I may have lost my passport. It is not stolen, that I know. I was moving. Thinking that it could get lost in the shuffle, I placed it in a very safe place. Except I can’t remember where. I could look further or give up and apply for a new passport. Is the procedure for a lost passport different from getting a new passport?
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Of course there is a procedure; Goggle is your friend in this type of situation.
In the future, keep a photocopy of your entire passport in a different place than from where your passport is stored.
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There is now an online application for passport renewals. Maybe check there to see if there is anything about replacing a lost passport.
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I remember mailing my old passport in when renewing, so the procedure for replacing a lost passport may be different.
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Do the online renewals require mailing the old passport back? I don’t know the answer to this!
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This happened to a friend—except that he lost it while traveling. You need to file form DS-64 to report your lost passport. You can find this on the State Department’s website.
Then file for a new passport using DS-11. You’ll need to include form DS-64.
Good luck!
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You do know you will find it as soon as you apply for a replacement! 
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I renewed my passport online a few months ago, took the photo myself and uploaded it, and did not need to send in my existing passport. It automatically becomes defunct when the application for renewal is submitted. Way easier than the old days!
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Not that this will make you feel any better, but my aunt did something similar. They moved, and she put her passport someplace to be well secured. Then they came to visit me, on the east coast, and they were leaving out of Baltimore to go on a cruise. She didn’t realize she’d left her passport at home, at her new place, until I’d dropped them off at the cruise terminal and they were trying to get on! She had a pet sitter at her house, and the cruise line would have let her get on even if they could text a pic of the passport. BUT, she couldn’t remember where she’d put it. Pet sitter found her husband’s, but not hers. Their friends that had flown from their old house location to go with them had to go on the cruise without them.
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I finally bought a small safe to put all of the important stuff in. Passports, birth certificates, marriage license, extra money from our trips.
Now it’s easy to find. If I remember where I put the safe! 
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I wish my husband would do this - we still have a safety deposit box at the bank and it’s so inconvenient! A secure safe that is fireproof would be so much better
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When we moved from Illinois to California, I had one fat folder with the most important documents. I kept it with my travel suitcase so near me at all times. I know exactly which file drawer it’s in and would be the first thing I’d grab in case of fire.
The folder also has a copies of a couple of my favorite recipes.
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We have a metal lockbox that we stash important docs, like the passport and national park passes and credit cards we use infrequently. So far we’ve not had issues with just keeping things there and keeping it in same spot in closet.
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I have my passport, but I also had one of those wallet passport ID things that works for Canada and Mexico border crossing. Well.. sme thing… I put it away as I did not want to keep it in my wallet and it is not where I thought I put it. Can’t find it anywhere. I don’t really need it- just wondering if, when it’s time to renew my passport, I can renew that ID card thing too. Anyone know?
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In case anyone is interested, this is similar to the safe I have. I like that it’s fireproof and keeps what I want where I can easily find it
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This topic is timely. The other day I was talking to a friend who can’t find their passport. This came about from a discussion about the Real ID deadline in a couple of weeks. My friend was not in a hurry to get a Real ID, saying that a passport is the “gold standard” for travel. They have a trip coming up on Memorial Day and hope to find it by then.
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Hope they find it. Why risk traveling with one’s passport domestically when a RealID drivers license will do? And some airlines are now doing digital screening but to get access I think (?) it requires a real ID and a passport. Aren’t most stated going to real ID drivers licenses anyway?
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Yes you can. The online renewal form has a line for a passport card.
I will use mine for the TSA. Have one more year of DL validity (not TSA-compliant), so in no rush to replace it.
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I only use a passport when required. When traveling in the US, we don’t even bring our passports—just driver’s licenses & Global entry cards for airlines. We got our real ID licenses baby years ago, when they 1st started issuing them.
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Thanks. I of course have not “mentioned” that I can’t locate it. It’s in my house somewhere. I assume I can just check the box at renewal time that I want the ID card too…
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