A person’s passport can wear down over time and begin to look more tattered than their favorite novel, particularly if the travel frequently. Should the damage become so bad that the passport becomes unusable, it will need to be replaced and as quickly as possible for some people. There are a few options when it comes to replacing a damaged passport and these can be accomplished with some forms and some proof of identity other than the ruined passport.
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.
Proof of citizenship will be necessary and this is in the form of the applicant’s birth certificate with a city, county or state seal affixed to it. There is yet another item that must be procured before visiting the passport office. This is the new photos that will accompany the paperwork when it is shipped and there will need to be two of them.
The photos must meet government standards for passport photos and need to be two inches by two inches in size. There are many who attempt this and find that they are not exactly what the government requires as both photos need to be identical and with a white background. The best idea is to have a professional take the pictures as they are well versed in what the passport office wants.
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.
Many people may chose to handle replacing the damaged passport for themselves but if the applicant cannot wait the standard time frame, the private services that expedite this can be used. They can return the new passport in a shorter time frame than even the governments expedited service offers. These services may all be located by going on the Internet and doing a quick search.
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