The passport barcode location most travelers are looking for is the bottom of the data page, though it is not a barcode in the striped or square-grid sense. It is called the Machine-Readable Zone, or MRZ: two rows of blocky capital letters, numbers, and chevron characters (“<") that a scanner reads optically. On a standard passport book, those rows run 44 characters each across the full width of the page.[mfn]International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO Doc 9303 Part 4[/mfn]
How to Find It on the Data Page
Open your passport to the stiff page near the front that shows your photograph, full name, and date of birth. The MRZ sits along the bottom of that same page. You will see two tightly spaced lines of characters in a uniform font, with chevrons filling any leftover space in a field. A short last name, for example, will be followed by several chevrons before the next piece of data begins.
This placement is the same on virtually every passport in the world. The International Civil Aviation Organization publishes the layout in ICAO Doc 9303, and countries follow it so that a border agent in Tokyo reads the same zone in the same spot as an agent in Frankfurt.1International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO Doc 9303 Part 4
What the MRZ Encodes
The two lines carry your full name, date of birth, gender, nationality, passport number, and the document’s expiration date. Each field occupies a fixed range of character positions, so scanning software knows exactly where to look without interpreting the layout.
Tucked into those 88 characters are several check digits, single numbers calculated from the data around them. A scanner recalculates each check digit and compares it to what is printed. If a digit is smudged, scratched, or altered, the math fails and the system flags the document.2International Civil Aviation Organization. ICAO Doc 9303 Part 5 That is why border agents treat MRZ damage as a verification issue rather than a cosmetic one.
The Chip Is Not a Barcode
If your passport cover shows a small rectangular symbol that looks like a camera between two horizontal lines, there is also a contactless electronic chip inside. The United States has issued these e-Passports since 2007. The chip holds a digital copy of the data page, including a digital version of your photograph. Some countries also store fingerprint or iris data on the chip; the U.S. currently stores only the digital photo.3U.S. Department of Homeland Security. e-Passports
Both the MRZ and the chip are machine-readable, and people sometimes mix them up when told their passport is “machine-readable.” They work differently. The MRZ is scanned optically like a barcode. The chip communicates by radio when the passport is held near a reader, and its data is cryptographically signed so alteration is far harder than with printed text.
Passport Cards Have a Different Layout
The U.S. passport card, the credit-card-sized document valid for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, also carries an MRZ, but in a different place and shape. Because the card is narrower than a book page, the zone is printed on the back of the card in three lines of 30 characters instead of two lines of 44.2International Civil Aviation Organization. ICAO Doc 9303 Part 5 The encoded information is the same core set: name, date of birth, nationality, document number, and expiration date.
If the MRZ Is Damaged
A scratched, stained, or worn MRZ can stop you at boarding. If the scanner cannot read the zone cleanly, the check digits fail and the document does not verify. The State Department considers a passport damaged if it has water damage (including mold or stains), a significant tear, unofficial markings on the data page, missing visa pages, or a hole punch. Normal wear such as a slightly bent cover or minor page creases does not count.4Travel.State.Gov. Replacing Your U.S. Passport after a Disaster
Replacing a damaged passport means applying in person on Form DS-11, the same form used by first-time applicants, along with the damaged passport, a signed statement explaining the damage, a new photo, and proof of identity. The mail-in renewal form (DS-82) is not an option for damaged books.5Travel.State.Gov. Frequently Asked Questions about Passport Services The fee for an adult book replacement is $130, plus a $35 acceptance fee at the facility where you apply, with expedited service available for an added cost.6Travel.State.Gov. Passport Fees Before any international trip, look at your data page. If the MRZ is scratched, faded, or stained, start the replacement well before you travel rather than hoping the scanner accepts it.