Can you travel with an expired passport?

A valid U.S. passport is required for international travel. If yours has expired, you likely won’t be able to go abroad or reenter the U.S.

In fact, some countries require passports to be valid six months after your travel dates.

What you’ll learn:

• A valid passport is required to travel abroad and to reenter the U.S.

• To enter other countries, passports might have to be valid for as many as six months past travel dates. 

• TSA may accept an expired passport as a form of ID for domestic flights if it’s expired within the past year.

• There are ways to get a new passport or passport renewal expedited.

Passports are documents that allow travelers to visit foreign countries, access services and assistance abroad from U.S. consulates, and reenter the U.S. when returning home.

If you’re traveling within the U.S., you can also use your passport as ID to board domestic flights.

How long passports are valid depends on age. For people 16 and over, passports are good for 10 years. Passports for people 15 and under are good for five years.

But just because it’s not expired doesn’t always make it valid. For example, some countries require passports that won’t expire for at least 6 months past travel dates. Wherever you’re headed, it’s important to check requirements before you travel. For country-specific information, the State Department’s destination guide might help.

TSA accepts passports as valid ID up to one year after they’ve expired. But that might only help for domestic flights. That’s because the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol requires a valid passport to reenter the U.S. There are also rules specific to destination countries.

TSA might accept expired passports. But it may be safe to use another valid form of ID, including a driver’s license or state-issued ID card. Just remember to check on Real ID requirements before your departure.

If you’re traveling internationally, TSA accepts passports up to one year after they’ve expired. But remember that a valid passport is required for citizens to reenter the country. Plus, other countries might require a valid passport to enter.

There may be some exceptions. For example, if you’re returning to the U.S. from Canada, you can use a NEXUS card.

Getting or renewing a passport generally takes around 6-8 weeks. But the State Department will expedite the process for a $60 fee:

• Urgent renewal: By making an appointment at a passport agency, you could get a passport in 2-3 weeks.

• Life-or-death emergency: If you have a family member who has died or is critically ill, you can provide documentation during an in-person appointment to get a passport within 72 hours.

Still have questions about traveling with an expired passport? These answers may help.

To help make sure domestic travel goes smoothly, it’s best to either travel with a current passport or have a second form of Real ID with you. And if you’re traveling internationally, being without a current passport could make travel difficult—or impossible.

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