predictable than handing over an expired passport that still falls inside the two-year window.

Medicaid Applications

Federal Medicaid regulations take a broader view than most agencies. Under 42 CFR 435.407, a U.S. passport is accepted as stand-alone evidence of citizenship “without regard to any expiration date,” as long as it was issued without limitation.⁵ Your expired passport should satisfy the citizenship documentation requirement when applying for Medicaid, no matter when it expired.

Where an Expired Passport Will Not Work

International Travel

An expired passport does not work for any international travel. You cannot board an international flight leaving the United States, and you cannot use it to enter the country by air, land, or sea.⁶ A temporary State Department measure during the pandemic allowed U.S. citizens abroad to return on expired passports, but that exception ended on June 30, 2022, and no equivalent rule is currently in place.⁷

Form I-9 Employment Verification

An expired passport cannot be used to complete Form I-9. The USCIS Handbook for Employers requires that all documents on both List A and List B be unexpired.⁸ A valid U.S. passport is a List A document that proves identity and work authorization together, but once it expires it falls off both lists. You would need a different unexpired List A document, or one List B document paired with one List C document.

Other Agencies and REAL ID

Rules elsewhere vary. The Social Security Administration requires unexpired documents when you apply for a new or replacement Social Security card. State DMVs set their own policies for driver’s licenses and REAL ID applications: some accept an expired U.S. passport as proof of citizenship, others require a current document. If you’re relying on your expired passport for anything outside a passport renewal or Medicaid application, call the specific agency first to confirm.

If Your Expired Passport Is Lost

An expired passport you can physically hand over is far more useful than one that’s gone missing. If you’ve lost the only expired passport that documented your citizenship, the State Department offers a file search. You complete a Request for a File Search form and submit it with your new passport application. If your passport record was created before 1994, you pay a $150 fee upfront. If the record was created in 1994 or later, you don’t pay at the time of application, though the fee may be charged later if the record can’t be found electronically.¹

You can also gather alternative citizenship documents while the search runs. If you were born in the United States, a certified birth certificate ordered from the vital records office in your state of birth is the most reliable backup.

Alternative Documents That Prove Citizenship

When an expired passport isn’t available or the agency you’re dealing with won’t accept it, other documents can establish U.S. citizenship. The strongest alternatives, treated by the State Department as primary evidence, include:

A certified U.S. birth certificate issued by the city, county, or state of birth. For a passport application, it must list your full name, date and place of birth, your parents’ names, the registrar’s signature, the issuing authority’s seal, and a filing date within one year of birth.¹
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), issued to children born abroad to U.S. citizen parents. Older versions include Form FS-545 and DS-1350.⁹
A Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), issued to people who became citizens through naturalization.
A Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), issued to people who acquired or derived citizenship through a U.S. citizen parent.

If none of these are available, the State Department accepts secondary evidence for a passport application, which typically involves a delayed birth certificate or a Letter of No Record from the state along with early-life records such as baptism certificates, hospital birth records, census records, or early school records.¹

1
U.S. Department of State. Get Citizenship Evidence for a U.S. Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
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eCFR. 42 CFR 435.407 – Types of Acceptable Documentary Evidence of Citizenship
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Citizens – Documents Needed to Enter the United States and/or to Travel Internationally
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U.S. Department of State. Extension of Temporary Measure Allowing Return Travel to the United States on Expired U.S. Passport
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.0 Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity
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U.S. Department of State. How to Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad