Stolen Passport? Never Fear Because A Replacement Service Is Near

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:41:30 EST

Some people take their passports withthem whenever they travel, even within the United States. This does notpresent a problem until the day when they realize their passport hasbeen stolen. Identity theft is such a problem these days that a stolenpassport in the hands of the wrong person may yield damaging resultsfor many years.

The federal government maintains a hotline for reporting stolenpassports. In addition to making this call, the victim will need tocomplete a form reporting the situation. There is nogovernment-provided quick replacement service for stolen passports.

Theperson will have to go through the same passport application process asthose who are applying for their first passport. The standardprocessing time is eight weeks, and the expedited service takes fourweeks. Many times, this will be far too long for someone to wait,especially if travel is planned in the near future. There are privatecompanies that offer processing within 24 to 48 hours if necessary.

These companies require that a few forms be completed in additionto the standard government passport application and stolen passportreporting form. The forms and instructions are housed on the companyand government Web sites. The forms may not be submitted online becausethey require a handwritten signature, but they may be completed onlinethen printed.

In addition to the required forms, applicants will need to providedocumentation proving citizenship. Acceptable documents are a certifiedbirth certificate, naturalization certificate, or certificate ofcitizenship. A document proving identity, such as a valid driver’slicense or current government or military ID, will also be required.For those who do not have one of these, a list of acceptable secondaryidentification is provided on the Web sites.

Two identical color passport photos measuring 2x2 inches must alsobe provided. The photos must be recent and taken from a full frontview. There are requirements regarding permitted attire so it is bestto refer to these guidelines or have a professional photographer takethe photos, in order to make sure that they will be usable.

The documents, photos, and forms must be sent to the processingcompany in one package. The package should be mailed via a carrier thatoffers a tracking service. The shipment contains highly confidentialinformation, so tracking the package to make sure it arrived safely atthe proper destination is recommended.

The cost for processing a replacement passport will vary dependingon the private company selected. The fees tend to be about $300 forovernight processing, in addition to the standard $120 governmentcharges. The government and processing company must be paid separatelyand several forms of payment are acceptable.

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Stolen Passport? Never Fear Because A Replacement Service Is Near