How to Replace a Lost Citizenship Certificate: Filing N-565

To replace a lost citizenship certificate, file Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The fee is $505 if you file online and $555 by mail, and a new Certificate of Citizenship is typically mailed to you several months after submission.¹

Only the person named on the original certificate can apply. A parent or legal guardian can file on behalf of a certificate holder under 18.² Form N-565 replaces a certificate that was previously issued. If you acquired or derived U.S. citizenship through a parent but never received a certificate at all, that is a different application: Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship.³

What to Gather Before You File

Pulling your documents together first will keep the application moving and reduce the chance of a Request for Evidence later.

Your full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, current mailing address, and Alien Registration Number (A-Number).
How you became a U.S. citizen — for example, through a U.S. citizen parent.
Your original certificate number and approximate issue date, if you remember them. Missing these will not stop the application, but including them speeds things up.
A government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport.
If your name has changed, a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order showing the change.
A short written explanation of how the certificate was lost, stolen, destroyed, or damaged. If it was stolen, a police report is helpful support, though not required.

Passport-style photographs are only required if you live outside the United States; applicants inside the U.S. do not submit photos.³

Filing Online

Online filing is cheaper at $505 and lets you track the case from your USCIS account. Create or log into your account, select Form N-565 from the list of available forms, complete it in the system, upload scans of your supporting documents, and pay the fee electronically.⁴ You will get immediate confirmation of receipt.

Filing by Mail

Download the current edition of Form N-565 from the USCIS website. Fill it out completely in black ink, and mail the form, your supporting documents, and payment to the USCIS Phoenix Lockbox facility.⁵ The mail fee is $555.

You can pay by personal check, money order, or cashier’s check. To use a credit, debit, or prepaid card, complete Form G-1450 and place it on top of the application package.⁶ USCIS may reject the whole package if the G-1450 is incomplete and no other payment is enclosed. Make a full copy of everything you send before it goes out.

If You Can’t Afford the Fee

You can request a fee waiver by submitting Form I-912 with your N-565.⁷ Waivers are available if you receive certain means-tested public benefits, your household income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, or you can show financial hardship. Include documentation supporting your situation; USCIS will not approve a bare request.

What Happens After You File

USCIS mails a receipt notice, Form I-797C, confirming they got your application.⁸ Keep it. The receipt number on it lets you check case status online. If you filed on paper and weeks pass with no receipt, call the USCIS Contact Center to make sure the application was not lost in the mail.

If USCIS needs more documentation, they will send a Request for Evidence spelling out what is missing.⁹ Respond fully and by the deadline on the notice. If you ignore an RFE or send a partial response, USCIS will decide on whatever is already in the file, and denials often follow.

USCIS may schedule a biometrics appointment for fingerprints, a photo, and a signature. Not every applicant is called in, but missing the appointment when you are can result in a denial.³ Interviews on replacement applications are rare, though USCIS can request one.

Processing times shift with workload. Check the USCIS processing times page with your receipt number and form type for a current estimate. When approved, the new certificate goes to the address on your application. If you move while the case is pending, update your address right away through your USCIS online account or a change-of-address notification. A certificate sent to an old address is a problem you do not want.

If USCIS Denies the Application

You can challenge a denial by filing Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, within 30 calendar days of the decision date. If USCIS mailed the decision, you get 33 days, because the date of service is the day it was mailed.¹⁰

Form I-290B supports two kinds of challenges. A motion to reopen presents new documentary evidence that was not part of the original filing; the evidence has to be genuinely new. A motion to reconsider argues USCIS applied the wrong law or policy to the evidence already in the record, with no new documents.¹¹

USCIS rejects late appeals outright. A late motion to reopen can be excused if you show the delay was reasonable and beyond your control; a late motion to reconsider gets no such leniency.¹⁰ Mark the deadline the day the denial letter arrives.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part K Chapter 2 – Certificate of Citizenship
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for Evidence (RFE)
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Notice of Appeal or Motion
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AAO Practice Manual: Motions to Reopen and Reconsider