Lost ID & TSA experience

[big-papa]

+1 I have my passport in my phone. I also have a digital copy of my drivers license.

I also carry a paper copy of my passport when traveling abroad. I heard awhile ago if you show up at a US Embassy, the paper copy helps expedite the process, but not sure that holds true.

As somebody who had my passport stolen while traveling abroad, the main thing is to have access to your passport number and another form of ID available (like your driver's license). I didn't have a paper copy of my passport, but I had scanned the passport and put it in the "vault" provided by password manager. Printing from there was a snap once I needed it. There's a good chance that if I had a paper copy, it would also have been stolen. State department's website is pretty comprehensive regarding what to do if your passport is lost or stolen, especially when traveling.

Cheers.

 

[big-papa]

They clip the corner at the TX DMV when you renew and give you a receipt to keep with it as a temporary, but you are still supposed to destroy it when you receive you the new one in the mail.

True - I, on the other hand keep the old DL in my toolbag on my bicycle. Makes it easier for them to identify the body...

Cheers.

 

[Koolau]

Never had to research this, but I personally experienced it yesterday. So driving back to the airport (LAX) from Escondido (resort) we got a call just as we were arriving at the airport. I left my sunglasses and wallet 2.5 hrs away. As I sweat bullets & on hold for an estimated 45 minutes, I just went to the airport and pleaded my case to TSA.

Basically went to the normal checkpoint (not terribly busy probably helping my case) & I had absolutely no physical evidence for ID and they are not able to use anything digital. They then had me fill out a form, called the CIA (for drama) and I had to answer the questions accurately and tested backpack and stuff with the bomb swabs.

All in all, it was scarily easy and took an extra 15 minutes. Maybe I should put something in the backpack for ID now?

Curious what kinds of questions did they ask? Did they have your info in hand (from their sources) and did they then ask you to tell them stuff like address, phone #, SSN, etc.?