What to Do If You Lose Your Passport, at Home or Abroad
What to do if you lost your passport: file Form DS-64 right away, then apply in person with DS-11. Abroad, the nearest US embassy issues an emergency passport.
The short answer
What to do if you lost your passport: report it immediately with Form DS-64, either online or by phone, which cancels the passport number so no one can use it. You then apply for a replacement in person with Form DS-11, since a reported loss cannot be renewed by mail. Abroad, skip straight to the nearest US embassy or consulate, which can issue an emergency passport, valid up to a year, once you’ve filed a police report and the DS-64.
A missing passport reads as a minor panic until you actually need it at a check-in counter or a border crossing. The fix depends entirely on where you are when it happens. A lost passport at home costs a form and an appointment. The same thing abroad means finding the nearest US embassy before your flight leaves without you.
This walks through both situations, the DS-64 report that has to happen either way, what an embassy actually issues when you’re stranded, and what it costs and takes to get a full replacement afterward.
What you’ll need before you start
- Any photo ID you still have: a driver’s license, a photocopy of the missing passport, or another form of identification
- Proof of US citizenship, ideally a photocopy of the passport’s data page or a certified birth certificate
- A police report, if you’re filing one (recommended abroad, and sometimes required by travel insurance)
- One 2×2 inch passport photo for the replacement application
- A check or money order for the application fee, since cash and cards aren’t accepted for that portion
Report it first: Form DS-64
The single step that matters most, wherever you are, is filing Form DS-64, Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport. It places the passport number into the State Department’s Consular Lost or Stolen Passport System, which cancels it for travel immediately.
You can file DS-64 online through the State Department’s own form, by phone at 877-487-2778 (not available to callers abroad), or by mail to the Consular Lost or Stolen Passport office in Sterling, Virginia. Online reports are the fastest, typically canceled within one business day.
DS-64 only cancels the old passport. It doesn’t produce a new one, and once it’s filed, that number can never be reactivated, even if the original passport turns up later. Anyone who tries to travel on a passport already reported lost, including its original owner, risks being detained at the US border.
If it happens abroad
- File a police report at the local police station, ideally the same day. It isn’t always required by the embassy, but it strengthens a DS-64 filing and is often a condition of any travel insurance claim.
- Contact the nearest US embassy or consulate. Most book appointments through their own website rather than a central number; check the embassy’s page for the country you’re in.
- File Form DS-64 online if you have any internet access, so the passport is canceled before you even reach the embassy.
- Bring what you have: a police report copy, any photo ID, a photocopy of the passport’s data page if you kept one, and one passport photo. The consular section can usually take the photo on-site if you don’t have one.
- Apply in person with Form DS-11. Because this is a reported loss, it always requires an in-person appointment, even for travelers who would otherwise qualify for mail renewal at home.
Where a regular replacement won’t arrive before you need to fly, the consular section can issue an emergency passport instead, a limited-validity document valid for up to one year. It’s printed with a purple cover and marked “Emergency Passport,” and not every country accepts it for entry, so check the requirements of wherever you’re headed next.
What if it’s lost before a trip, in the US?
File the DS-64 the same way as abroad, then apply for a replacement using Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility, a passport agency, or by appointment if travel is close. A reported loss forfeits the online or mail renewal path regardless of how recently the previous passport was issued, so the DS-11 in-person route is the only option.
On the DS-11 itself, you’ll be asked where and when the passport was lost, and to attach a copy of the police report if you filed one. Leaving that section blank is a documented reason applications get sent back for a separate DS-64.
If your travel is within 14 calendar days, call the National Passport Information Center to ask about urgent service. If you’re not traveling internationally within two weeks because of the death or life-threatening illness of an immediate family member, that’s a separate life-or-death emergency service, not the general urgent-travel path.
How much does a replacement cost?
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adult passport book | $165 total | $130 application fee plus $35 execution fee, paid in person |
| Minor passport book (under 16) | $135 total | $100 application fee plus $35 execution fee |
| Passport card, adult | $65 total | $30 application fee plus $35 execution fee |
| Expedited service | +$60 | Added to the application fee, cuts processing to roughly 2-3 weeks |
| Routine processing | 4-6 weeks | From the date the application is accepted, not the date it’s mailed |
The application fee is paid by check or money order, made out exactly to “U.S. Department of State.” The execution fee goes separately to the facility itself, and some facilities accept a debit or credit card for that portion.
Replacing it at home vs. replacing it abroad
| At home | Abroad | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you apply | Passport acceptance facility or passport agency | Nearest US embassy or consulate |
| Form needed | DS-64, then DS-11 in person | DS-64, then DS-11 in person |
| Police report | Optional, useful for records or insurance | Recommended, sometimes requested by the embassy |
| What you can receive | Full-validity book, 4-6 weeks routine or 2-3 weeks expedited | An emergency passport valid up to a year, if timing requires it |
| Extra step afterward | None | Exchange the emergency passport for a full-validity one once home |
Can you get the old passport back if you find it?
No. Once a passport number has been filed on a DS-64, it’s canceled permanently. The State Department’s own guidance is explicit that this holds even if the physical booklet turns up later.
If you find it after reporting the loss, mail it to the Consular Lost or Stolen Passport office for cancellation rather than trying to use it. Traveling on it again can mean detention at re-entry.
What an emergency passport means for the rest of your trip
An emergency passport gets you home, but it isn’t a permanent fix. It’s valid for a year or less, and the letter that comes with it explains how and when to exchange it for a full-validity replacement, usually once you’re back in the US. Missing that window can mean extra fees on top of the replacement cost.
It’s also not guaranteed to work for onward travel. If your trip continues to a second country after the loss, check that country’s entry rules against a limited-validity document before you assume the emergency passport will get you across that border too.
What if the embassy is closed, or you have no police report?
- Embassy closed or no appointment available same-day. Call the emergency line for US citizens abroad, 1-888-407-4747 from the US or Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from overseas, for guidance on the nearest option.
- No police report and none available. File the DS-64 anyway; a report strengthens the process but isn’t always a hard requirement for the embassy to issue an emergency passport.
- No proof of citizenship at all. A photocopy of the passport’s data page, if you have one saved, usually satisfies this. Without it, the consular officer can accept other secondary evidence on a case-by-case basis.
- Travel leaves before the embassy can process anything. Ask directly about the emergency passport option rather than assuming a full replacement is the only path.
Avoiding this the next time you travel
- Enroll in STEP, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, free at step.state.gov. It lets the nearest embassy reach you directly if something happens during your trip.
- Keep a photocopy of the data page separate from the passport itself, and a second digital copy saved somewhere you can reach without the original.
- Check what your travel insurance actually covers. Many policies offer some reimbursement toward replacement costs or related delays, but the cap and the exclusions vary by provider, so it’s worth reading the policy rather than assuming.
Frequently asked questions
In short
A lost or stolen passport starts the same way everywhere: file Form DS-64 immediately to cancel the number, then apply in person with Form DS-11, since a reported loss can’t be renewed by mail.
The only real fork is location. At home, that means a routine or expedited replacement. Abroad, it means the nearest US embassy, a police report, and possibly an emergency passport to get you home before the full-validity replacement is ready.
Rules and fees change without much notice. This was checked against the State Department’s published requirements in 2026; if something here no longer matches what you were told at the embassy or the counter, tell us and we will correct it.
Once you’re back with a full-validity passport, what documents you need for a passport covers the citizenship and ID paperwork the replacement application requires. How much a passport costs breaks down the full fee schedule by book, card and renewal.
Sources
- US Department of State: Lost or Stolen Passport Abroad
- US Department of State: Report Your Passport Lost or Stolen
- US Department of State: Form DS-64
- US Department of State: Replace a Limited-Validity Passport
- US Department of State: Passport Fees
- US Department of State: Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
- US Department of State: Contact US Passports
- US Customs and Border Protection: Reporting a Lost or Stolen Passport
