Replacing a Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport: Forms, Fees, and Steps

Replacing a lost or stolen US passport means applying in person on Form DS-11, paying at least $165 if you’re an adult who needs the book, and waiting four to six weeks under routine processing. You cannot renew by mail or online once a passport is missing. The first move, before any paperwork, is reporting the loss so the old document is canceled and can’t be used by anyone else.

Report the Loss First

Reporting cancels the passport in federal databases shared with law enforcement and border agencies, which shuts down its usefulness to anyone who finds or took it. The Department of State gives you three ways to do this:¹

Online through the State Department’s Online Form Filler at pptform.state.gov. This is the fastest route, with cancellation typically completed within one business day.
By mail, using a signed Form DS-64 sent to the address printed on the form.
In person, by putting the loss details directly on Form DS-11 when you apply for the replacement.

The in-person option is convenient, but it delays cancellation. If you wait and report on the DS-11, the old passport may stay live for several weeks after you file.¹ Report online first, then apply for the replacement separately.

A police report isn’t required. If you filed one — worth doing when you believe the passport was stolen — include a copy with your application.¹ A stolen passport carries your full name, date of birth, and photo, so treat identity theft as a real risk and monitor accordingly.

One caution worth taking seriously: knowingly making a false statement on a passport application is a federal crime carrying prison time.² Reporting a passport as lost or stolen when it isn’t, to get a second one, is exactly what that statute targets.

Why You Can’t Renew by Mail

The mail-in renewal, Form DS-82, requires you to send in your most recent passport with the application. The form asks whether that passport is lost, stolen, damaged, or mutilated, and a yes answer disqualifies you.³ Because you have no book to surrender, you apply in person on Form DS-11, the same form first-time applicants use. If you’ve renewed by mail before, expect a longer process this time.

What To Bring

Four things need to be in hand before your appointment: the application form, proof of citizenship, proof of identity, and a passport photo.

Form DS-11

Complete Form DS-11 through the State Department’s Online Form Filler or pick up a paper copy at an acceptance facility.⁴ It asks for biographical details, your Social Security number, and information about your parents’ citizenship. If you’re reporting the loss on this form rather than through a separate DS-64, describe when and where the passport went missing in detail. A thin description can prompt the State Department to pause the application and ask for a DS-64 anyway.¹

Proof of Citizenship

A certified U.S. birth certificate is the standard document. It should show your full name, date and place of birth, both parents’ names, the registrar’s seal, and a filing date within one year of your birth.⁵ A prior passport would normally do the job, but yours is the missing item. If you were born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or a Certificate of Citizenship works instead. Without any of these, secondary evidence like hospital or early school records is possible but slower.

Proof of Identity

Bring a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or military ID.⁶ Include a photocopy of the front and back on letter-sized paper in your packet. If you don’t have a government-issued photo ID, the regulation allows alternatives, including an affidavit from someone who can vouch for you, but expect closer scrutiny.

Passport Photo

You need one color photo taken within the last six months, 2 by 2 inches, with a white or off-white background. Neutral expression, both eyes open, mouth closed.⁷ No glasses. Head coverings are allowed only for documented religious or medical reasons. Many post offices take passport photos at the appointment, and pharmacies and shipping stores generally charge $8 to $17 for a set.

What It Costs

Two payments are required, and you can’t combine them. The application fee goes to the Department of State; the execution fee goes to the acceptance facility.⁸

For adults, age 16 and older:⁹

Passport book: $130 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $165 total.
Passport card only: $30 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $65 total.
Book and card together: $160 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $195 total.

The card is valid only for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, and cannot be used for international flights.⁹ Most replacement applicants need the book. Adding the card for another $30 gives you a wallet-sized backup for nearby border crossings.

For children under 16:⁹

Passport book: $100 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $135 total.
Passport card only: $15 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $50 total.
Book and card together: $115 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $150 total.

Two optional add-ons apply at any age. Expedited processing is $60 extra and shortens the wait from weeks to days.¹⁰ Faster 1-to-3-day return shipping of the finished passport adds $22.05 and is available for books only.⁸ An adult who wants the book with both add-ons pays $247.05. Payment methods vary by facility; most accept checks or money orders for the application fee and cards for the execution fee.

Where To Apply

You appear in person at an authorized acceptance facility. Thousands of post offices, many public libraries, and clerks of court offices qualify.¹¹ The State Department has a search tool for the nearest one. Book an appointment before you go, because walk-ins are often turned away.

At the appointment, a designated agent reviews your citizenship evidence and photo ID, watches you sign the form, and administers a short oath that everything on the application is true. Your paperwork, photo, citizenship documents, and application fee are sealed in an envelope bound for a passport processing center. You walk out with a receipt. Keep it — the tracking information you’ll need later is on it.

Your original citizenship documents come back separately by first-class mail, usually shortly after the new passport arrives.

How Long It Takes

Routine processing runs four to six weeks from the date the processing center receives your application. Expedited processing runs two to three weeks.¹² The clock starts when the center receives your envelope, not when you hand it to the acceptance agent, so build in a few days of mail transit.

Online tracking becomes available about two weeks after you apply.¹³ Your new passport will have a fresh document number and a new expiration date. The number on your lost passport is permanently dead.

If You’re Traveling Soon

If your international trip is within two weeks, routine and even expedited processing won’t get you a passport in time. Instead, book an appointment at a regional passport agency or center, which are separate from acceptance facilities and are run directly by the State Department.¹⁴

To qualify, you must show one of the following:

International travel within 14 calendar days.
A foreign visa needed within 28 calendar days.

Appointments are scheduled through the State Department’s Online Passport Appointment System, and you’ll need to give your travel details to confirm eligibility.¹⁴ Bring proof of upcoming travel, such as a flight itinerary or hotel confirmation.

Life-or-Death Emergencies

A separate, faster process exists when an immediate family member abroad has died, is dying, or has a life-threatening illness or injury. The State Department defines immediate family narrowly: parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, sibling, or grandparent. Aunts, uncles, and cousins do not qualify.¹⁵

You’ll need proof of the emergency, such as a death certificate, a statement from a mortuary, or a hospital letter on official letterhead signed by a doctor. Non-English documents must be professionally translated. You also need proof of travel within two weeks and the standard application materials. Traveling abroad for your own medical treatment does not qualify.¹⁵

If You Lost It Abroad

This is a different process. You apply at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate rather than a domestic acceptance facility. You still appear in person, bring a photo, show ID, provide citizenship proof, and complete Form DS-11.¹⁶ Report the loss online first so the passport is canceled within one business day. A photocopy of your passport’s data page, if you kept one, helps establish citizenship.

When there isn’t time to issue a full passport, the consular section may issue an emergency passport valid for up to one year. These limited-validity passports are meant to get you home, and some countries won’t accept them for entry, so check the requirements of any transit country before you rely on one.¹⁷ Most embassies can’t issue passports on weekends or holidays, though after-hours duty officers handle genuine emergencies. Fees abroad are generally the same as domestic fees. Victims of a serious crime or natural disaster who cannot pay may qualify for a free emergency passport with limited validity.¹⁶

Replacing a Child’s Passport

For a child under 16, the base process is the same: DS-11, in person, citizenship evidence, photo. Parental consent is the piece that trips families up.

Both parents or legal guardians must appear in person with the child and show their own government-issued photo IDs. If one parent can’t attend, that parent signs Form DS-3053, the Statement of Consent, in front of a notary. A photocopy of the absent parent’s photo ID has to accompany the notarized form, and the form must be submitted within three months of being signed.¹⁸

If neither parent can appear and, say, a grandparent is taking the child, both parents must submit separate DS-3053 forms or notarized statements authorizing the third party to apply.

You also need to prove the parent-child relationship. A U.S. birth certificate listing both parents does that automatically. If it doesn’t, a foreign birth certificate, an adoption decree, or a court custody order can stand in.¹⁸ If a parent’s name has changed since the document was issued, bring proof of the legal name change, such as a marriage certificate.

1
U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport
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U.S. Department of State. US Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals Form DS-82
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms
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eCFR. 22 CFR 51.42 – Persons Born in the United States Applying for a Passport for the First Time
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eCFR. 22 CFR 51.23 – Identity of Applicant
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
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eCFR. 22 CFR 22.1 – Schedule of Fees
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United States Postal Service. Passport Appointments, Renewals, and Photo Services
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U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
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U.S. Department of State. Checking Your Passport Application Status
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U.S. Department of State. Make an Appointment at a Passport Agency or Center
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U.S. Department of State. Get a Passport if You Have a Life-or-Death Emergency
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U.S. Department of State. Lost or Stolen Passport Abroad
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U.S. Department of State. How to Replace a Limited-Validity Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Childs Passport Under 16