Passports, being what they are, can take quite a bit of abuse over the years of use. They are after all just paper and can get ripped or torn along with simple wear from putting it in a pocket or purse and the ever dreaded trip through the wash. Should the use of one cause it to become damaged beyond the ability for an agent to read it or stamp it, a new one will be necessary. A damaged American passport can be replaced in short order provided the holder has other forms of identification to back up the application.
The forms that will be needed to affect this replacement may be found by going online and printing them out. These are government forms that are designated as DS-11, application for passport and DS-64, explanation of how the damaged passport occurred. The second form has brought many chuckles to the issuing agents as to how the passports came to be in their current state and both these may be found on the Department of State's website.
Once these have been printed out, they will need to be completed properly and completely. There are two factors to keep in mind when accomplishing this task. One is to not sign this unless in front of the issuing agent and two is to not have them dated more than 5 days prior to visiting the acceptance office. If either of these is done previous to the visit, they will require that the forms be filled out a second time, in front of them.
A copy of the applicant's birth certificate will be needed for the replacement passport to be issued. The government requires that proof of citizenship be shown when filing these application forms. New photos will also be necessary and be sure they are identical and 2" by 2".
The photos are required even if the existing one is still in good shape. Some people will choose to try to do their own, this is acceptable if the background is white and the pictures are less than six months old. The professional ones, however, are guaranteed to meet all government requirements and are available locally for a nominal charge.
The applicant, with all the proper forms and pictures in hand, can then make the trip to the acceptance office. There they can sign the forms in front of an authorized witness and the entire package can be shipped in for processing. The fee for this entire transaction will be $135.00 in the form of a money order or check made out to the Department of State.
The post office has many locations that will process these applications and it also makes it convenient for mailing out. This allows the applicant to choose the type of service they would like and will give them the ability to track their package the whole way. There is also the option to prepay a return envelope for the new passport to go straight to their home.
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The processing for replacing a damaged American passport can take some time, but there are private expediting services available that can take all the guesswork out of this process. They do this of course, for a fee, which is above what the government requires to issue the new pass port.
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