How to Fill Out and Submit Form DS-64: Online, Mail, or In Person

To report a lost or stolen U.S. passport, file Form DS-64 with the State Department. The fastest way is the online form filler at pptform.state.gov, which cancels the passport within one business day and sends a confirmation email.¹ You can also mail a paper form or submit it in person alongside your replacement application. The form itself is free.

File Online

The online form filler is the quickest route and works from anywhere with internet access, including from abroad. Submit through pptform.state.gov or the link on the State Department’s passport forms page.² Cancellation happens within one business day, and you get an email confirmation.¹ It doesn’t matter whether you’re applying for a replacement right away or not.

File by Mail

Download the PDF from the State Department’s forms page, complete and sign it, and include a front-and-back photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or state ID card.³ Mail both to:

ATTN: CLASP
U.S. Department of State
CA/PPT/S/50/CLASP
44132 Mercure Cir
P.O. Box 1227
Sterling, VA 20166-1227³

Use this address only if you’re not applying for a new passport at the same time. Cancellation by mail takes several weeks rather than one business day, and the department doesn’t always send a formal confirmation for paper submissions. A trackable shipping method is worth the small extra cost.

File in Person With a Replacement Application

If you need a new passport right away, bring the completed DS-64 with your DS-11 application and supporting documents to any passport acceptance facility, passport agency, U.S. embassy, or consulate.¹ One caveat: cancellation through this bundled process can take several weeks because the DS-64 is processed alongside your new application. If you want the old passport killed immediately, file online first, then submit the replacement separately.

Information the Form Asks For

Have this ready before you start:

Full legal name, including any suffix (Jr., Sr., III)
Date of birth
Social Security number
Passport number, or the approximate issue date if you don’t have the number³
Document type: book, card, or both (these have different numbers)³
Current mailing address and phone number

The most important section is the narrative. You’ll say whether the passport was lost or stolen, the date it disappeared (or when you last had it), and where — city and state, or city and country if abroad.⁴ If it was lost, describe what you did to find it. Be specific. Something like “left it in a hotel room in Rome on March 5, returned to the front desk, and staff could not locate it” gives the department enough to process the report without following up.

A police report is not required to file DS-64 for a stolen passport. If you filed one, keep a copy for your DS-11 replacement application, which has a space for it.¹

If You’re Overseas

File online right away using the same form filler; it cancels the passport within one business day from anywhere. Then contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for a replacement.⁵ You’ll need to appear in person. Bring what you can:

One 2×2 inch passport photo
Photo ID, such as a driver’s license or expired passport
Proof of U.S. citizenship, like a birth certificate or a photocopy of the missing passport
Travel itinerary showing return or onward flights
Completed Form DS-11
Passport fees

If you can’t produce everything, consular staff will work with what you have. Replacements are usually issued by the next business day.⁵ When departure is too soon for that, the consulate can issue an emergency passport, a 12-page document with a purple cover valid for up to one year.⁶ Some countries do not accept emergency passports for visa-free entry, so check your next destination’s rules before onward travel. Most posts cannot issue passports on weekends or holidays, but every one has an after-hours duty officer for life-or-death emergencies.

What Happens After You File

Your information goes into the Consular Lost and Stolen Passport System (CLASP), which flags the passport number across government databases so it can’t be used.³ Online submissions trigger cancellation within one business day; mailed forms take longer.

Once canceled, the passport is permanently invalid, even if you find it later behind a dresser or in a coat pocket. You can’t use it, and foreign border officers may deny you entry if you try.¹ The number is retired and won’t appear on your replacement.³ There is no way to un-report. If there’s a real chance the passport turns up in the next day or two — say, a restaurant is checking the lost-and-found — consider waiting before you file.

Getting the Replacement

Because a reported passport is permanently canceled, you have to apply for a new one in person using Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility or agency. Mail-in renewal with DS-82 is not available after a loss or theft.⁷

The DS-64 costs nothing. The replacement passport book runs $165 total: a $130 application fee to the State Department and a $35 execution fee to the acceptance facility.⁸ Expedited processing adds $60, and faster return shipping (one to three days) is $22.05.

Routine processing currently takes four to six weeks, not counting mail time in either direction; expedited takes two to three weeks.⁹ The department recommends adding about two weeks for transit, so budget six to eight weeks routine or four to five weeks expedited.

Penalties for False Statements

Form DS-64 is signed under penalty of perjury. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1542, knowingly false statements on passport forms — for example, reporting a passport lost to keep the original while getting a second — are punishable by a fine, up to 10 years in prison, or both. The maximum rises to 20 years if the offense is connected to drug trafficking and 25 years if it facilitates international terrorism.¹⁰

1
U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms
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U.S. Department of State. DS-64 Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card
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U.S. Department of State. DS-64 Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport Book and/or Card
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U.S. Department of State. Lost or Stolen Passport Abroad
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U.S. Department of State. Replace a Limited-Validity Passport
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USAGov. Lost or Stolen Passports
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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U.S. Department of State. Get Your Processing Time
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport