Canceling a Passport After a Death

A US passport is a powerful identity document — valid for 10 years for adults, bearing a photo, the holder's full legal name, date of birth, and citizenship status. When someone dies, their passport should be cancelled to prevent potential identity theft and fraudulent use. Here's the process.

Why Cancel a Passport After Death?

An active, uncancelled passport can be used as a primary identity document by identity thieves. With a deceased person's passport, someone can:

Apply for new identity documents in the deceased's name
Open financial accounts
Travel internationally (in some cases)
Pass identity verification checks

While passport fraud is less common than credit fraud, the document's longevity (10 years for adults) and acceptance as a primary ID make cancellation worth doing.

How to Cancel a Deceased Person's US Passport

The process is relatively straightforward and is handled by the US Department of State:

Mail the physical passport to the State Department — send the passport itself, along with a certified copy of the death certificate, to:

US Department of State
Passport Services
44132 Mercure Circle
PO Box 1227
Sterling, VA 20166-1227

Use a traceable mail service (USPS Priority Mail with tracking, or certified mail) to confirm receipt.
Include a cover letter identifying yourself, your relationship to the deceased, and requesting cancellation of the passport
The State Department will cancel (perforate) the passport and return it to you if you request it, or destroy it

There is no fee for this cancellation.

If You Cannot Find the Physical Passport

If the passport cannot be located, you can still notify the State Department of the death. Contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 (or 1-888-874-7793 for TDD/TTY) and provide the deceased's name, date of birth, and death information. They can flag the passport as deceased in their system, even if the physical passport is not surrendered.

You can also submit a written request with the death certificate to the address above, noting that the physical passport could not be located.

Passport Cards

If the deceased had a US Passport Card (the wallet-sized card used for land and sea border crossings with Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean), cancel it using the same process. Include both the passport book and passport card if you have both.

What to Do If the Passport Is Returned to You

The State Department typically returns cancelled passports by punching holes through them or cutting one corner off the cover, rendering them invalid while preserving them as mementos. Many families keep the cancelled passport with other important documents. If you don't want to keep it, shred it rather than placing it in standard recycling or trash.

Timing Considerations

There is no legal deadline for passport cancellation — it is a protective measure, not a legal requirement. However, doing it promptly (within the first month) is advisable from an identity theft perspective. It is lower priority than notifying the SSA, banks, and credit bureaus, but worth completing as part of a thorough estate administration process.