Where do you keep your passport at home?

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

I'm booked on the Oosterdam for an Alaska cruise departing three months from tomorrow (hurray!). My passport is expired, so I figured I'd go ahead and get the renewal process underway well ahead of time. Went to pull it out of my lockbox/firesafe, and...

 

Nope. Not there.

 

I am almost entirely certain that it hasn't been stolen, because I haven't had a break-in since the last time I used it. I'm confident that I've just misremembered where I put it, and it is some obvious and logical place that will become self-evident to me the moment I find the thing.

 

But I'm panicked enough (oh no oh no oh no I can't find it!!! :eek:) that I'm doing a really lousy job of thinking where any obvious and logical places might be. I know it's not in my safe deposit box because I don't have a safe deposit box. I'm pretty sure it's not in the freezer because who would put their passport in the freezer??? and anyway, I just cleaned out the freezer last week.

 

Those are the only two places I've been able to think of so far, which means that I'd really, really, really appreciate it if some of you could tell me where you might keep your passports when you're at home. :)

[summersigh]

How 'bout the pocket of a jacket or slacks you wore when disembarking your last cruise? Or in a travel purse or tote? Maybe in the pile of paper stuff you brought home from the cruise?

 

We keep ours in one special drawer along with our birth certificates and other important stuff. It never stays out of the drawer except for doing online check in or when going on a cruise. First thing I do with them upon arriving home is replace the PP's in their drawer. :D

[sail7seas]

Sorry you are so stressed and i hope you find it soon.

 

I had to laugh though...... You w ant us to tell yo the ww.w.w where we hide cash and/or jewelry , too?

Edited February 6, 2017 by sail7seas

[SilvertoGold]

Do you have a clothes rack over the back of a door? Our friends found theirs in a little used shopping bag.

 

Really hope you find it soon: I know the feeling!

[serendipity1499]

I'm booked on the Oosterdam for an Alaska cruise departing three months from tomorrow (hurray!). My passport is expired, so I figured I'd go ahead and get the renewal process underway well ahead of time. Went to pull it out of my lockbox/firesafe, and...

 

Nope. Not there.

 

I am almost entirely certain that it hasn't been stolen, because I haven't had a break-in since the last time I used it. I'm confident that I've just misremembered where I put it, and it is some obvious and logical place that will become self-evident to me the moment I find the thing.

 

But I'm panicked enough (oh no oh no oh no I can't find it!!! :eek:) that I'm doing a really lousy job of thinking where any obvious and logical places might be. I know it's not in my safe deposit box because I don't have a safe deposit box. I'm pretty sure it's not in the freezer because who would put their passport in the freezer??? and anyway, I just cleaned out the freezer last week.

 

Those are the only two places I've been able to think of so far, which means that I'd really, really, really appreciate it if some of you could tell me where you might keep your passports when you're at home. :)

 

We keep them in our safe except when we do an on-line checkin..Then take them out of the safe & put them in a separate envelope with the papers, we will take on our cruise.. I'm always careful about our passports..

 

Hope you remember where your passport is very soon.. Good luck..

[cruisebie]

You would have had it in hand as you went through customs. Could you're have slid it into a pocket of a carryon to get it out of the way as you left the building and headed for whatever transportation you had arranged? That sounds like something that would be easy to do and forget about as hectic as travel days can be.

 

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[POA1]

We keep them hidden behind stones in walls, or in train station lockers - along with our bug out bags, false identity papers, and a supply of cash. No, wait... I'm thinking of Jason Bourne. We keep them in our travel wallets at home.

[Lady Arwen]

We have a document travel folder than we keep our passports in at all times. We add our cruise docs, insurance papers and whatever else we've printed out to take with us just prior to leaving for the airport. We have a lock box that the folder is kept in when not in use.

 

I carry it in my tote handbag while at the airport and on the plane. The folder then goes into the hotel/cruise safe until it's needed. Once, years ago, it was misplaced after we returned home from a cruise. Since it's the first thing to get put away, I noticed it right away. It was in the front zipper pocket of my DH's suitcase. His fault, of course!

[SC_GAY_Cruiser]

So whoever wins this contest........gets what? :)

 

Camera bag?

[3rdGenCunarder]

Sorry you are so stressed and i hope you find it soon.

 

I had to laugh though...... You w ant us to tell yo the ww.w.w where we hide cash and/or jewelry , too?

 

A little paranoid, are you??? :D I'm not telling anyone where in the attic I keep my passport, either.

 

Oops, did I say attic? No no no, not in the attic. Meant to say closet.

 

No, not closet. Oh, rats, now I have to move it again!!!! :eek:

 

Seriously, I am the queen of misplaced items. (Frequent prayers to St. Anthony!) But one of the few things I've never misplaced is our passports. I think it's because they're so important. They're always in their safe place at home. And when we have to show them at the cruise terminal or airport, they come out of my purse or briefcase and then go right back where they were, never in a jacket pocket or dropped into a tote bag. Wish I could transfer that careful behavior to other things...

 

OP, I hope you find it. The last time you used it, was it used at your final destination, or did you do some traveling after that? Could it be in a suitcase? Could you have had it out on your desk when you were making your booking and maybe it fell behind the desk?

[slidergirl]

I'd first check the purses/daypacks/totes/etc., that you carried on the plane with you - that would be the last place you took out your passport, right? My now-ex once thought he lost his passport mid-flights to Europe; he used it as his id at our home airport for the flight to IAH, then couldn't find it so show before boarding our AF flight to CDG. He SWORE he put it back in the pocket in his pack he aways uses - a furious search found it in MY bag where he stuffed it when I pulled out my wallet to buy some food...

 

As for where I keep mine at home: I have a safe box, but it is a decoy for thieves. My passport, BC, marriage license, divorce decree, foreign currency, pink slip for my car, etc., are all inside one of my boxes from one of my multiple pair of winter boots...

[alwaysfrantic]

Maybe in your zippered outside pocket of your carryon bag?

 

If it is expired, you can sign a document that the original passport has been lost or destroyed when you apply for the new one.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Check your dresser or jewelry box [emoji848]or a 'junk drawer'

 

 

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[sail7seas]

A little paranoid, are you??? :D I'm not telling anyone where in the attic I keep my passport, either.

 

Oops, did I say attic? No no no, not in the attic. Meant to say closet.

 

No, not closet. Oh, rats, now I have to move it again!!!! :eek:

 

 

no sense of humor ?

KIdding, pal, jjust kidding. :D ....

 

 

 

Seriously, I am the queen of misplaced items. (Frequent prayers to St. Anthony!) But one of the few things I've never misplaced is our passports. I think it's because they're so important. They're always in their safe place at home. And when we have to show them at the cruise terminal or airport, they come out of my purse or briefcase and then go right back where they were, never in a jacket pocket or dropped into a tote bag. Wish I could transfer that careful behavior to other things...

 

OP, I hope you find it. The last time you used it, was it used at your final destination, or did you do some traveling after that? Could it be in a suitcase? Could you have had it out on your desk when you were making your booking and maybe it fell behind the desk?

 

 

I always carrried our pp inmy purse and gavve DH his as we apperoached ghe CBP or TSA official.

 

Now that passports have RFID chips, I have apurchasedx small gtravel wallet that is RFID ch;p protected., and like chip credit cards cannot be scanned by sc ammers mereely passing by me or in line behind. and they have a 'chip reader for stealing informatgion without anyone knowing. at the time.. That is how I will carry it on future travelYup, paaaaranoia.... I carry my credit cards in such a small leather case.

[sail7seas]

A little paranoid, are you??? :D I'm not telling anyone where in the attic I keep my passport, either.

 

Oops, did I say attic? No no no, not in the attic. Meant to say closet.

 

No, not closet. Oh, rats, now I have to move it again!!!! :eek:

 

 

no sense of humor ?

KIdding, pal, jjust kidding. :D ....

 

 

 

Seriously, I am the queen of misplaced items. (Frequent prayers to St. Anthony!) But one of the few things I've never misplaced is our passports. I think it's because they're so important. They're always in their safe place at home. And when we have to show them at the cruise terminal or airport, they come out of my purse or briefcase and then go right back where they were, never in a jacket pocket or dropped into a tote bag. Wish I could transfer that careful behavior to other things...

 

OP, I hope you find it. The last time you used it, was it used at your final destination, or did you do some traveling after that? Could it be in a suitcase? Could you have had it out on your desk when you were making your booking and maybe it fell behind the desk?

 

 

I always carrried our pp inmy purse and gavve DH his as we apperoached ghe CBP or TSA official.

 

Now that passports have RFID chips, I now have a small travel wallet that is RFID ch;p protected., and like chip credit cards cannot be scanned from afar by sc ammers. That is how I will carry it on future travel.

[jd1966]

Fireproof box at home (once I remember to move it) or a pocket in my camera backpack.

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

So whoever wins this contest........gets what? :)

 

Camera bag?

You win an already-opened electricity bill envelope, sans bill (& sans electricity), with illegible notes on the back listing the items needed for US passport renewal. :D

 

Thanks so much to everyone for all your responses, and reassurances.

 

I should have been more clear earlier: the last time I used my passport was in 1990. (That was air travel: this will be my first cruise.) I'm pretty sure I've seen my passport since I moved into this apartment 9 years ago, but not entirely sure I've seen it since all the furniture had to be moved around after the big roof leak three years ago...

[2ptu/000]

Maybe you tried to make a copy of it and left it in the copy machine.

[boscobeans]

Fireproof boxes for all important documents and then in a large safe with other valuables.

 

bosco

[cccole]

Living in California we have an emergency evacuation bag for us and our dog that can be grabbed on the way out the door in seconds. This bag now holds our passports. I agree with everyone re your lost passport that I would start with ALL the bags and their pockets that I had on my last trip. Let us know if you find it. Cherie

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

Sorry you are so stressed and i hope you find it soon.

Thanks. :)

 

had to laugh though...... You w ant us to tell yo the ww.w.w where we hide cash and/or jewelry , too?

Yes, please. And if you wouldn't mind mentioning your home address, nearest cross-street, precise latitude and longitude, and your home security systems codes; that'd be great. :)

 

Let me rephrase (after all, as long it's not the location of your passport that I'm concerned about). What types of places do people in general tend to keep important documents such as passports?

[alwaysfrantic]

If the last use was in "90, definitely just sign the form that you no longer have it and apply for a new one. It would be expired too long to renew anyway.

[3rdGenCunarder]

If the last use was in "90, definitely just sign the form that you no longer have it and apply for a new one. It would be expired too long to renew anyway.

 

I agree. Check out what the State Dept says about renewing. Even if the passport was brand new in 1990, it's so far out of date I'm not sure it would count for renewal as opposed to starting all over.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html

[TiogaCruiser]

If the last use was in "90, definitely just sign the form that you no longer have it and apply for a new one. It would be expired too long to renew anyway.

 

And likely written in King James English ;)

[TiogaCruiser]

Speaking about RFID, (which this PP wouldn't be), how would THAT stand up to being frozen?