The first hour
Search properly before you report anything. Once a US passport is reported lost or stolen it is cancelled for good, and it cannot be used again even if it turns up in the hotel safe that evening. When you are sure, move quickly. If it was stolen, go to the local police and ask for a written report. US consulates do not always insist on one, but it supports your account and any insurance claim will need it. Then find the nearest US embassy or consulate and its American Citizen Services section. Most work by appointment on weekdays, so tell them your departure date, because imminent travel is moved up the queue.
What to bring
- Bring one passport photograph, two inches square, which photo shops near consulates know how to produce.
- Bring whatever identification you still have, such as a driver's license.
- Bring evidence of citizenship, which can be a photocopy or a phone photo of the missing passport's data page, or a birth certificate.
- Bring your itinerary or onward ticket to show when you have to travel.
- Bring the police report if you obtained one.
- Complete the passport application, form DS-11, and the statement about the lost passport, form DS-64, which you can fill in ahead of time or at the consulate.
You pay the normal passport fee. If everything was stolen, consular staff can help you reach family or friends who can send money.
What you walk out with
An emergency passport has limited validity, generally a year or less, and can often be issued the same or the next business day. After you return home it can be exchanged for a full-validity passport, and the State Department's site gives the current procedure and fee. Two complications catch people out. Visas in the old passport are gone, and you must ask the issuing countries how to replace them. Some countries will also not let you leave until local immigration has replaced your entry stamp, and the consulate will tell you whether that applies.
Before the next trip
Keep a photograph of the data page in cloud storage and another in your email, carry a paper copy in a different bag, and pack two spare passport photos. Citizens of other countries follow the same sequence at their own embassy.
Note An emergency passport is not accepted everywhere on the same terms as a regular one, and some countries require a visa with it that they would otherwise waive. Check the entry rules for every remaining stop before you travel onward.
