Lost or stolen passport in Paris: what to do now

Four steps, in order. Each one links to the official page. Checked on November 15, 2026.

1. Report it

   • Stolen: go to a police station (commissariat). Most are open 24 hours a day, and you can make your report in 30 languages.
   • Or report a theft online with the French police service Plainte en ligne (in English too). Visitors confirm who they are with their ID card or passport.
   • Stolen in the metro or RER without violence? Visitors can also report it at any station ticket desk in Paris (RATP).
   • Lost: you can declare the loss online through Ma Sécurité (French police), even as a foreign visitor, and download the receipt. Its chat with police officers is open 24/7.
   • Many embassies ask for this police report (for example Australia and India), so get it first and keep a copy.

2. Contact your embassy

   Only your own country can give you a new or emergency passport. Choose your country:

   • United StatesU.S. Embassy Paris
   • United KingdomBritish Embassy Paris
   • CanadaEmbassy of Canada to France
   • AustraliaAustralian Embassy Paris
   • IrelandEmbassy of Ireland, France
   • New ZealandNew Zealand Embassy Paris
   • IndiaEmbassy of India, Paris - Consular Section

3. Check lost property, if it was lost

   • Paris lost property (Préfecture de Police) now works online only: you must declare the lost item online. Old guides that send you to 36 rue des Morillons are out of date.
   • If it is found, they email you. You pay an €11 storage fee online, and they send it to you by post or courier, at your cost.
   • Lost on the metro, RER or a bus: declare it on the Île-de-France Mobilités platform. Lost at a Paris airport: ask the airport first.
   Found it after you reported it? Do not travel with it. Once a passport is reported lost or stolen it is cancelled for good, and you can be refused at the border.

4. Travel home on the right document

   • An emergency passport or travel document is often valid for one trip only, or for a short time. Check that every country on your route accepts it.
   • Some embassies ask you not to buy tickets until your document is confirmed (for example the UK and Australia).
   • Coming back into France later? Read Entering France: U.S. emergency passports, for example, are not accepted for entry.

Sources

Checked on November 15, 2026.

• Ma Sécurité - Security for tourists (updated 2024-09-09)
• Ma Sécurité - Staying safe in Paris (PDF guide)
• Service-Public.fr - Online complaint (published 2024-10-21)
• Online complaint service
• RATP - Tourists can file a complaint for theft on the network
• Services Publics+ reply from masecurite.fr (2025-06-27)
• Ma Sécurité
• Préfecture de Police - Le service des objets trouvés (updated 2024-07-30)
• Online loss declaration (linked from the Préfecture page)
• Île-de-France Mobilités - declare an item lost on public transport