How to handle losing your passport

June 3, 2025. The day I realized I lost my passport. Rewind to about two weeks prior, my husband asks, “Where is your passport? It’s not with all of the others.”. I went to Greece last July and I remember putting it in a box in our closet where I always kept it. Now, fast forward to June 3, 2025. I’m in the shower and I ask my husband to grab my passport. See, I was leaving the next morning for Cancun for a travel forum for a few days. This was my first trip since having my daughter in December, and I was excited to get away, see some industry colleagues, and meet wedding managers from over forty resorts in Cancun. Then he uttered words no one wants to hear: It’s not there.

Devastated is an understatement. What do you mean, “it’s not there”? Its 11:00 pm, my flight was scheduled to leave at 11:10 am the next day, and you mean to tell me my passport isn’t in the last place I left it? We turned the house upside down and guess what? I didn’t find my passport. I threw in the towel at 3:30 am and accepted my fate: I wasn’t going to Mexico.

What to do when you lose your passport

If you ever find yourself in a predicament like me, know that it’s not the end of the world. The first thing you should do if you lose your passport is to file a report. The form, Form DS-64 (Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport) is required. This lets the government know you are no longer in possession of your passport, so that way no one can use it if it ends up in someone else’s possession. Then, you want to make sure you apply for a new passport. The form, Form DS-11, is the application for a new passport. Schedule your appointment, gather your necessary documents, take your passport picture, and you’re well on your way.

But what if I’m travelling soon?

I stressed because not only did I have to cancel this trip, but I also had another trip at the end of June to Cancun to attend a client’s wedding. In my situation, I had to apply for an emergency passport. Here is where things get a little tricky. You can get your passport within 1-2 days, but you must schedule your appointment within 14 days of travel, and you must have proof that you are traveling within 14 days (flight confirmation o a reservation itinerary are some examples of proof of travel). This gives you the opportunity to see if the passport agency near you has appointments available for a quick turnaround to get your passport in time for you to travel. As a travel agent, I know of wedding guests who’ve flown out of state for a passport appointment. An appointment is required. If it’s not possible for you to get an appointment at a passport agency near you, look every single day, sometimes there are cancellations and you might just get an appointment after all.

Ensure you don’t lose your passport again

Losing my passport was an experience I don’t want to relive! It’s very, very important we take care of these very important documents. I still haven’t found my passport, but I’m learning from my mistake to ensure this doesn’t happen again. First, we bought a safe. Now, when I travel I put my passport in the safe and I lock it. There’s no reason for us to be in/out of the safe to access important documents, so I won’t be back in the safe until later this month when I have to travel again. You can also get a locked filing cabinet, that helps to. Make sure your safe or filing cabinet are in secure places where it’s not easily accessible to others, and keep your passcode/keys to yourself.

Last words

Losing my passport was an experience I don’t want to relive! It’s very, very important we take care of these very important documents. I still haven’t found my passport, but I’m learning from my mistake to ensure this doesn’t happen again. One lesson I will say I have for sure have learned, is that I will not wait until the night before travel to look for my passport again! If I realized earlier on that I couldn’t find it, I would have been able to report it as lost and scheduled an emergency appointment to get it replaced.

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