Maybe I'm just paranoid.

In 2003 I had a 1-year replacement passport, that was replacing one that I had lost. Just before an overseas trip I realized it was about to expire -- not during the length of my trip, but close enough for it to cause problems in South Africa.

I ended up filing for an extension, and it was an expedited request, sent through one of the passport service companies. I forget which one. I got back my original passport, which still has the expiration date listed as 26 Sep 2003. However, it says to refer to page 24 for amendments. If I go there, then I see the stamp that reads 'This passport was extended on Aug 04 2003 and will expire on Sep 26, 2012.' It's stamped with some name of a person allegedly the director of something in Philadelphia.

So, I haven't traveled on the passport past the original expiration date yet, but will soon. I'm a little paranoid that I'll get to the airport and they'll say that oh no, the stamp wasn't valid, I got ripped off by the company or it wasn't entered right or something. Or that some place will give me a hard time because of the expiration date on the main page, even with the extension.

Am I being too paranoid? Is there any way for me to double check the validity of the extension before getting to the airport? Are there some places that aren't on a computerized network that will give me a hard time about the printed date on the main page, even with the extension stamp? Anyone with any experience with this?