The passport book number and the passport number are not the same thing. The passport number identifies you as a traveler and is the number airlines, border agents, and visa offices use to pull up your record. The book number, when it exists at all, identifies the physical booklet the government printed and issued. Not every country’s passport even has a separate book number, which is why the field trips people up on visa forms.
What the Passport Number Is
Your passport number is the main identification number tied to your travel document. Immigration officers, airlines, visa offices, and hotels all use it to verify who you are. On a U.S. passport, it appears in the upper right corner of the data page (the page with your photo and personal details) and is repeated at the bottom of each page throughout the book.1U.S. Department of State. Information about the Next Generation U.S. Passport
Older U.S. passports used a nine-digit number made up entirely of numerals. The Next Generation U.S. passport books issued since 2021 use an alphanumeric format: one letter followed by eight numbers.1U.S. Department of State. Information about the Next Generation U.S. Passport An older passport that hasn’t expired is still valid for travel.
When you renew, you get an entirely new passport number. The old number retires with the old book.2U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions about Passport Services
What the Book Number Is
A book number is a second number printed on some passports that identifies the physical booklet rather than the person carrying it. Governments that use book numbers do so to track blank booklets through manufacturing, storage, and issuance. It works like a serial number on a piece of equipment, telling the issuing authority which specific booklet went to which office and eventually to which applicant.
Whether your passport has one depends on the issuing country. Several European countries (including certain versions issued by Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden) include one. U.S. consulates processing visas for some South American countries, including Argentina and Venezuela, use the booklet number in place of the passport number. Indian passports do not include a separate book number. Placement on the document also varies; there is no universal standard for where it prints.
What to Enter on the DS-160
Most people run into this question while filling out the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application, which has a field labeled “Passport Book Number.” The State Department’s own instructions acknowledge the confusion. According to the DS-160 FAQ, “You may or may not have a Passport Book Number on your passport,” and the location “may vary depending on the country that issued your passport.”3U.S. Department of State. DS-160 Frequently Asked Questions
If your passport doesn’t have a separate book number, select “Does Not Apply” for that field. Don’t copy your passport number into the book number field; they aren’t interchangeable, and that’s the most common mistake. If you genuinely cannot tell whether your passport contains a book number, the State Department recommends contacting the authority that issued your passport.3U.S. Department of State. DS-160 Frequently Asked Questions
When Each Number Actually Gets Used
In everyday travel, the passport number does nearly all the work. You enter it when booking international flights, filling out arrival and departure cards, applying for visas, and checking into hotels abroad. Border agents scan or type it to pull up your records. Every transaction linking you to your travel history runs through this number.
The book number is mostly invisible to travelers. Issuing governments use it internally for inventory control, to trace batches of booklets, and to help detect counterfeits. Airlines, hotels, and most visa offices never ask for it. The DS-160 is the notable exception, and even there many passports simply don’t have one.
The Passport Card Has Its Own Number
One boundary worth flagging for U.S. travelers: the passport card is a separate document, wallet-sized, valid for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. It carries its own number, distinct from the number on a passport book and distinct from any book number. If you hold both a book and a card, each has its own identifier, and forms that ask about a lost or stolen document treat them separately. The State Department’s Form DS-64 explicitly notes that “the passport book and card have different numbers.”4U.S. Department of State. Statement Regarding A Valid Lost or Stolen US Passport Book and/or Card DS-64