Yes! Documents are valuable and they need to be taken great care of. However, at some point, it may so happen that a document gets lost, whether in transit, or misplaced, or due to any other reason. In such a situation, arranging for the issuance of duplicates of the lost documents becomes the highest priority. Placing an advertisement in a newspaper for lost documents is a mandatory procedure for the reissuance of several documents, and doing so also helps to make people aware that a certain document has been lost, so that in case it happens to be discovered by someone, they can get in touch with the rightful owner so as to facilitate its return. To sum it up, yes, you can and you should place an advertisement in a newspaper for lost documents!