Is your passport valid? 
For a passport to be valid, there is more involved than just the actual expiration date. Let’s take a look at a couple of additional requirements that can determine the validity if a passport.
Many countries require your passport to be good for at least 6 months past the date of travel. While some countries may be less than that, the general stated recommendations are 6 months past the date of travel. This is noted on every one of my invoices that go to clients been booking a trip. Yes, it is important to read the fine print! When considering international travel, please check your passports to make sure they are not expired and meet the 6 month requirement. If your passport is not expired, but you will not meet the 6 months, you can renew your passport early. The general recommendation from the Department of State is to renew your passport 9 months early. While many people do not do this, you can renew as early as 9 months prior.
Passports must also be free of significant damage to be considered valid for travel. If the book cover or picture page is significantly damaged, you will need to apply for a new passport. As stated on the Department of State’s website about passport information “Conditions that may constitute damage requiring you to replace your passport include water damage, a significant tear, unofficial markings on the data page, missing visa pages (torn out), a hole punch, or other injuries.” If your cover is separating from the book, this is also considered significant damage. Normal wear and tear is expected for passports. If the book bends because it was in your back pocket, or the pages start to fan because the book is open and closed so much, these are signs of normal wear and tear.
Passports must also have a certain number of blank visa pages to be considered valid for travel. Visa pages are the pages in your passport book that get stamped during the immigration process. The requirements can vary by country, two to four pages is the general recommendation. This is important to note in the event you are doing a long multiple country trip and will get multiple stamps on your journey. During the planning process, or once your travel is booked, you need to look closely and make sure you have enough blank pages. If you do not, you can order additional pages. You will have to submit your passport book for them to add the additional pages. Also, you can now request larger passport books that have 52 pages instead of the standard 28 pages. This is generally recommended only for the very frequent traveler or business travelers that have a high percentage of international travel.
I hope this has even informative and has inspired you to go check your passports! Trust me, you don’t want that surprise at the airport when you are informed you cannot travel because your passport is not valid.
Another question I often receive is about name changes on passports. All travel must be booked in the name as it appears on your passport. If you need to change the name on your passport, there are 2 options. If you are changing it due to marriage or divorce, you can make the change within 1 year with no fee. There is a specific form (DS-5504) for this submission. For any other reason, or outside of one year, you will need to submit the standard application form (DS-82 – Application for Passport by Mail) and pay all associated fees.
If you have any questions about passports, an excellent resource for you is www.travel.state.gov.
Happy Travels,