Keep your old passport until you know you no longer need it. Even after it expires or is canceled, it may contain a valid visa, help with a future passport application, prove U.S. citizenship, or document past travel.
Before storing or destroying it, check the issue date and visa pages. If you submitted it with a mail renewal, remember that it may arrive separately from your new passport.
What Can You Do With an Old Passport?
| Passport status | Why it may still matter | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Expired and undamaged | It can support a passport application, provide citizenship evidence, contain an active visa, or preserve travel records. | Store it securely unless you are certain it is no longer needed. |
| Canceled after renewal | It cannot be used for travel, but visas, stamps, and the citizenship record may still matter. | Check for active visas, then keep it with other important records. |
| Submitted for mail renewal | The State Department normally returns it unless it is damaged or intentionally altered. | Wait for the separate supporting-document mailing. |
| Used for online renewal | You keep the physical passport, but it is canceled after you submit the online application. | Do not use it for travel after submission. |
| Reported lost or stolen | It remains invalid even if you later find it. | Do not travel with it. Keep it securely or destroy it after checking for records you need. |
| Belonged to a deceased relative | A family may keep it, or ask the State Department to cancel and return or destroy it. | Follow the current deceased-passport procedure before mailing it. |
Do not mail a routine application. Attend a regional passport agency appointment, or use a registered passport courier service to provide personalized support and handle the logistics for you.
Can You Travel With an Expired or Canceled Passport?
No. An expired passport is not valid for international travel. A canceled passport also cannot be used, even when the expiration date printed inside has not passed.
The same rule applies after online renewal, after a mail renewal, and after a passport is reported lost or stolen. Travel with your current, valid passport.
Use the Old Passport for a Renewal or New Application
The issue date on the old passport determines whether an adult can use Form DS-82. It must have been issued within the last 15 years, when the applicant was age 16 or older, and it must meet the other passport renewal requirements.
For a mail renewal, send the most recent passport with the signed application, photo, and fee. For online renewal, keep the old passport, but do not use it for travel after submitting the application.
If the old passport was issued more than 15 years ago, issued before age 16, lost, stolen, or significantly damaged, apply in person with Form DS-11. An undamaged expired passport can still be useful as citizenship evidence for the new application.
Will the State Department Return Your Old Passport?
The State Department normally returns a passport submitted with a mail renewal unless the document is damaged or intentionally altered. It is canceled before being returned and cannot be used for travel.
The old passport is treated as a supporting document. It can arrive separately from the new passport, and the State Department advises that supporting documents may arrive up to four weeks later.
If the new passport arrives first, follow our guide to missing passports and supporting documents.
Watch: What Happens to Your Old Passport When You Renew?
This video walks through what happens to the old passport in a mail or online renewal, including when it is canceled and when you can expect it back.
Check for an Active Visa Before Storing or Destroying It
A canceled or expired passport may contain a foreign visa that has not expired. Whether that visa can be used with a new U.S. passport depends on the country that issued it.
Contact that country’s embassy or consulate before travel. Do not remove the visa from the old passport. Carry both passports when the issuing country confirms that the visa remains valid.
Before travel, check whether the new passport number must be added to an electronic visa, travel authorization, airline profile, or trusted-traveler account.
Can an Old Passport Prove Citizenship or Identity?
A previous U.S. passport can serve as evidence of U.S. citizenship for another passport application, even after it expires. It may be particularly useful when a birth certificate or naturalization certificate is unavailable.
An expired passport may help establish identity because it contains a government-verified photo and biographical information. Whether it counts as current photo ID depends on who is asking. An employer, bank, airline, or government office may require an unexpired document.
Do not assume an expired passport will be accepted as current photo ID.
Different organizations and companies have different rules about what they will accept as valid identification. The safe move is to verify before assuming your expired passport will work.
Keep It as a Travel and Personal Record
Old stamps and visas show where and when you traveled. Some visa, immigration, and security-clearance applications ask for that history.
The passport can also be a personal record. Before storing it, make a secure digital copy of the data page and any visas or stamps you may need later.
Store the original in a cool, dry, secure place. Avoid bathrooms, attics, basements, direct sunlight, and other locations where moisture or heat can damage the document.
What If You Find a Passport After Reporting It Lost or Stolen?
Once a passport is reported lost or stolen, it is invalid and cannot be restored. Do not travel with it, even if it appears undamaged and has not reached its printed expiration date.
Do not submit a lost-or-stolen report for a passport that simply expired. If you find someone else’s U.S. passport, follow the State Department procedure for returning a found passport rather than keeping or destroying it.
Should You Keep or Dispose of an Old Passport?
My default advice is to keep it. Old passports are small, easy to store, and sometimes useful years later. Keep it when it contains an active visa, travel records you may need, or useful evidence of citizenship. Store it separately from the current passport.
If you are certain the passport is no longer needed, dispose of it as a sensitive identity document:
- Confirm that it has no active visas or stamps you need.
- Make any records you need before destroying it.
- Use a professional secure-document destruction service, or destroy the data page and remaining pages so the photo, passport number, signature, and biographical information cannot be reconstructed.
- Do not place an intact passport in household trash or recycling.
Do not force a passport through an office shredder that cannot handle the cover.
Modern passport books contain an electronic chip. A secure-document destruction service is a practical option when you do not have suitable equipment.
Old Passport FAQs
No. An expired U.S. passport is not valid for international travel. A canceled or reported lost or stolen passport is also invalid.
A previous undamaged U.S. passport can serve as citizenship evidence for a passport application. Other agencies may require a valid passport or a different citizenship document.
Usually. The State Department returns the old passport unless it is damaged or intentionally altered. It normally arrives separately from the new passport.
Possibly. The rule is set by the country that issued the visa. Contact its embassy or consulate and carry both passports when it confirms the visa remains valid.
Some organizations may accept it as supporting identification, but many require an unexpired document. Check the specific rule before relying on it.
Do not use it. Reporting the passport lost or stolen permanently invalidates it, even if it is later recovered.
The family may keep it, or send the valid passport with a certified copy of the death certificate and a letter asking the State Department to cancel and return or destroy it.
No. It contains personal information that should be protected. Keep it securely or use a secure destruction method that makes the data unreadable.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Our role: We explain what an old passport can still be used for and when it should be kept or destroyed. The State Department determines passport validity, renewal eligibility, cancellation, and document-return procedures.
