Can the Clerk of Court Help with a Lost Passport?

If you have an upcoming travel and you realize that you can’t trace your passport, either because it is lost or it has been stolen, you can always get the lost passport replaced in good time. You can do so by visiting the various Passport Acceptance Agents scattered in the major cities or you can do it at the Clerk of the Court offices nearest to you. The process of replacing a lost passport in the United States is the same, whether you do it through the Passport Acceptance Agents or through the Clerk of Courts offices. It entails the following-:

Get all the documents needed for lost passport replacement

The first step towards replacing your lost or stolen passport is to gather all the documents needed to get the passport replaced. They include the following documents:-

• Proof of US Citizenship – you have to show that you are a citizen of the United States by providing either the original birth certificate or certified copy of the same or an expired passport. In case of an expired passport, your appearances must not have changed to the photo on the expired passport.
• DS -11 Application Form – This must be completed and printed offline
• Passport Form DS-64 – this is the statement regarding stolen or lost passport. It will be created automatically when you fill in the passport replacement application.
• One recent passport photo
• Photocopy of your driver’s license or any other state issued identification
• Lost Passport Replacement Fees –This is paid at the Passport Acceptance Agent or the Clerk of Court offices.

Passport Acceptance Agent or Clerk of Court offices

Once you have all the documents, you can visit a Passport Acceptance Agent or your local Clerk of the Court Offices. Your application will be reviewed and then placed in a sealed official envelope in readiness for the next process.

Processing of the application

The application for a lost or a stolen passport can be processed in three different ways-: by mail, at a passport agency/clerk of court offices or through a passport expediting company. If it is being processed by mail, the sealed envelope containing your application will be sent to the Passport Acceptance Agents located at the National Passport Center for processing.

With a Passport Agency, you can have your lost passport replaced on site. There are a total of 26 Passport Agencies spread across the major cities in the United States and for you to visit them you will be required to make a prior appointment.

Finally, you can use a Passport Expediting Company to replace your lost or stolen passport. This is option is ideal when you need the passport replaced as soon as possible. The passport expediting companies will hand-carry your sealed application to the nearest passport agency for immediate processing.

When you apply for the replacement by mail, you may have to wait for up to eight weeks before you get your new passport. With the expedited services, you will be charged an extra of $60 and the waiting period reduces to about three weeks. When working with an agency or an expedited company on the other hand, you can get your passport replaced within 24 hours after the application.