What Is the Passport App on iPhone, and Do You Need One?

Short answer: There’s no Apple app called Passport on iPhone. When people say “passport app,” they mean one of two things: Digital ID in the Wallet app, made from a US passport and accepted at some TSA checkpoints, or a third-party passport app from the App Store. Neither replaces your physical passport for international travel. For a private copy of the passport scan itself, a secure folder app like Cubbylock is designed for that.

This guide is for anyone who saw “passport” on an iPhone and wants to know what it is, or who wants their passport on their phone. It covers Apple’s built-in Digital ID first, then the third-party apps with “passport” in the name, then how to keep a private scan. Facts checked against Apple’s documentation for iOS 26.1 and later, and against each app’s App Store page.

Option 1: Digital ID in Apple Wallet (built in)

Since iOS 26.1, US passport holders can create a Digital ID in the Wallet app. It’s an identity card derived from your passport. Apple is clear that it is not a passport.

What it’s for:

• Showing ID at select TSA checkpoints for domestic US flights.
• Proving your age or identity to select businesses, in person, in apps and on websites in Safari.

What it isn’t for: international travel or border crossings. You still need your physical passport for those.

What you need:

• An iPhone 11 or later (or Apple Watch Series 6 or later) on the latest iOS or watchOS.
• Face ID or Touch ID, and Bluetooth turned on.
• An Apple Account with two-factor authentication.
• An unexpired US passport. The passport holder must be 13 or older.
• Your device region set to the United States.

How to add your passport to Wallet

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Tap the Add Card button.
3. Tap Driver’s License or ID Cards, then tap Digital ID.
4. Choose whether to add it to your iPhone only, or to your iPhone and paired Apple Watch.
5. Scan the machine-readable part of your passport photo page (the two lines of letters at the bottom).
6. When asked, place your iPhone on the passport to read its chip.
7. Take a selfie. You may be asked to turn your head.
8. Confirm with Face ID or Touch ID.

How to show it

Double-click the side button (or the Home button on Touch ID models), tap your Digital ID, and hold your iPhone near the reader. You can choose what to share: all ID information, or only your age and ID photo. You confirm each time with Face ID or Touch ID. You don’t hand your phone to anyone.

How to remove it

Open Wallet, tap the ID, tap the Info button, scroll down and tap Remove This ID. You can have a Digital ID on one iPhone and one Apple Watch per Apple Account at a time, so you remove it before moving it to a new device that can’t transfer it in setup.

Option 2: Third-party apps called “Passport”

Search the App Store for “passport” and you’ll find apps that do very different jobs. Two that come up first:

Passport.app (Travizory Border Security SA) stores passports and identity documents on your phone. Its listing says it tracks expiry dates, sends renewal reminders, can capture data from the e-Passport chip, and keeps the passport “in your mobile device’s secure area.” It’s free, with no in-app purchases listed.

Passport Index (Arton Media) is a travel app, not a document store. It shows passport rankings and visa requirements, tracks trips, and links out to third-party services to apply for electronic travel authorizations.

Neither app is accepted in place of your passport at a border or airport. They are tools for you, not travel documents.

What to check before you give an app your passport

• Who makes it. Read the developer name on the App Store page. Your passport number, photo and date of birth are enough for an identity thief to start with.
• App Privacy. Scroll to App Privacy on the App Store page. Both apps above list only “Data Not Linked to You” on 26 Oct 2026. The label is provided by the developer and Apple notes it isn’t verified.
• Where the data goes. Look for a clear statement of whether your passport data stays on the phone or is uploaded, and whether it’s backed up.
• Whether you need it at all. If all you want is an expiry reminder, a calendar event does the job without sharing your passport.

Option 3: Keep a private scan of your passport

A scan won’t get you through security, but it helps if your passport is lost or stolen abroad, or when a form asks for a copy. Your iPhone can scan documents without an extra app.

1. Open Notes and create a new note.
2. Tap the attachment button and choose Scan Documents.
3. Hold the passport photo page in view. The scan captures on its own, or tap the shutter button.
4. Drag the corners to fit the page, keep the scan, then save it to the note.

Notes saves the scan as a PDF in the note. The Files app can scan documents too.

The catch is privacy. A scan sitting in Notes, Files or your camera roll opens for anyone who knows your iPhone passcode. Apple’s Notes lock doesn’t cover every note: its support article lists notes with PDFs among those that can’t be locked. Read how to lock notes on iPhone for the details, or see the options in how to hide files on iPhone.

If you take a photo of your passport instead, it lands in your library with every other photo, and in iCloud Photos if that’s on. Move it to the Hidden album at least.

Passport apps compared

From Apple’s support pages and each app’s US App Store page, checked 26 Oct 2026. Features change; check the listing before you install.

Option	What it is	Accepted as ID	Cost	Requires	Rating
Digital ID (Apple Wallet)	ID derived from a US passport	Select TSA checkpoints (domestic), select businesses, apps and websites	Free, built in	iPhone 11 or later, iOS 26.1	n/a
Passport.app	Stores passports and ID documents, expiry reminders	No	Free	iOS 17.6	4.8 (944 ratings)
Passport Index	Passport rankings, visa requirements, trip tracking	No	Free	iOS 16.5	4.2 (102 ratings)
Scan in Notes or Files	A PDF copy of your passport	No	Free, built in	Built in	n/a

What this doesn’t protect

• Digital ID doesn’t replace your passport. Carry the physical one for any international trip. Not every TSA checkpoint or business accepts Digital ID yet.
• Anyone with your iPhone passcode. A passport scan in Notes, Files or Photos opens with your passcode. So does a third-party app without its own lock.
• What the app maker does with the data. An App Privacy label is the developer’s own statement. You can’t confirm it from your phone.
• Copies you’ve already shared. A passport photo you emailed, sent in a chat or uploaded to a booking site stays there.
• A lost passport. A scan helps you report it and apply for a replacement, but it isn’t a valid document. Report a lost passport to the issuing authority.
• A lost phone. If your iPhone goes missing, erase it with Find My. That removes IDs from Wallet. Files kept only on the phone, with no backup, are gone with it.

How we checked this

We checked every Wallet and Notes step against Apple’s own documentation (support.apple.com articles 123719, 118265 and 108963, and Apple’s November 2025 Digital ID announcement) on 26 Oct 2026, for iOS 26.1 and later. Every third-party app detail comes from that app’s US App Store page on the same date. We haven’t tested this guide on a device yet.

Methods compared

Method	Opens with your iPhone passcode	Separate code	Accepted as ID	Cost
Digital ID in Wallet	No, presenting needs Face ID or Touch ID	No	Select TSA checkpoints and businesses	Free, built in
Passport scan in Notes or Files	Yes	No	No	Free, built in
Third-party passport app	Depends on the app	Depends on the app	No	Free (the two above)
Cubbylock (in development)	Designed not to	Designed to use its own code	No	Free download planned

If you have a US passport and fly domestically, Digital ID in Wallet is worth setting up. For everything else, keep the physical passport with you and a private scan as a backup. For a place to keep that scan behind a code of its own, see secure folder on iPhone.