The Expired Piece Of Travel Documentation You Should Never Throw Away

If you've just got your new passport book with a QR code, you may think your expired one with a punched hole has little value for travel, apart from opening it to take a trip down memory lane. Rather than sticking your old passport in a box and banishing it to the back corner of your closet — or tossing it in the trash — be sure to keep it safe and handy. You may even want to bring it with you on your next trip.

Expired U.S. passports cannot be used for international travel from the United States; however, they can come in handy if you are flying home or need to visit an embassy. Expired passports are still valid forms of U.S. identification in some cases. Moreover, by law, American citizens (including dual citizens) are required to enter the United States on a U.S. passport, rather than a foreign passport, and while you can't fly with an old passport, your outdated documents can be helpful when applying for new identification.

Renewing your passport has become easier since the State Department built a new passport renewal wizard tool for travelers to renew standard passports that are valid for 10 years and will expire within the next year, or who have passports that expired within the last five years. When you renew your passport online, you will need your expired passport to complete the application. Unfortunately, if you don't have your expired passport, you will have to renew it in person at an application acceptance facility, such as a post office, and will have to submit a DS-11 form, along with your original birth certificate.

Although travel is going digital, and countries are phasing out stamping passports at the airport, your old passport is tremendously valuable if you need a visa or still have valid visas for international travel. When applying for certain types of visas — for example, a U.K. student visa or an Indian eTourist visa – you may have to list your previous international trips. Your old passport will have a record of the arrival and departures from each country you've visited, and you can relive your incredible trips as you prepare for your next one. Some countries, including India, which is known for unmatched journeys by rail, and the United States, allow visitors to use valid visas in an expired passport for entry. You will need to present both your new and old passport at the border – and make sure the immigration officer records your new passport as your entry document.

Since May 2025, the TSA has been strongly enforcing the new Real ID requirement, despite its system having problems recognizing some approved forms of identification. If the agent is having trouble scanning your ID, or if you're pulling your hair out looking for your wallet or driver's license the night before, grab your old passport and head for the line. At the time of writing, a passport card or passport that has expired within the last two years is a valid form of identification at TSA checkpoints.

One of the biggest reasons you shouldn't throw out your passport is to protect your identity from identity thieves and cyber criminals. If a criminal finds your expired passport, they will not be able to use your golden ticket to travel the world. They will, however, strike it rich by getting a treasure trove of your personal information on the biographic page, including your full name, photo, date of birth, birthplace, and sex. Criminals can package this information, along with a recent selfie of you from social media and a bill with your address, and sell it on the dark web, or try to conduct identity theft. Similarly, be vigilant when you're flying and using the free Wi-Fi at the airport to log into personal accounts.

In the event that you don't want to keep your old passport, your first thought may be to fully destroy it by shredding the document page by page in a crosscut shredder so it's impossible to put it back together. However, a passport is government property, even though it has your name on it. Therefore, a better option is to send the passport back to the State Department along with a letter asking for the disposal of the passport. If you do happen to be throwing your trash away and find someone who has tossed their travel document, please send it back to the State Department, especially if the document could be valid.