If your passport came back with small holes punched through the pages and cover, the U.S. State Department has cancelled it. That is why your passport has holes punched in it: cancellation is a deliberate security feature, not damage, and it almost always happens because you renewed and the government returned your old book as a keepsake. The document is no longer valid for international travel or official identification, but the holes themselves are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
What the Holes Mean
Cancellation is permanent. Once the State Department punches a passport, no agency can reverse it, and the perforations exist so that any official handling the book, from a customs officer to a bank teller, can see the status without scanning it or checking a database. Sometimes the holes form a pattern spelling “VOID” or “CANCEL.” The book is a retired credential from that moment on.
Why It Was Cancelled
The overwhelming majority of cancelled passports are old ones that were replaced during renewal. When you renew by mail, you send in your current passport and it comes back with holes punched through it, sometimes arriving up to four weeks after your new passport shows up in a separate envelope.1U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail If you renewed online you kept your most recent passport, but it is still cancelled in the system once the new one is issued.2U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions About Passport Services
The other common reason is a passport that was reported lost or stolen. Once you make that report, the State Department cancels the book immediately and permanently. Finding it in a drawer three weeks later changes nothing. Trying to travel on a passport you previously reported missing can hold you up at the airport and get you turned away at the foreign border.3U.S. Department of State. Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen
Less commonly, a passport can be revoked or restricted for reasons unrelated to renewal. Federal regulations let the State Department deny or restrict passports in cases involving outstanding felony warrants, certain court orders, unpaid federal repatriation loans, or significant child support arrears.4eCFR. 22 CFR 51.60 – Denial and Restriction of Passports These situations are rare, but if your passport was cancelled without a renewal in progress, one of them could explain it.
Can You Still Use a Valid Visa Inside It
Usually yes, with the right paperwork alongside it. A valid visa in a cancelled passport does not automatically die with the book. The U.S. State Department allows travelers to use a valid, undamaged visa in an expired or cancelled passport as long as they also carry their current passport. You present both at the port of entry, and the Customs and Border Protection officer will check the visa in the old passport and, if admitting you, stamp your new passport “VIOPP” for visa in other passport.5U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions – Visas
Canada takes the same approach, asking you to carry the old passport with the valid visa together with your new passport when entering the country.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I Got a New Passport but I Have a Valid Visa in My Old One Not every country works this way. Some require you to transfer the visa to your new passport before travel, so check with the destination country’s embassy or consulate before flying.
One thing to check on the physical book: if the cancellation holes went straight through your visa sticker, the visa itself may be considered damaged. Do not try to peel the visa out of the old passport and stick it into the new one. The State Department warns that doing so voids the visa entirely.5U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions – Visas If the perforations damaged the visa, contact the issuing country’s embassy about a replacement.
Can You Still Use It as ID
No. A passport with visible cancellation holes signals to any official who sees it that the document has been invalidated, and relying on it as your only identification at the airport is not worth the risk. TSA does accept expired passports for domestic flights for up to two years past expiration,7TSA. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint but an actively cancelled passport is a different situation from one that simply ran out.
Keeping It or Throwing It Away
You are welcome to keep the cancelled passport. Many people hold onto theirs for the travel stamps and old visas, which is why the State Department returns it in the first place. Just do not carry it as identification or present it at any border.
If you would rather get rid of it, shred the book or cut it into small pieces before discarding. A cancelled passport still shows your full name, date of birth, photo, and passport number, which is more than enough personal information for someone to misuse even though the book itself cannot be used for travel.