Delta767

Someone marked my passport picture page with a red marker, it looks like it is from a red marker that a TSA agent would use. The mark is like an inch long and it isn't over my picture or any other info.

Does anyone know if I need to get a whole new passport? I have used my marked passport at TSA checkpoints and they haven't said anything, but I am nervous about using it overseas.

NextTrip

I wouldn't worry about it, But if it really bothers you, try a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. That should take off permanent marker.

nrr

Could this removal method damage the pp?
Should/would TSA be responsible for paying for a replacement pp in the worst case scenario?
[In theory only CBP and foreign equivalents are permitted to make entries in pps--except for the contact info page, which they suggest you up date (periodically) in PENCIL.]

OverThereTooMuch

Definitely not in this scenario.

cbn42

I am not clear on how this happened. Do you have any idea who this "someone" is? Did you give a TSA agent your passport for some reason?

Also, where on the page is the mark? Is it over the data at the bottom or any other important information?

GUWonder

Passengers routinely use passports as ID when the TSA wants ID. Sometimes the TSA even insists on a passport being shown by the passengers in order for the passengers to proceed for physical security screening of their person and belongings -- but that (insistence to see passports) is too often the TSA just being itself and making up things as they go.

When the TSA is given the passport and cross-checks the boarding pass against the ID or checks the boarding pass while the passport biodata page is open, sometimes they mark up the passport directly (when they shouldn't) and other times the pen they use on the boarding pass is such that the ink is wet enough to make marks on the passport pages when the passport is shut by the TSA with the boarding pass inside it. This is in large part why I refuse to give the TSA my US passports and instead use my passport card, driving license or whatever other government-issued photo ID I choose to use and which will give me less trouble during my travels were something to damage the ID or were the ID to get lost/stolen.

fly-yul

Very bad idea. Tampering with a passport is not good. The alcohol and cotton are will leave a permanent mark.

BSBD

There are countries that are very, very fussy about the condition of your passport (Japan is one, Switzerland is another). Your passport is now defaced, and it's possible that you could be denied entry because of this. I suggest you get a new passport.

My advice for the future: if you have another, less fragile and/or more easily replaced ID that is acceptable to TSA, use that instead. I would NEVER use my passport for TSA checkpoints.

exerda

They aren't going to leave a mark, and cleaning off a stray mark is most assuredly not "tampering."

Often1

1. There are a lot of red markers in this world. I've seen all kinds of colored markers used by TSA, so I'm not sure what about your red makes you think it was TSA. I'm also very confused that you refer to "someone" and your only reason for thinking that "someone" was TSA is that the marker is red.

2. Some countries are fussy and if you plan on traveling, I would be done with it and get a new passport. Why sweat this or run around on an emergency basis if something comes up.

cbn42

I realize that, but I just wasn't sure whether OP was saying that the TSA is responsible for the mark, or simply that the marker looked like what the TSA uses. Not that it matters, I was just curious.

GUWonder

It's highly probable that it is the TSA which is responsible for most such outcomes. Before the TSA did its mark the boarding pass ID checking nonsense, US passports coming back in with this kind of stuff was far less frequent than it has become.

On a US and most other passports, yes, often enough. I am not sure what it would do to some other passports where the biodata page is more like hard plastic. I could find out, but I'd probably get curious looks or worse if I started asking around to have such an expired passport sent in for extra forensics analysis -- most such used passports aren't examined that closely.

Delta767

I'm pretty sure it's from the TSA. No one else has handled my passport since I used it last on my last international trip and when I noticed it. The mark is from a red marker pen and it looks like it's the same marker they use to mark boarding passes. I think the TSA agent was marking my boarding pass and making sure things were correct (date, origin city, time, etc.) and they marked the passport too by accident.

GUWonder

1. TSA is most probably responsible for most of these situations in the US unless a small child has had the passport.

2. I've used passports with way more issues than a stray small red pen mark or red ink smudge on the biodata page and I have yet to be denied entry or exit on such a basis -- hundreds if not thousands of times. The damage would have to appear to be willful tampering or mess up the readability of the passport in material ways before the odds of having a material problem at most major airports of entry/exit. I wouldn't waste money or advise others to do so on a basis of a minor red ink stray pen mark or ink smudge that doesn't eliminate visibility of key data elements or materially mess up passport security features.

exerda

Indeed. After ten years of use for anyone with more than a handful of trips to Canada or the Caribbean, the average passport is going to show a bit of wear and tear.

I've had immigration officers staple stuff into mine, then rip the staples out on exit--leaving staple holes punched in the pages. The edges are a bit worn even though I keep it in a travel wallet. There are even a few strings (for want of a better term) hanging off the cover where it's showing wear ... and it's got another 5 years of validity.

Never been denied entry anywhere or given any extra scrutiny for my somewhat-scruffy passport.