Guidance

Passport fees (accessible)

Updated 11 April 2024

Version 41.0

His Majesty’s Passport Office policy on passport application and delivery
fees and how to process fees when examining passport applications.

About: Passport fees

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office operational staff about:

• fees for passport applications in the UK and overseas

• free passport applications and refunds

• delivery charges for passports and supporting documents

It also tells staff how to:

• check a passport application fee

• process a customer payment

• process a free of charge (‘gratis’) passport application

• do an upgrade

• do a refund

• reallocate fees

• deal with non-payment and underpayment of fees

• deal with delivery fees

• deal with fee queries from customers

• deal with subject access requests

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

• version 41.0

• published for Home Office staff on 11 April 2024

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to show the new passport fees effective from 11 April 2024.

Fees policy summary

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about our fee structure and why some services cost more.

Passport fees cover the cost of applying for a passport in the United Kingdom and overseas. Since 1 May 2008, fees have covered the cost of administering a passport application – whether it is successful or not – rather than issuing the passport book.

Fees also contribute to the cost of:

• providing consular support to British nationals abroad

• processing British passport holders through immigration control
  as they travel in and out of the country

The amount His Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office) charges for passport and associated fees is set in law (in the Immigration Act 2016; see Current passport fees).

Because passport fees are set in law, HM Passport Office cannot adjust a fee for a particular customer – customers must always pay the full fee that applies. Unless it is a free of charge (‘gratis’) application, customers must pay the passport fee before we consider their application.

Overseas passport applications

It is more expensive to apply for a British passport overseas than in the UK. This is because it can be more difficult to establish whether an overseas customer is entitled to a UK passport. On average, these cases take longer to process. HM Passport Office does not use fees for UK applications to subsidise the cost of overseas applications.

Overseas residents cannot avoid the higher fee for overseas applications by applying in the UK by post or online. Examiners must watch out for such attempts and, if they discover one, charge an overseas fee and examine it as an overseas application.

Customers resident in the UK who apply in the UK but need their passport posted overseas must pay the overseas passport application and delivery fees.

Fee refunds

The only circumstance HM Passport Office is legally required to make a refund is when we take a payment we should not have. For example, by charging a customer born before 2 September 1929 for a standard passport when they are entitled to it free of charge. HM Passport Office may still refund passport fees and any other fees in certain circumstances, on request and at our discretion.

We can return fees in other circumstances, set out in this guidance, but we are not legally required to.

We keep fees to:

• discourage customers from making multiple applications (including potentially fraudulent ones)

• prevent customers from receiving a free nationality, identity and entitlement determination from HM Passport Office

• reduce the administrative cost of issuing refunds

Digital Premium Service or Fast Track applications

In the UK, Digital Premium Service (DPS) and Fast Track passport applications cost more than the standard postal or online service. The higher fees contribute to the cost of:

• employing counter staff

• providing counters within HM Passport Offices

• providing passport production on site

Customers who would like and are eligible for a DPS or Fast Track application must pay at the time they book the appointment.

The Passport (Fees) Regulations 2022 introduced a non-refundable booking fee element to the counter appointment fee. If the customer books an appointment but reschedules it:

• more than 48 hours in advance, they do not have to pay another DPS or Fast Track fee

• within 48 hours (of their original appointment date), they will be eligible for a refund of the fees they paid, minus the booking fee element

Customer Services can refund customers individually in compassionate circumstances. (See Compassionate grounds section of Tiered Application Service guidance.)

Courier and postage fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about the fees we charge to deliver passports and documents back to the customer.

HM Passport Office returns passport application supporting documents to UK customers by second class post, unless a customer pays for secure delivery by our partners. (See current passport fees and more on posting passports and documents.)

HM Passport Office will not charge a secure delivery fee to return a valid British passport or Home Office travel document that the customer has supplied as a supporting document for another passport application.

When customers must pay the fee

Customers must pay the correct fee:

• when they live overseas and some of their application documents have to be returned by secure delivery (see more on returning supporting documents overseas)

• when extra delivery fees are needed to return supporting documents securely on a live application at their request (see more on posting passports and documents)

• when extra delivery fees are needed to return supporting documents securely to an additional address by courier (for example, a grandparent’s birth certificate needs to be sent to their address and the other documents are returned to the customer’s address)

• when they ask for correspondence to be returned to them that HM Passport Office would normally keep

• for guaranteed Royal Mail Special Delivery

• when they are a frequent traveller who submits their renewed passport to HM Passport Office for cancellation and we are returning the passport to them (see more on additional passports)

‘Gratis’ delivery fees

A fee is ‘gratis’ (free of charge) when HM Passport Office:

• is returning a valid Home Office travel document to a customer who will not be issued a British passport

• is returning a supporting document that is outside the published document requirements and no supporting document fee would otherwise have been necessary

• is returning documents to customers in line with the Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme policy

How to handle courier and postage fees: RM Special Delivery

If the customer wants to pay the extra fee for Royal Mail Special Delivery, see How to return customers documents. You, the examiner must fill in a mandate (you can print a copy) and send it to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). If this results in an overpayment on AMS, you must set up a dummy refund.

If the application is in a terminal state (for example, passed for issue, replaced or withdrawn) you must forward the mandate to your local Operational Support teams. For examiners in Durham, forward it to your Debt and Refund team.

Delivery fees for Diplomatic service members

Members of the diplomatic service may choose to have their passport and supporting documents delivered to a British forces Post Office (BFPO) or UK address free of charge.

If the service member’s passport is delivered to a high commission, embassy or their personal address overseas, the standard DHL delivery fee applies.

Passport fees for non-standard applications

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about the fees we charge for non-standard applications for example, fees charged for Diplomatic or Official passports, Emergency Travel Documents, specimen passports and passports for prisoners abroad. It also includes the fees charged to people applying through the HM armed forces route and how we process these payments and refunds.

We charge different fees and may process those fees differently for some non-standard applications. For example, we will not charge a customer an overseas fee if they are employed by the UK government and are posted overseas.

Diplomatic and Official passports

Diplomats and British officials apply by post for passports (including standard passports) but pay the UK online fee. This is because these types of applications are dealt with by a dedicated team in Durham and cannot be separated from online applications.

Because of the difference in cost between online and postal applications, when these types of passports are processed, an underpayment warning will be shown. Teams dealing with these applications should clear the warning by gratis-ing the application on the system.

Diplomats and British officials applying overseas may pay a higher overseas online application fee. As this is more than the UK online fee, we will refund the difference.

Fees for Emergency Travel Documents

Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) are issued by:

• the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to customers overseas

• His Majesty’s Passport Office to customers in the UK, in exceptional circumstances

If there is a crisis or emergency, the guidance the Passport Policy team issues at the time will contain instructions about any related fee changes to ETDs.

FCDO-issued ETDs

If the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) issues the ETD and the customer cannot pay, the FCDO will record the fee as ‘repatriated at the public expense’.

HM Passport Office will not issue a passport to the customer until they have repaid the fee.

HM Passport Office will not provide any financial help to cover fees for ETDs issued by the FCDO unless:

• the customer shows us evidence that we issued a faulty passport or a passport with an error (requiring them to get an ETD from the FCDO)

• the FCDO issues the ETD under the contingency measures the Home Secretary announced in September 2014

HM Passport Office-issued ETDs

If HM Passport Office issues an Emergency Travel Document (ETD), we charge the full fee that applies.

Fees for overseas prisoners

Foreign authorities asking for a prisoner to be deported must pay any passport fees that apply. The FCDO will recover any fees for ETDs or emergency passports (which allow only one journey) for prisoners. (See more on passports and prisoners.)

Fees for specimen passports

Once HM Passport Office has approved the application, we charge:

1. No fee to issue a specimen passport to another government department or foreign government. 2. The Fast Track collect fee to issue a specimen passport in a fictitious name (for example, to a TV or theatre company to use as a prop).

Fees for HM armed forces

HM forces members, whether based in the UK or overseas, pay a UK fee for their passport applications. In most cases, they pay for their passport application with a general procurement card or, if they lack a card, with an HM government cheque.

When they need to, in agreement with their commanding officer, HM forces members can pay by cash or personal cheque or credit card. They should then arrange for HM forces to pay them back. HM Passport Office does not need confirmation of this agreement from the Ministry of Defence or the customer.

If a member of HM forces submits their application at the counter, they can only pay using a credit or debit card, unless their application is for urgent government business or compassionate travel.

HM Passport Office must never put a stop for non-payment on a passport application from an HM forces member.

How to deal with HM armed forces fees

The Ministry of Defence pays the fee for passport applications from members of HM armed forces. This includes the fee for the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track service, upgrades and any extra costs for urgent overseas applications where a courier service is needed.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) processes the payment.

Payments by cheque

A small number of UK armed forces applications will be sent with a cheque in pounds sterling. These cheques should show a 4-digit reference number known as a His Majesty’s Government (HMG) number.

This number is unique to a specific unit or base and should be printed on the front of each cheque. BPO will note the number on the form at the post-opening stage.

Declined or invalid payments

BPO will take mandates where the payment has been declined or is invalid to the Debt and Refund team (DRT) and highlight them with a ‘D’ or ‘I’ (declined or invalid).

Finance will retry the payment by PDQ (Process Data Quickly) machine and contact the cardholder if that fails. The DRT will contact the customer to obtain payment.

Overpayments

Military units may appear to provide overpayments on block or single applications because they sometimes provide one payment to cover multiple applications.

Examiners must check all the payment screens within the block of applications before going ahead with examination. This is in case the fees have been allocated incorrectly at the cashiering stage.

Examiners must reallocate fees where necessary.

Refunds

To set up refunds:

1. For payment orders, replace the payee’s name (the person or organisation being paid) with the phrase ‘HMG PUB SUB ACC No’ (adding the HMG number).

2. If you cannot refund by payment order, you can refund using the original GPC card. If you do, replace the payees name with the last 4 digits of the GPC payment card number.

3. Change the address to the unit’s address in this format:

Name of commanding officer (PSF/UPO/ROA)

Unit or BFPO address

Postcode (if applicable)

4. Create a refund letter on the system, include it with the supporting documents and add the relevant case note. Address the envelope to the military unit rather than to the customer’s home address.

5. Set up a dummy refund for urgent applications submitted from overseas where the Fast Track fee has been paid and allocated on the system.

How customers can pay

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how customers pay for their passport application.

The method of payment changes depending on where the customer applies from and how they apply (for example, if they applied online, they must pay using a credit or debit card).

UK applications

In the UK, customers pay for:

• online applications including Post office Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications, by debit or credit card (except American Express)

• postal applications by debit or credit card mandate (a mandate – authorisation – is included with the paper application form), cheque or postal order (made out to ‘His Majesty’s Passport Office’)

• Check & Send paper applications submitted through the Post Office by debit or credit card, postal order (made payable to ‘Post Office Ltd’) or cash

• Fast Track applications by debit or credit card (additional payments, if required, may also be accommodated from personal callers on the day at the public counters)

• Digital Premium Service applications by credit or debit card

Customers in the UK must pay for all applications in pounds sterling.

Overseas applications

Overseas, customers pay for:

• online applications by debit or credit card in pounds sterling (HM Passport Office accepts only Mastercard, Visa, Electron, Diners Club and JCB)

• postal applications (in those countries where it’s possible) by debit or credit card mandate (a mandate – authorisation – form can be downloaded from GOV.UK or the Customer Services Management team can email one to the customer if they ask for it)

• applications made in person at a Local Services centre by debit or credit card mandate except for countries where, due to local laws, customers must pay in cash

Customers overseas will use local currency if paying in person. (The pounds sterling fee will be converted to the local currency amount at the exchange rate when the customer applies.)

If you receive cash in the post for a live application

Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL), Document Management Service, or Document Handling Unit deal with cash received with an application. If you (the examiner) receive cash in the post or find it with the customer’s documents in an application you are processing on Application Management System (AMS), you must:

1. Not return the cash to the customer in the post.

2. Case note the application to confirm how much cash was received.

3. Take the cash to Sopra Steria so they can bank it. If you are working an evening shift, you must:

• ask a colleague to witness you place the cash in an envelope

• note the application number on the envelope and add your signature, the date and time

• ask the colleague acting as witness to also sign the envelope with the date and time

• lock the envelope in a safe

• fill in the out of hours cash form stored in the safe (completed forms can be disposed of in confidential waste)

• email a day shift colleague requesting that they take the cash to Sopra Steria the next morning

4. Sign Sopra Steria’s document confirming you have handed over the cash:

• Sopra Steria will bank the cash immediately and update the fees tab on the application

5. Check the fees tab and if there is an:

• underpayment, you must send a letter to the customer asking for the outstanding payment, or gratis the underpayment if the difference was caused by the exchange rate (overseas application)

• overpayment, you must refund the excess fee in line with the refunds guidance

If you receive a mandate by email showing a customer’s bank details

If a customer chooses to send a mandate by email, showing their debit or credit card details you must not send the mandate to anyone else by email. You must check whether the application has a finance stop on it.

If there is a finance stop you must:

1. Print off the mandate form.

2. Send the mandate to the Debt and Refund team (DFT) in Durham by bag, for cashiering.

3. Delete the customer’s email.

4. Delete the customer’s email from the ‘Deleted items’ folder.

5. Add a case note to show the actions you take.

If there is no finance stop but the customer has not paid any fee you must follow AMS: how to deal with non payment and under payment of fees.

Connected and block applications

Customers applying using the postal channel can send one fee (for example, one mandate) to cover multiple applications.

Customers applying online must pay for each application individually, even if they send documents in one envelope.

See Connected and block applications guidance.

Customers applying for a counter appointment using the online booking system can book an appointment for up to 5 applications.

AMS: how to check the fee

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to check the fee paid is correct for the service type and product the customer wants if they are processing on AMS (Application Management System).

You, the examiner, must check the customer has paid the correct fee for the product and service type they need. You must check the ‘Fees’ tab on the Application Management System (AMS) only if the fees and payments do not balance.

When the ‘Fees’ tab is highlighted:

1. On the ‘Fees’ tab, check the service type and any other services the customer has asked for (for example, a Frequent Traveller passport, secure delivery or a braille sticker). For SE04 or OS forms, examiners need to check section 1 of the application form.

2. On the ‘Type’ tab, correct the service type if necessary (You can also select secure delivery on the ‘Fees’ tab.)

3. If there is an overpayment, refund the excess fee using the ‘Fees’ tab.

4. If there is an underpayment, send a letter to the customer asking for the outstanding payment or, if appropriate, make the outstanding fee ‘gratis’ (free of charge).

Checking and correcting the service type

If the service type is recorded incorrectly on the system:

1. Select the ‘Type’ tab and then select the correct service type from the drop down menu in the ‘Service type’ field.

2. Check if any extra services are recorded incorrectly on the ‘Fees’ or ‘Type’ tab (you can select secure delivery on both). Select the correct radio button or click in the relevant boxes to insert or delete ticks to show whether the customer needs a particular service.

3. Click ‘Save’, which will trigger the system to recalculate the fees (if applicable).

As long as the customer has documents to return, if they paid for secure delivery but did not choose this service when they made their application, you must update the service type to show the customer wants it and not refund the fee.

Checking the service level on counter applications

If applications are wrongly cashiered to show a service level less than the one the customer asked for, back office examiners must:

1. Check the correct service and fee with the front office examiner.

2. Re-barcode the application and send it back to BPO to re-scan.

3. Make a case note.

The system will only calculate the target time for the application from the point that it registered the upgrade.

If back office examiners get a Fast Track application that’s marked in error as Premium, they must:

1. Have the application authorised as free of charge (gratis) to approve the fees.

2. Record a case note.

3. Change the ‘Despatch method’ to ‘Post’. The passport will still have to be locally printed.

Checking the fee on Check & Send applications

The ‘Fees’ tab will never be highlighted for partnership applications, as the system does not record these fees – they are collected by the partner and shown on the ‘Office use only’ section of the application form.

Examiners must ignore the fee recorded on the ‘Office use only’ section of the SE04 application form, as the fee taken by Post Office Limited (POL) is shown only on the application till receipt, and check the:

• service type selected on the application to make sure this is correct for the customer, for example an adult service type has been given to an adult customer

• chosen service type is showing on AMS

If the incorrect service type has been selected for example, the customer is a child and the application received is for an adult and they have paid the fee for an adult application, examiners must:

1. Obtain the application till receipt from the customer.

2. Contact Post Office issues (POI), when they have received the till receipt.

3. Provide POI with:

• a copy of the till receipt; and,

• details of the application; and,

• what they believe the correct fee should be and why

You, the examiner, must pigeonhole the application until POI have confirmed the mismatch in application type has been resolved and the application can proceed.

Partnership Liaison teams

Partnership Liaison teams (PLT) must:

• record cases, where there is a mismatch between the service type the customer should be applying for and the service type given, as errors

• arrange for applications to be rescanned by Sopra Steria Limited (SSL), where necessary, to make sure the Debt and Refund team (DRT) can invoice POL

Frequent Traveller passports

If a customer has asked for a Frequent Traveller passport in section 1 of a paper form, examiners must ignore the fee recorded on the ‘Office use only’ section of the SE04 application form, as the fee taken by POL is shown on the application till receipt only, and:

• check the service type selected on the application to make sure this is correct, for example an adult service type has been given to an adult customer

• check the chosen service type is showing on AMS

If there is a mismatch between the service type the customer should be applying for and the service type given, examiners must refer these applications to POI.

Errors

When Post Office Ltd has taken the correct fee but the service level has been recorded incorrectly on the system, record it as a ‘Data capture error’. This only applies when the customer completes a paper application form at the Post Office.

If a partnership case has been cashiered as a postal case:

1. Case note the error and withdraw the postal application from the system.

2. Stick a partnership barcode over the existing barcode.

3. Complete a ‘Form B-Replacement/Gratis Examiner Returns’ and forward it with the application form to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Query Handling. (See Submitting an Examiner Return to BPO.)

Checking the fee on Local Service applications

When examining applications from Local Services, examiners must be particularly careful to check that the customer has paid the correct fees.

Depending on their country of residence, the customer will either have:

• completed a mandate that includes the Local Services forwarding fee

• physically paid at the Local Service

Local Services that accept mandates

To check that the customer has paid the forwarding fee for an application submitted through a Local Service that accepts mandates:

1. On the fees screen, check that the £13.31 fee for forwarding applications to HM Passport Office has been collected and cashiered as an overpayment
(in addition to the passport fee).

2. If the fee has been collected, treat the application as free (gratis).

If the fee has not been collected:

1. Generate a letter on the system asking for the fee and send it to the customer.

2. When you get confirmation that HM Passport Office has received the balance of the fee and that it is been cashiered as an overpayment, gratis the application.

Local Services that accept cash payments

At some locations overseas, personal callers (people who visit a passport office in person) need to pay passport fees in cash for a standard service. This is because of currency or credit card restrictions. Local Services will note the amount paid on the document receipt and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) will cashier the payment as zero fees.

To check that the forwarding fee has been paid for an application submitted through a Local Service that accepts cash payments:

1. Check the document receipt to make sure the Local Service took the correct fees (including the Local Services forwarding fee).

2. Gratis the application to balance the fees and payment.

Fee not collected

If the fee has not been collected:

1. Generate a letter on the system asking for the fee and send a copy to the customer and a copy to the Local Service. (See the How we communicate with customers.)

2. When you get confirmation that the balance of fee has been received and has been cashiered as a zero payment, gratis the application.

‘UK delivery’ tick box

For overseas cases (postal or online) the ‘UK delivery’ tick box, in the ‘Additional services’ section under the ‘Fees’ tab, will default to blank.

If you select the ‘UK delivery’ tick box by mistake, de-select it to recalculate the fee to the correct overseas fee.

Deliveries to a British Forces Post Office address

Royal Mail deal with packages sent to British Forces Post Office (BFPO) addresses as a UK address. You must make sure you record the customer’s packages as a UK delivery, if the customer has given us a BFPO address to return their documents or new passport.

You must:

1. Examine the application as normal.

2. Open the customer’s application at the fees screen on the Application Management System (AMS).

3. Put a tick in the correct fields to show the BFPO address is in the UK for:

• supporting documents

• passport delivery

4. Complete the application as needed.

Checking the fee on British overseas territories applications

Examiners must treat British overseas territories applications submitted through Passport Reach as gratis applications, as the customer pays the fee through the territory office when submitting the application. You do not have to check that the fee has been paid on these applications.

AMS: how to process counter payments

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to process customer payments at a public counter, if you are processing on AMS (Application Management System).

If a customer attends the counter for a same-day appointment and we give them one, they must pay for the service at the cashier.

Role of the counter front office examiner

The counter receptionist will print out a ticket showing the fee the customer has paid. This is the amount the counter front office examiner uses when they are checking that the customer has paid the correct fee.

The front office examiner will offer to take the application from the customer, telling them we will treat it as a postal application and keep the counter fee, if:

• we cannot establish the customer’s claim to a British passport

• the application is not eligible for the Fast Track or Digital Premium Service

If the customer does not want to lodge the application as a postal application, tell them HM Passport Office will still keep the fee. If they want to complain, tell them they have to complain through the Customer Service Management team. (See more on refunds and the service element fee.)

Customer has paid the fee

If the customer has paid the fee:

1. Check the ticket to confirm how much they have paid on the Online Appointment Booking System.

2. Mark the amount on the Fast Track (yellow band at top) ‘Customer Payment Authorisation’ (CPA) form.

3. Fill in the customer’s full name and date of birth.

4. For block applications, put the personal details and barcode of the ‘master’ application first on the CPA form and mark the total amount payable for all applications.

5. Fill in the examiner reference and sign the form.

6. Make sure that the application barcode attached to the CPA form and its duplicate (attached over the pre-printed barcode on the application form) are the same number.

Customer has not paid the fee

If the customer has not yet paid the fee (for example, if they booked a same day appointment) or they need to pay more (for example, if their application has been upgraded):

1. Fill in the appropriate ‘Customer Payment Authorisation’ (CPA) form.

2. Mark the amount to be paid on the Premium (red band at top) CPA.

3. Fill in the customer’s full name and date of birth.

4. For block applications, put the personal details and barcode of the ‘master’ application first on the CPA form and mark the total amount payable for all applications.

5. Fill in the examiner reference and sign the form.

6. Make sure that the application barcode attached to the CPA form and its duplicate (attached over the pre-printed barcode on the application form) are the same number.

7. Hand the CPA form to the customer and direct them to the cashier to pay any fees or extra payment.

Taking payment for ETDs when the system is down

If the customer has an application in progress and has paid the appropriate fee, examiners must:

1. Note that on the back office note sheet.

2. Issue the Emergency Travel Document (ETD) in light of the existing payment.

If the customer has not paid:

1. Complete a counter payment mandate.

2. Place one duplicate barcode on the SE04 form and one on the counter payment mandate.

3. Direct the customer to the cashier’s window to pay, telling them we cannot accept card payments because (for example) the system is down.

Role of the counter back office examiner

There is no link between the Application Management System (AMS) and the Online Appointment Booking (OAB) system. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) will process the application so the fee paid on OAB will show on AMS.

Any fees paid on OAB will show as a debit card payment on the ‘Fees’ tab.

If the fees do not balance, the fees tab will be highlighted. The counter back office examiner must check the service level on counter applications.

AMS: reallocating fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to balance customer fees by reallocating them to applications which are part of the same block if you are processing on AMS (Application Management System).

HM Passport Office will transfer fees between linked applications on AMS (Application Management System) to balance excess fees and underpayment.

HM Passport Office keeps the application fee and issues a replacement application ‘gratis’ (free of charge), because the customer has already paid the fee, when:

• we withdraw an online application and replace it with a paper application

• an application processing centre gets a diplomatic or official application and we withdraw it and transfer it to the diplomatic team in Durham

How to reallocate fees

If an examiner working on AMS receives a block application and the payments have not been split correctly between the cases, the examiner must reallocate payments.

You will still need system authorisation to reallocate fees and payments between applications so that:

• both applications can go ahead

• to avoid problems where applications have been split up

To reallocate fees:

1. Select ‘Fees and Payments’ from the menu bar and then select the ‘Modify Application and Payments’ link or select the link from the ‘Links’ menu.

2. Scan the barcode number of the application bearing the payment to be re-allocated (normally the ‘master’ application) and click ‘Find’.

3. The system will show the fees and payments for that case. The payments field at the bottom of the screen will show the amount the customer has paid.

4. Click on the ‘Allocate to Application’ button. In the pop up box, scan the barcode of the application that the payment is being reallocated to, enter the amount you are reallocating and the reason (for example, cashiered incorrectly).

5. In the ‘Reason’ field, state which applications you reallocated the fees to and from, as well as the amounts, then click ‘OK’.

6. The ‘Immediate Authorisation’ (2nd authorisation) dialogue box/screen will display.

7. Enter a case note on the 2nd authorisation screen stating which application you reallocated the fees to and from, as well as the amounts.

8. Ask a line manager for a 2nd authorisation of the fee reallocation (If they reject the authorisation request, the fees will not change).

The ‘Fees’ tab will now show how the fees have been reallocated.

If you need to reallocate the payment to another application, click on the remaining amount to highlight it (do not select the original payment amount) before clicking on the ‘Allocate to Application’ button and following the steps above.

Upgrades fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about fees to upgrade an application to a higher service level (for example, when a Standard service is upgraded to the Digital Premium Service)

If the customer is eligible for an upgrade of their passport application (and the upgrade service is currently being offered), they must pay the service element of the Digital Premium Service fee in advance. It does not matter how long HM Passport Office has had the application, unless we have unreasonably delayed a passport application for longer than 10 weeks. (See Free of charge (gratis) service fees and Tiered Application Service guidance).

In compassionate circumstances, customers must pay the fee in advance and request a refund later. (See section 6 of Tiered Application Service guidance.)

Examiners must be careful when working out how much extra to charge for an upgrade.

Secure delivery of the new passport is included in the Digital Premium Service fee. When the passport and supporting documents are posted together, examiners do not need to take an extra fee for the secure delivery.

How to process fee upgrades

Examiners need to tell customers (at an appropriate stage and when the upgrade service is currently being offered) that HM Passport Office offers an option to upgrade a passport application from standard to Digital Premium Service, for example, if they tell us they need their passport urgently.

Explain the cost and that the customer can pay either by credit or debit card over the phone or by calling in at a passport office. Give details, if necessary, of the UK’s 7 Passport Customer Service Centres.

Explain that we usually send the passport by Secure Delivery or:

• we can send it by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am or 1pm (which will be an extra charge)

• they can collect it from any of the UK’s 7 Passport Customer Service Centres

If the upgrade service is currently being offered and the customer wants an upgrade:

1. Complete the customer payment authorisation form with the application details.

2. Complete the internal mandate form with the payment details.

3. Enter a case note to show:

• the customer has asked for an upgrade

• a mandate has been completed

• the amount taken

• how they want the passport issued (collection, secure delivery or Royal Mail delivery)

4. Arrange for the mandate to be sent to Business Processing Office (BPO) who will cashier the payment on to the application and upgrade the service level to Premium.

5. When the payment has cleared on the system, the application can be processed in line with current policy and guidance.

Free of charge (‘gratis’) passport applications

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about when we will deal with an application free of charge (known as gratis).

HM Passport Office charges no fee:

• when we have cancelled a passport in error

• when we have confirmed a passport has been lost in the post after dispatch by HM Passport Office

• when we, or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, have made an error in a passport or have issued a passport we have confirmed as faulty – unless the passport is damaged or the visa pages are full (and we will only issue a free replacement passport up to the remaining validity of the original one)

• when we have refused or withdrawn an application in error (for example, after sending letters to the wrong address by mistake) and the customer applies again

• when we have failed to consider parental consent to a child’s change of name and issue a new passport in the previous name

• when we have issued a passport to a parent or guardian without appropriate parental responsibility and then issue a new passport to a parent or guardian to correct the error

• when we issue a standard passport valid up to the expiry date of a (32 page) non-EU passport issued in 2016 because Sycamore style Frequent Traveller passport non-EU passports were unavailable at the time and the standard passport is now full

• when we have sent a letter saying we will charge no fee and the customer includes a copy of the letter with their application

• when we have case noted that we will charge no fee in line with the complaints procedure

• when a customer has applied and paid for a passport but the system is down, so we are issuing an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) to allow the customer to travel

• when we replace a passport because the customer tells us it is faulty and there are no signs of damage caused by them (see how to check damaged passports)

• when we issue a replacement passport because the original was faulty and the customer has to travel for urgent or compassionate reasons in line with Tiered Application Service guidance

• when we issue a replacement passport because the original was faulty and the customer lives in a country where they legally have to carry a valid passport with them at all times

• to issue a specimen passport requested by other UK government departments or by foreign governments through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (but we do charge for other specimen passport requests)

• when we failed a previous passport application in error in line with the Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS) policy

• when we ask the customer to send a paper application after we automatically withdrew their online application because they did not send in documents within 90 days, but we received them within 7 days of the application being withdrawn

• when a Windrush customer sends us a new application and their previous application that was failed or withdrawn after the 1st of May 2008 had the fee for that application retained

Crises, emergencies and other incidents

HM Passport Office charges no fee:

• in crisis situations where we have agreement to issue a free passport (see crisis fee waiver guidance)

• when we have issued an Emergency Travel Document (ETD), the customer has paid an application fee and we are issuing a passport for the remaining validity

• when we are unable to issue a passport to an overseas customer because of a crisis situation

Customer’s circumstances

HM Passport Office charges no fee:

• when we have not yet dealt with a customer’s application, and they have asked for their documents to be returned (we will not charge an upgrade fee)

• when the customer submits a duplicate application at a counter (for example, because of urgency) and we withdraw the original application (the service element of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track fee still applies)

• when we have withdrawn an application through loss of contact but the customer provides evidence of compassionate grounds for their failure to respond (however, the customer has to pay for ‘incidentals’ such as new photos and delivery fees; see section 6 of Tiered Application Service guidance)

• when we have withdrawn an application through loss of contact because the customer was in police custody and can provide a letter from the police as evidence

• when a customer born before 2 September 1929 asks for a standard 32 page passport (but they do have to pay the full fee for a Frequent Traveller passport, and other fees may apply; see more on concessionary passports)

• to issue a new passport for compassionate reasons where we had cancelled a customer’s previous passport in error and the replacement out for delivery would not reach them in time (note that the new passport will have the same expiry date as the old one; see more on cancellation of passports)

• when we have issued a new post-dated passport because a civil ceremony or marriage has been postponed due to the serious illness of either party or the death of an immediate member of either family

• when we have issued a post-dated passport but the marriage or civil ceremony had to be rearranged and a new passport was issued in the original name (see Post-dated passports)

• when we, or one of our delivery partners, has lost a valid collective passport

• when we ask a customer for a DNA sample and we accept they cannot travel to an approved testing centre for local reasons, or there are significant costs involved, we withdraw the application and they reapply within 12 months (see more on DNA testing for overseas applications)

• when the customer reapplies with their registration certificate in line with Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme policy

• to replace a restricted validity passport (RVP) with a standard passport for a child who meets discretionary registration criteria in line with the Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme policy

• when we extend an RVP that has been issued in line with Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme policy

Free of charge (gratis) service fees

HM Passport Office will charge no Digital Premium Service or Fast Track fees:

• when we have unreasonably delayed a passport application for longer than our published turnaround times, in line with Tiered Application Service (TAS) guidance

• when we, or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, have made an error in the passport or have issued a faulty passport

• when we have to issue a replacement passport because a passport is faulty and the customer has urgent or compassionate travel in line with TAS guidance

• when we have to issue a replacement passport because a passport is faulty and the customer lives in a country where they must have a valid passport with them at all times, in line with TAS guidance

• when a country has changed its rules on collective passports and the customer has to apply for an individual passport

HM Passport Office may also waive (drop) the service element of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track fee for compassionate reasons, in line with TAS guidance. (The service element is the charge above the standard passport fee for Premium or Fast Track applications).

AMS: how to process ‘gratis’ applications

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to process applications free of charge if they are processing on AMS (Application Management System).

To submit a new ‘gratis’ (free of charge) application to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), if you are processing on AMS (Application Management System):

1. Complete a BPO ‘Manual Examiner Return’ form, ticking the ‘Gratis application’ box.

2. Place the application form or declaration form, any supporting documents and the ‘Manual examiner return’ form into a clear wallet.

3. Physically place the wallet into the ‘Gratis/replacement form’ box.

4. When the application is returned from BPO, add a case note stating that it is a gratis application and the reason.

5. When examination is complete, AMS will refer the application for authorisation.

How to gratis an application on the system

To issue a passport gratis, you need authorisation at the end of the AMS examination process. To request authorisation:

1. From the ‘Fees’ tab, select the reason you’re gratis-ing the application from the drop down menu in the ‘Reason for gratis’ box.

2. Enter a case note, giving the reason you’re gratis-ing the application.

3. Select ‘Exam complete’ at the end of the examination process.

4. AMS will refer the application for authorisation – enter a mandatory (required) case note in the ‘Reason for gratis’ box and select ‘OK’.

5. The ‘Advisory re-box’ screen will appear – enter the relevant box or exception folder number and select ‘OK’.

The examiner must then physically place the application in the corresponding box.

In exceptional circumstances (generally a result of a cashiering error), examiners might need to gratis part of a payment amount. As the system does not let you gratis specific amounts, you might need to gratis the whole application.

Reissuing free of change due to non-delivery of a passport

The UK Delivery team deals with queries from customers who have not received their passport once HM Passport Office has passed it for issue. The team will decide whether to reissue a passport gratis or whether the customer has to pay the application fee again.

Fee refunds

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff when we will issue a refund of the passport fee paid.

There is no legal basis, in most cases, for His Majesty’s Passport Office to refund customers (see fees policy summary). However, we do in some circumstances, even though we are not legally required to.

Refunds on request

Passport fees

HM Passport Office will refund on request:

• overpayments of less than £1

• the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element of the application fee when HM Passport Office has not met our guaranteed service, in line with Tiered Application Service (TAS) guidance

• the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element of the fee when HM Passport Office has issued the passport incorrectly and we must reissue it, in line with TAS guidance

• the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element of the fee on compassionate grounds, in line with TAS guidance

• the passport fee if the customer withdraws their application on compassionate grounds and provides evidence (see section 6 of Tiered Application Service guidance)

• the passport fee when the application is withdrawn because the customer cannot come to an identity interview due to short term incapacity or hospitalisation and evidence is provided

• any HM Passport Office fee when the customer dies while we are considering their application and evidence is provided

• fees for duplicate applications where the responsibility lies with our or our partner’s processes (for example, a system failure)

Other costs

HM Passport Office will refund on request:

• reasonable costs when HM Passport Office or our partners are at fault, in line with our Compensation guidance

• the cost of the first year’s entry on to the Protective Registration service (see Documents Lost or Damaged guidance) when HM Passport Office or our delivery partners have lost a customer’s passport or supporting documents or where the customer’s identity has been stolen as part of the application process

• the cost of an Emergency Travel Document if the original passport is found to be faulty

• the difference in fee for naturalisation or registration between then and now if HM Passport Office made an error when originally issuing the passport (see more on Withdrawing passports and passport facilities)

Discretionary refunds

In exceptional circumstances, and where evidence can be supplied to justify it, HM Passport Office will consider refunding on request:

• any fee when the application was withdrawn due to loss of contact while the customer was in police custody and can provide a letter from the police as evidence

• any fee when a customer who does not qualify for a British passport might have applied because of a disability such as learning difficulties or dementia, decided on a case by case basis

• any fee for a child’s application when the application is withdrawn because a court case is pending that is relevant to the application (for example, it deals with parental consent)

• any fee for a child’s application when the application is withdrawn because the other parent, or a guardian, holds a valid passport for the child that the parent applying did not know about at the time they applied

• any fee for a child’s application when the application is withdrawn because one parent or guardian has refused consent to a change of name

• any fee for a new child’s application in their previous name when HM Passport Office has issued a passport in a new name without fully considering parental consent to a child name change

• fees when a collective passport cannot be issued or where a transit country has stated they might not accept a collective passport and the group chooses not to continue with the application

Refunds without request

HM Passport Office will refund without request:

• overpayments of £1 or more

• the courier or postage fee if there are no documents to return

• the courier or postage fee, if a customer has overpaid (by more than £1) for delivery of their documents, for example, they applied through the overseas channel and want all their documents to be delivered to a UK address

• any fee where the customer meets the criteria for a gratis (free of charge) passport but has already paid the fee

• dependent application fees when the main application in a block has been refused on nationality grounds

• fees when the customer sends a foreign passport for renewal

• the application fee and the passport delivery fee when the customer sends a crown dependencies passport for renewal and they live in the crown dependency (but we will not refund the fee for the return of supporting documents)

• any fee when HM Passport Office has issued a passport for a child to a parent or guardian in error because another parent or guardian already holds a valid passport for them

• the passport application and delivery fees of a customer born before 2 September 1929, when HM Passport Office passed the application for issue, failed or withdrew it (unless we have lost contact with the customer; see more on concessionary passports); however, we will not refund the service element of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track fee

• fees in crisis situations where HM Passport Office has agreed to issue a free passport but the customer has already paid the fee

• the Check & Send service fee because of an error on the application that an HMPO partner should have prevented (the partner will refund the fee)

• the upgrade portion of the fee when the system automatically selects an upgraded application for a passport application interview

• the application fee (including the service element of the counter fee) when the customers applies for a new passport because their passport is faulty and there are no signs of damage caused by them (see how to check damaged passports)

• the fee for duplicate applications submitted online (see warnings and matches for dealing with duplicate applications)

• the fee for a duplicate application when the customer submitted another one in error, because they did not think we got the first one they made online (if the duplicate application is a counter one, we will keep the service element of the fee)

• the fee for the original postal or online application we withdrew because the customer paid for a duplicate Digital Premium Service or Fast Track application (for example due to urgent or compassionate circumstances)

• the difference between the UK online fee and the overseas online fee, when a diplomat or British official applies for their passport using the overseas online channel

• the full fee for a Fast Track appointment if the customer:

  • cancels their appointment more than 48 hours before their appointment time

  • booked more than 1 appointment (for example, because they found an earlier appointment) and we cancel the appointment they no longer wish to attend

• the full fee for a Digital Premium Service application, in line with the Counter services reopening guidance, if the customer:

  • made 1 appointment and cancels it more than 48 hours before their appointment time

  • made more than 1 appointment (for example, because they found an earlier appointment) and we cancel the appointment they no longer want to attend

Refunds for Emergency Travel Documents issued during COVID-19

Due to delays in processing overseas applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, some customers may have applied and paid for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD). HM Passport Office will refund customers the £100 ETD fee they paid, if they meet all of the following criteria:

• the customer applied and paid for an ETD on (or after) 23 March 2020 (when the UK lockdown officially started)

• on the date the customer was issued with an ETD, they had a passport application pending with us

• on the date the customer was issued with an ETD, we had the customer’s passport application for 2 weeks longer than our normal service standards (for the country the customer applied from)

How we will deal with ETD refunds

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will tell the customer about the Emergency Travel Document (ETD) refund policy. Customers can ask for a refund by:

• emailing a dedicated mailbox in the Customer Service Management team (CSMT)

• contacting our Contact Centres (who will refer the case to the CSMT)

CSMT will:

• use the cleared by BPO (business process outsourcing) date as the date were received the application (as they cannot see the mailbag date)

• ask the customer for any evidence they have that shows we received their application or documents earlier (if the cleared by BPO date means they are not eligible for refund)

• check the customer meets the criteria for a refund

• refer the details to the finance team who will arrange a refund (if the customer is entitled to one)

No refunds

HM Passport Office will not refund fees (but see discretionary refunds) when:

• we have refused a passport application because the customer is not eligible for a British passport or cannot produce evidence that they’re eligible

• the customer has withdrawn their passport application (see Withdrawal of applications guidance)

• we have refused a passport application on entitlement grounds (see more on refusing and withdrawing passport facilities)

• we have withdrawn a passport application in line with the withdrawal of applications

• the customer fails to attend an appointment for a Digital Premium or Fast Track service or does not reschedule more than 48 hours before the appointment time

• the customer fails to arrange or attend an identity interview appointment or HM Passport Office refuses the application as an administrative refusal (see Interviews: overview of the interview process – How we manage interview appointments)

• we have issued a child’s passport and one parent or guardian has misled us about getting permission for a name change from others with parental responsibility

• the customer has applied for an extra passport but is no longer entitled to one, even though they had been previously

• a customer born before 2 September 1929 has paid a Digital Premium Service or Fast Track service fee, as these services are optional (see more on concessionary passports)

• the customer has already paid the application fee and HM Passport Office has issued an Emergency Travel Document

• the customer downgrades the service level

• the passport could not be delivered to a UK address as a signature was needed and HM Passport Office later confirmed that the customer had never been in the UK

• the customer requests a refund as a result of hardship, urgent government business travel or other circumstances not covered by the compassionate grounds process (see section 6 of Tiered Application Service guidance)

• an application submitted online has been automatically withdrawn at 90 days

• we are returning supporting documents to a crown dependency customer who applied through an incorrect route (we use the fee to pay for returning the documents)

• the customer submits more than one paper application in error

Service element fee

We will also not refund the additional service element fee of a Digital Premium Service or Fast Track application when we downgrade the service level in line with Tiered Application Service guidance.

Booking fee element

The Passport (Fees) Regulations, 2022, introduced a non-refundable booking fee element to the counter appointment fee.

Refunds: booking fee for Digital Premium Service

HM Passport Office suspended offering paper Premium service applications from March 2020. Customers wanting a Premium service are now directed to use the Digital Premium Service.

The change to fees legislation means we will not refund the booking fee if the customer:

• cancels their Digital Premium Service appointment within 48 hours of the original appointment time (we cannot reschedule within 48 hours)

• does not attend their appointment (the full counter application fee will be retained)

• attends a Digital Premium Service appointment:

  • without the correct documents and confirms they will not return with the correct documents (the full fee will be retained)

  • when they are not eligible (do not qualify) for the service but accept a Fast track or standard service instead (the full fee will be retained) for example, if they present a damaged passport or declare their passport lost or stolen

Refunds: Booking fee for Fast Track Service

The Passport (Fees) Regulations 2022 means we will not refund the booking fee if the customer:

• cancels their Fast Track appointment within 48 hours of the original appointment time (we will not reschedule within 48 hours)

• does not attend their appointment (the full counter application fee will be retained)

• attends a Fast Track appointment:

  • without the correct documents and confirms they will not return with the correct documents (the full fee will be retained)

  • when they are not eligible for the service (for example, when a child’s claim to British nationality is through Treaty Rights) but accept a standard service instead (the full fee will be retained).

However, HM Passport Office will:

• not charge an additional booking fee (for a new appointment) if the customer:

  • booked a Fast Track appointment and changed it more than 48 hours before their original appointment time

  • attends a Fast Track appointment and did not provide the documents we need but confirms they will return later with the correct documents

• refund the booking fee attached to the application (together with the application fee) if the customer:

  • cancels their appointment more than 48 hours before their original appointment time

  • books an appointment for multiple applications but only needs some of the applications (for example, if they booked a group appointment for 3 applications and only proceeded with 2, they will receive a refund for the remaining application)

A customer can ask us to consider issuing them a refund of the booking fee if there are exceptional reasons why they were unable to attend (or to rebook earlier). For example, if there was a medical emergency. The customer must complete an online form giving the details, so we can consider if a refund of the booking fee or full fee is appropriate. If they wish to reapply while we consider their request, they must pay the full fee again.

How we refund

HM Passport Office refunds online applications to the payment card the customer used to pay the fee. In all other cases (including counter applications), HM Passport Office refunds applications using a payment order.

Who we refund

For postal applications, we refund the customer. For online applications, we refund the card holder.

If a third party has paid on the customer’s behalf, it is the customer’s responsibility to make sure the funds get back to the right person. HM Passport Office will not get involved in personal financial disputes.

If the customer dies, the person handling the customer’s estate (their property and finances) will get the refund if they ask for it and can provide written evidence, they are handling the estate. If not, HM Passport Office refunds the fee to the original credit card if the customer applied online.

How to do refunds

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to complete a refund.

You must follow a different refund process based on whether:

• you are processing on DAP (Digital Application Processing)

• you are processing on AMS (Application Management System)

• the type of application you are processing (for example, postal application, or an application made at the counter)

• you are refunding a fee after an application has been completed or withdrawn (for example, if we have failed to meet a service level)

DAP: refunds

You cannot currently refund any fees paid using DAP (Digital Application Processing). We will add guidance to this section when a process is developed.

AMS: refunds on the system

Refunds are authorised at the end of examination on AMS (Application Management System).

You, the examiner, must do all refunds on AMS, except:

• overseas postal applications

• counter service fee refunds

• Customer Service Management Team (CSMT) Tiered Application Service refunds

To issue a refund on AMS, you must:

1. Check that a refund is due on the ‘Fees’ tab.

2. Pick an option from the drop down ‘Refund reason’ menu.

3. Name and address of the person to be refunded will appear automatically (unless the customer is under 16, when the examiner has to enter their details manually; you can override any pre-populated information).

4. If the customer has overpaid, the amount of the refund will appear automatically in the ‘Refund amount’ field.

5. Send Application Management System (AMS) refund letter to the customer to tell them how they will get their refund.

6. Enter a case note by clicking on the ‘Case note’ link in the ‘Links’ menu. State the refund amount, the reason for the refund and who to make the refund payable to, if it’s not the customer. This information should be the same as the information in the fields under the ‘Fees’ tab. If the refund is for a duplicate application, the case notes must show the application number of each application.

7. When examination is complete, AMS will refer the application for authorisation.

If the examiner selects ‘Withdrawn’ as the reason for the refund, and HM Passport Office will refund the fee as an exception, you have to enter the amount of the fee on the Application Management System (AMS) manually.

AMS: refunds for overseas postal applications

For overseas postal applications, examiners must:

1. Complete a dummy refund on the system.

2. Fill in a Customer refund form.

3. Ask a line manager to authorise the form.

4. Email it to the Debt and Refund team (DRT).

The DRT will contact the customer to arrange their refund.

Tiered Application Service refunds

Customers are entitled to claim a refund of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element of the fee, if HM Passport Office does not meet its published Tiered Application Service (TAS)

AMS: Counter service fee refunds

If a customer asks at the counter (or during the processing if a fast track application) for a refund of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element, you (the counter receptionist or back office examiner) must:

1. Check the application case notes for any information which confirms the application qualifies for a refund under the TAS guidance

2. Tell the customer:

• we will issue a refund (if it falls within your designated authority level)

• we will not issue a refund (if it does not qualify for a refund)

• you will forward their request to the Customer Contact Centre (if you do not have the designated authority to give a refund or the customer does not accept your assessment)

3. Complete the customer refund form with the application details and select ‘yes’ on the TAS Refund drop down to complete the TAS refund section.

4. Case note the application with the correct mandatory case note:

• ‘Digital Premium Service SLA not met due to [insert reason here]. Refund actioned. Customer advised of £ [00.00] TAS refund.’

• ‘F/T SLA not met due to [insert reason here]. Refund actioned. Customer advised of £ [00.00] TAS refund.’

5. Complete the customer refund form, including any out of pocket expense (OPE) claims the customer made.

6. Pass the refund form to the counter Operational Team Leader (OTL):

• by email, if it’s a TAS refund only or you do not need receipts for an OPE

• by hand (by printing out a hardcopy of the form and attaching the customer’s receipts) if you need receipts for OPEs

7. Send the customer an apology letter, telling them you have authorised a TAS refund (and OPE claim if necessary).

Processing the counter service fee refund

You, the counter OTL, must check that the form has been completed correctly and:

1. Check the application case notes to make sure you have authorised the refund correctly.

2. Contact the customer, if you should not have agreed to the refund and explain why. You must tell the customer you will refer their request to CSMT, if they do not agree with your assessment or the refund is outside of your designated authority level.

3. Case note the application if you agree to the refund as:

• ‘Clear for payment’

4. Complete the TAS refund spreadsheet on SharePoint.

5. Send a hardcopy of the customer refund form and customer’s OPE receipts to Debt and Refund team (DRT) at Durham (by bag) if the customer is claiming OPEs.

6. Delete the email with the customer refund form when you have completed the TAS refund spreadsheet.

The Debt and Refund team will process TAS refunds using the Systematically Importance Payment system (SIPs). The customer (or cardholder who made the original payment) will receive the refund in their account in 3 to 5 working days.

How to refund if there has been a system failure

If HM Passport Office has a system failure that delays the customer’s application, causing it to miss the TAS levels, you must check if the system failure was:

• local - if it was local, you must continue to process the customer’s refund

• national - if it was national, all refunds will be handled by the Customer Service Management team (CSMT)

CSMT TAS refunds

The Customer Service Management team (CSMT) deals with requests for TAS refunds, if the:

• customer did not ask for a refund of the Digital Premium Service or Fast Track element of the fee when we dealt with the application or when they collected their passport at the counter office

• original refund request was refused or outside the delegated authority of the counter staff member

• customer asks for a TAS refund, for an application that was upgraded in an Application Processing Centre (APC)

The target for processing refunds is 10 working days.

In some cases, an executive officer or above needs to authorise refunds (See the ‘Delegated authority’ section within Compensation guidance for who can authorise which refunds.)

When a CSM officer receives a refund claim form, they must:

1. Do a Main Index (MI) search on the Application Management System (Searches and checks - passport and application records).

2. Confirm the customer’s details on MI against the details on the refund claim form.

3. Confirm the refund claim has been submitted to the correct issuing office (the office that issued the passport

4. Confirm a refund has not already been processed.

5. Once they have established that a refund has not been processed, note the application reference number on the refund claim form.

6. Check the application case notes for any information added at the time the application was processed.

7. Check that the customer has submitted the correct evidence in line with Tiered Application Service guidance.

8. If the customer has submitted no evidence, or not enough, send them a stock letter asking for this evidence with a prepaid address label.

9. If there is still no response from the customer, withdraw the refund application, add an MI passport note to AMS and keep the refund application until the customer makes further contact or the files are ‘weeded’.

10. If HM Passport Office refuses the refund because we have met the service level guarantee, or the application has not met the compassionate grounds criteria (see Tiered Application Service guidance and the refunds section), photocopy the supporting evidence and attach it to the refund claim form.

11. Send the customer the relevant stock letter (006, 007, 008 or 009) explaining why we will not refund them, with the original versions of the supporting evidence. Complete the ‘His Majesty’s Passport Office use only’ section of the refund claim form and add an MI passport note to AMS. Keep the refused claim in alphabetical order for a month (in case the customer makes further contact), before destroying it.

12. If HM Passport Office agrees to the refund because we have failed to meet the service level guarantee, or the refund claim meets the compassionate grounds criteria, confirm the payee details and complete the ‘His Majesty’s Passport Office use only’ section of the refund claim form, stating the refund amount.

13. Add an MI passport note to AMS giving the reason for approving the refund and stating the refund amount.

14. Complete the relevant refund-approved stock letter and place it in an envelope to the customer with the original version of the supporting evidence.

15. If the officer lacks the authority to issue the refund, forward the refund claim form and the stock letter to the customer services manager or deputy for authorisation. If the officer can issue the refund, check the refund amount is correct and send the relevant stock letter to the customer.

16. Email the refund claim to the Debt and Refund team at the end of the working day, using the finance spreadsheet. The finance team will process the claim and HM passport Office will refund the amount to the customer using the original payment method. We will keep the refund claim for a period in line with data retention policy before destroying it.

When processing a refund claim on compassionate grounds where HM Passport Office also failed to meet the service guarantee, add an MI passport note stating what has been refunded and why. Refund one fee only and send one stock letter only to the customer in response to their claim.

If the customer has not proved their claim on compassionate grounds, and HM Passport Office also failed to meet the service level guarantee, follow the TAS guidance.

Tiered Application Service refund authorisations

In some cases, an executive officer or above will authorise Tiered Application Service (TAS) refunds. (See the ‘Delegated authority’ section within Compensation guidance for who can authorise which refunds.)

When HM Passport Office fails to meet service level

Because of the difference in cost between postal and online applications, the amount we refund when we fail to meet the service level depends how the customer applied.

Missed service level refunds for:

• Fast Track applications are paper applications - the refund amount is the difference between the fast track or premium fee and the standard paper postal application fee

• Digital Premium applications are online applications – the refund amount is the difference between the Digital Premium fee and the standard online application fee

To authorise a refund claim when HM Passport Office failed to meet the service level guarantee, an executive officer or above must:

1. Make sure the copy data extract attached to the refund claim form shows the application reference number of the application to be refunded (shown on the claim form). The data extract displays all applications where HM Passport Office failed to meet the service level guarantee.

2. Confirm the payee details are correct, that the customer services officer has entered the correct refund amount and that they have completed the correct stock letter.

3. On AMS, perform a random 10% check of refund claims against the application passport notes in Main Index to make sure the customer services officers have processed and noted the claims correctly.

4. Authorise the claim by signing the claim form and send the stock letter to the customer.

5. Email the refund claims to the Debt and Refund team for processing at the end of the working day. The team will issue the refunds and keep the refund claims in line with our Data Retention policy, before destroying them.

Compassionate grounds

To authorise a refund on compassionate grounds, the executive officer or above must:

1. Confirm the payee details are correct, that the customer services officer has entered the correct amount, the customer’s circumstances meet the criteria and that the officer has completed the correct stock letter.

2. On AMS, perform a random 10% check of refund claims against the application passport notes in MI to make sure the customer services officers have noted these details correctly. Authorise the claim by signing the claim form and send the stock letter and the original versions of the supporting evidence to the customer.

3. Email the refund claims to the Debt and Refund team for processing at the end of the working day. They will issue the refunds and will keep the refund claims for 6 years, in line with our data retention policy, before destroying them.

AMS: refunding duplicate applications at the counter

When a customer has submitted and paid for a duplicate Fast Track or Digital Premium Service (DPS) application in error – counter examiners must deal with the application in line with the duplication applications guidance.

AMS: dummy refunds

Examiners may need to set up a dummy refund on AMS to process an application with an overpayment.

To set up a dummy refund:

1. Make sure the refund is set up with ‘dummy’ in the name and address fields on AMS.

2. Record a case note saying you have entered a dummy refund to process the overpayment. (This is to prevent the local finance section from sending out a payable order by mistake.)

Non-payment and underpayment of passport fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to deal with applications when the customer’s bank does not clear the fee payment, when we change our fees after the application was sent in, when the passport is found to be faulty, and when the customer turns 16 years old during the application process.

Customers will apply and pay the passport fee for the service they need. However, on occasion there may be instances, beyond their control, which means the fee they paid is incorrect. HM Passport makes provision for these.

When fees do not clear

When passport fees do not clear and a passport has already been issued, HM Passport Office can cancel the passport.

We will not issue another passport until the original passport application fee has been paid. The Debt and Refund team will deal with these cases.

Fee changes

When HM Passport Office changes our fees, we may allow customers to apply with the old fee for a period of time (known as a grace period). The grace period may differ for UK and overseas applications and by channel and service type.

Reported faulty passports

We will issue a gratis passport up to remaining validity of the old one; if it is clear the faulty passport has not been damaged by the customer (see how to deal with faulty passports and how to check damaged passports).

Customers must pay a full fee for their replacement passport if it is clear that is has been damaged by them (see how to check damaged passports).

When the customer turns 16 mid-application

A customer must pay the balance of fees between a child and adult passport when:

• they turn 16 while their application is with HM Passport Office (as they will be issued with an adult passport)

• they are due to turn 16 within 3 weeks and choose to have their application delayed by HM Passport Office so they can be issued with an adult passport (if they apply online, they will be asked to pay the adult fee)

See Customer turns 16 during the examination process.

AMS: how to deal with non-payment and underpayment of fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to deal with applications where the fee does not match with the fee we need if you are processing on AMS (Application Management System).

If the fees for an application do not balance, AMS will generate one of these warnings:

• underpayment

• no payment

• overpayment

• unacceptable payment

Examiners do not need to case note when clearing these warnings, as the system will show whether they have dealt with them.

If the customer has underpaid, the examiner needs to contact them. See How we communicate with customers.

If HM Passport Office receives an overseas application with a UK fee (meaning there is an underpayment) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) will pass the application to the examining team to seek the balance of the fee.

When the customer service officer passes an application for issue after interview, AMS automatically runs final checks, including a fee check. If finance has placed a stop on the application because the fee has not cleared, the system automatically returns the application to the Application Processing Centre (APC).

When finance has lifted the fee stop, the examiner will pass the application for issue without further interview.

Foreign cheques

We cannot accept foreign cheques that do not have a UK bank address. If we get one, Sopra Steria will treat it as an unacceptable payment. You must:

1. Send the customer AMS letter 421 to tell them how they can pay for their application.

2. Store the application while you wait for the customer to send us their payment. Customers usually make their payment through Teleperformance but if they send it directly to you, you must arrange for it to be cashiered on to AMS.

3. Write ‘cancelled’ through the cheque and return it to the customer with their supporting documents (unless they told you to destroy it).

If a customer told you to destroy the cheque, as long as it’s not a banker’s draft, you must:

1. Cut the cheque in to several pieces and put them in to confidential waste.

2. Add a case note to explain you securely destroyed the cheque and put it in to confidential waste.

If it’s a banker’s draft, you must return it to the customer (as they’ll need to prove to their bank it has not been cashed).

When Finance have issued a fee stop

When passport fees do not clear (for example, the customer has cancelled the credit card charge or the cheque bounces) and the application is live, the Debt and Refund team will enter an alert and case note on the Application Management System (AMS) to confirm we have put a stop on the application. However, the fees screen in AMS will still look as though the payment was successful.

Examiners must ‘pigeonhole’ the application (put it on hold), not pursue the fee.

The Debt and Refund team will contact the customer for payment and update the application accordingly.

Customer sends a cheque to pay outstanding fees

If you, the examiner, receive a cheque to pay the outstanding fees of an application with a finance alert (fee stop) on it, you must:

1. Add a case note to the application, to show:

• how much money the cheque was for

• you have sent the cheque to the Debt and Refund team (DRT)

2. Complete a finance amendment form (EXFIN01) and send the form and the cheque by bag to the DRT at Durham.

3. Continue to pigeonhole the application until the DRT process the cheque and update the application accordingly.

When the DRT has banked the cheque and removed the finance stop, you can continue to deal with the application in line with guidance.

If you receive an extra payment for an application that does not have a finance alert on it, you must follow When a customer sends an extra fee payment.

Post Office Digital Check & Send applications

When passport fees for live Digital Check & Send applications do not clear (for example, the customer’s card is declined), the Post Office Ltd (POL) will contact HM Passport Office Post Office issues team who will:

1. Transfer the application to AMS if it is live on DAP.

2. Add a case note onto the application on AMS stating a stop is in place until we receive payment.

3. Create an alert.

You (the examiner) must ‘pigeonhole’ the application until the Post Office issues team add a new alert stating the stop is now removed and POL confirm customer payment is taken.

If a customer contacts us to say their payment was successful at the Post Office but there is a Post Office issues team stop on their application, you must:

1. Confirm the customer has their POL payment receipt, given to them at the local Post Office branch where they made the application.

2. Ask the customer to send us their POL payment receipt (if the customer does not have the receipt you must refer to Post Office issues inbox who will confirm next steps).

3. Email a scan of the customer POL payment receipt, with their details and an explanation, to the Post Office issues inbox.

4. Add a case note to confirm the customer has provided payment confirmation and you have forwarded to the Post Office issues inbox.

5. Proceed with the customer’s application.

If the customer sends us a cheque to pay the outstanding fees on a POL application with an alert on it, you must:

1. Add a case note to the application, to show:

• how much the cheque was made out for

• the cheque is being sent to the Debt and Refund team (DRT)

2. Complete a finance amendment form (EXFIN01) and send the form and the cheque to the DRT by bag at Durham.

3. Continue to pigeonhole the application until the DRT process the cheque and update the application accordingly.

When the DRT has banked the cheque and updated the application, you can continue to deal with the application in line with guidance.

When a customer sends an extra fee payment

If the customer sends an extra payment to HM Passport Office, and finance have not issued a stop on the application, the examiner must send it to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to be cashiered on to the application (see Submitting an Examiner Return to BPO):

1. If the payment is held on the suspense account, note that on the BPO ‘Manual Examiner Return’ form.

2. Case note that the payment needs to be reallocated to the application.

3. When the application returns from BPO, check the additional payment appears on the ‘Fees’ tab.

4. Select the rescan/payment link. The system will automatically generate a case note confirming: ‘This application was returned to BPO for rescan/payment at (time) on (date).’

For partner applications, you must forward payment to your local operational support teams (examiners in Durham must send payment to their onsite Financial Reporting team).

Where the application is no longer live on the system, you must phone the customer to confirm that you will be returning the payment as they no longer have a live passport application. You must:

• advise them to resubmit an application if they still want a passport

• return the payment by:

  • post, if the customer has sent a cheque, bankers draft or postal order

  • taking it to your local operational support teams for return (examiners in Durham must take cash to their onsite Financial Reporting team), if the customer has sent cash

Never record or transmit debit or credit card numbers in full on AMS or admin IT.

Payment received by Teleperformance

When the customer contacts TP:

1. TP takes the extra fee payment from the customer and processes it through DataCash.

2. TP places these payments directly into the HM Passport Office bank account assigned to each Application Processing Centre (APC).

3. TP sends a report to Glasgow Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) showing what payments the customer has made.

4. Glasgow BPO then generates a ‘TEB Inquiry’ form and sends it electronically to the BPO in the APC that has the application.

5. Glasgow BPO emails the report to the relevant BPO in each APC showing which payments have been made.

6. If the application is in the BPO’s query handling section, the section will print off one copy of the ‘TEB Inquiry’ form and cashier the additional payment to the relevant application on AMS. The BPO then passes the application to HM Passport Office.

7. If the application is with HM Passport Office, BPO prints 2 copies of the ‘TEB Inquiry’ form and cashiers the additional payment to the relevant application on AMS.

8. BPO sends one copy of the form to HM Passport Office, so the examiner knows payment has been made and is showing on AMS, and another copy to the appropriate Debt and Refund team.

DAP: how to deal with non-payment and underpayment of fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to deal with applications where the fee does not match with the fee we need if you are processing on DAP (Digital Application Processing).

Customers who apply using Digital Customer Services (DCS) pay the correct fee online for the service they choose. The fee on DAP (Digital Application Processing) for online applications will be correct.

Customers can also submit paper applications which we will process on DAP. These applications:

• may have a fee underpayment, or no fee paid

• can only be paid for by cheque, postal order or completed payment mandate

• cannot be paid over the phone by credit or debit card

You do not need to check the customer’s fee on DAP unless the system generates a task for you to deal with.

How DAP deals with fee queries

DAP will automatically contact the customer and ask for the correct fee if they have not paid or have underpaid. DAP will not put any application (or associated applications) through to the examination queue until the customer replies to the DAP letter and makes a payment.

If the customer:

• did not make the initial payment DAP will:

  • automatically withdraw the application after 90 days, if no payment is made

• underpaid on their application DAP will:

  • allow the customer 42 days to make an additional payment

  • withdraw the application after 42 days if no additional payment is made

• replies to the DAP letter and makes a payment, DAP will

  • not send an automatic notification to the customer to confirm we have received their additional payment

  • move the application into the examination queue

  • generate a Payment incomplete task

DAP fee queries: dealing with customer contact

The DAP timeline does not show the reason why there is an underpayment. The Contact Centre will transfer the call to the Customer Service Management team (CSMT) to investigate if the customer has a query about fees for an application on DAP.

We do not take payment for DAP applications by phone. Customers must follow the instructions in their letter and send their payment to the Document Handling Unit (DHU).

You (the CSMT agent) must:

• tell the customer you cannot take the payment by phone if there has been an underpayment or a failed payment, they must pay using the instructions on the letter

• transfer the DAP application to the Application Management System (AMS), if we have sent the customer a letter that confirms their next application is free of charge

• transfer the application to AMS if the customer wants to pay extra to add a service to their application (for example, they want to add secure delivery)

• check the scan of the customer’s application on DAP if they tell us the fee is incorrect because we made an error, for example, DAP shows the customer wants a frequent traveller passport but this is incorrect; if there is a scanning error you must:

  • email the DAP Change release team, including the application number, the customer’s name, and a summary of the problem: and

  • select the Progress option on screen and case note your actions

If there has been a scanning error, the DAP Change release team will fix this error (which will correct the fee) and put the application into the examination queue.

DAP paper: how to deal with the Payment incomplete task

When you see the Payment incomplete task, you must:

1. Check the Payments and fees tab to see what payment is needed and what the customer still needs to pay (the balance).

2. Call the customer and check why they have been making small underpayments. You must then consider if their response means they may be vulnerable (for example, they may be making small payments whilst suffering from domestic abuse).

3. Check the scan of the customer’s application on DAP if they tell us the fee is incorrect because we made an error, for example, DAP shows the customer wants a frequent traveller passport but this is incorrect. You must email the DAP Change release team to get any error fixed.

4. Decide how to process the task, whether you must:

• Ask for full payment

• Withdraw the application

• Delay the decision on this task

• Refer for investigation

5. Select the task option to record your decision.

6. Add a case note to show your actions and decisions you made.

7. Select Save to complete the task.

If you select, Ask for full payment DAP will send an automated message to the customer to pay the fee. The message will explain why their payment was not successful, the application cost and the amount they must pay. When they make an additional payment, DAP will:

• return the application into the examination queue if the fees still do not balance (and you must complete the steps again)

• automatically clear the task and return the application to the examination queue if the customer pays in full

If the customer does not respond, DAP will automatically follow the withdrawal process.

How to deal with customer fee queries

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to deal with customer queries about fee payment variations and failed payments.

The customer may contact HM Passport Office to query a fee payment, for example they may ask:

• why more (or less) money was taken

• about a payment which has not been cleared by their bank

Fee variation

If the customer asks why HM Passport Office has taken a different amount of money from the amount the customer entered on the mandate, explain that the amount is correct for the service type.

The mandate states that we will automatically take the correct amount for the service type rather than contacting the customer in each case.

Email the Customer Service Management team with all other customer queries.

Questions about failed payments

When HM Passport Office has issued a passport and then discovered that the fee payment has been refused, the Debt and Refund team will investigate.

How to process collective passport fees

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff working on the Collectives team how to process fees for collective passports

Customers address collective passport applications to the Collectives team, along with their fee.

1. The collective examiner must add the details of the payment from the customer to the ‘Daily Fee Schedule’.

2. The Collectives team leader must check the details of the payment and authorise the schedule.

3. The examiner must then pass the form and payment to the Financial Reporting Team, based in Durham, who will cashier the payment.

4. If the payment does not clear, the Financial Reporting team will tell the Collectives team.

5. The Collectives team will contact the customer to get the payment.

6. The collective passport examiner must record that HM Passport Office has received the fee when creating the collective passport application on the Home Office Correspondence System. The payment is not cashiered on to the collective’s database.

Other HM Passport Office fees

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about other fees charged for services we provide.

HM Passport Office will pay for:

• interpreter costs for identity interviews

• the difference between current and former UK naturalisation or registration fees if we issued a passport to a customer in error and they now have to either:

  • apply for naturalisation

  • register to regularise their status with UK Visas and Immigration

• the registration of children as British citizens where they meet the discretionary registration criteria in line with Failure to complete checks under the Workers Registration Scheme policy

HM Passport Office will not pay for:

• costs associated with DNA testing (except for sending DNA kits to the agreed test centres)

There is no charge for Freedom of Information requests (see Disclosure of information for customer service managers).

Partner Check & Send service

Post Office Ltd provide various Check & Send services to customers in the UK who want to apply for a British passport.

Post Office Check & Send paper applications

If customers apply by post, they can use the Post Office Check & Send service. The service checks if the customer has:

• filled in the right sections of the form

• the correct supporting documents

• paid the right fee

Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet) Service

Customers can use the Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet) service to apply for their passport online. The service lets the customer correctly complete a digital application, upload a photo and send it to us electronically. The Post Office will also send supporting documents to us.

Partner Check & Send fees

Post Office Ltd charges a fee for their Check & Send service, in addition to the passport application fee. The customer makes one payment which includes both the passport application and the Partner Check & Send fee. (See HM Passport Office partner fees.) Customers born on or before 2 September 1929 do not have to pay the Check & Send fee.

Subject access requests

HM Passport Office will not normally charge a fee for subject access requests (SARs) - see Other HM Passport Office fees. We might charge customers a reasonable fee (on a case by case basis) for example, if the SAR is excessive to deal with. (See more about disclosure of information)

How to deal with subject access requests

Regional counters and customer service offices are not equipped to process payments for subject access requests (SARs). If the customer has been asked to pay for the SAR, they must ask the customer to post their SAR (with a cheque or postal order for the fee made payable to ‘His Majesty’s Passport Office’) directly to the Disclosures team at:

Disclosure of Information section
Searching team
HM Passport Office
Quay House
2 East Station Road
Peterborough
PE2 8YY

Current passport fees

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the cost of every service we provide.

The fees we charge for passport applications are available on GOV.UK. In this section we have shown the fees based on where the customer applies from and what service type they need.

UK applications

Passport type	Postal	Online	Digital Premium Service	Fast Track	Fast Track
Collect**
Adult (16 and over) standard	£100.00	£88.50	£207.50*	£166.50**	£190.00**
Adult or veteran Frequent Traveller Passport	£112.00	£100.50	£219.50*	£178.50**	£202.00**
Child (under 16) standard	£69.00	£57.50	£176.50	£135.50	£159.00
Child Frequent Traveller Passport	£81.00	£69.50	£188.50	£147.50	£171.00
Veteran standard	£0.00	£0.00	£119.00	£78.00	£101.50
Diplomatic, official or dependant***	£88.50	-	-	-	-
Diplomat and official child	£57.50	-	-	-	-
HM forces standard – adult or dependant***	£100.00	-	-	-	-
HM forces standard child	£69.00	-	-	-	-
HM forces Frequent Traveller Passport – adult or dependant***	£112.00	-	-	-	-
HM forces Frequent Traveller Passport child	£81.00	-	-	-	-
Collective passports	£39.00	-	-	-	-
Collective passport - collect from office	£54.00

* not available for first time adult applications or applications for replacement passport

** not available for first time adult applications

*** ‘dependant’ means a husband, wife, civil partner, son, daughter, father, mother, grandson, granddaughter, grandfather or grandmother, who is over the age of 16 and is financially dependent upon the diplomat or official at the time the application is made

**** Fast Track Collect is only available at the discretion of HM Passport Office counter staff in exceptional circumstances

UK delivery fees

Service	Fee
Returning supporting documents by secure delivery	£5.00

Overseas applications

Service type	Postal	Online	Digital Premium Service	Fast Track
Adult (16 and over) standard	£112.50	£101.00	*	*
Adult or veteran Frequent Traveller Passport	£124.50	£113.00	*	*
Child (under 16) standard	£77.00	£65.50	*	*
Child Frequent Traveller Passport	£89.00	£77.50	*	*
Veteran standard	£0.00	£0.00	*	*

* Overseas applications are normally ineligible for counter services, but there are exceptions – see Tiered Application Service: the service levels we provide, Premium service

Overseas delivery fees

Delivery fees are higher for overseas passport applications because it is usually more expensive to deliver passports and supporting documents overseas. The fees cover:

• delivery of the passport

• secure delivery of documents between Local Services and the UK

• return of supporting documents to the customer by DHL

(All figures in pounds sterling)

Service type	Delivery of passport to customer from UK to address as specified	Return of supporting documents to customer from HMPO in UK (where applicable*)
Standard DHL delivery to overseas address	£9.70	£10.16
Diplomatic bag delivery overseas (where required in some countries for security reasons)	£11.41**	£10.16
British Forces Post Office (BFPO) delivery (for applications from the armed forces overseas processed via unit)	£0.00	£0.00
Delivery to diplomats and officials at a BFPO or UK address	£0.00	£0.00
Delivery to diplomats and officials at UK embassy, high commission or consulate overseas by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Services (FCDOS)***	£11.41	£10.16
Delivery to a UK address where the customer has applied overseas	£5	£0.00
Veteran passport	£0.00	£0.00

* The Local Service will not always send original documents to the UK, so a return fee is not always necessary

** Using secure delivery to send supporting documents to a UK address is optional. The UK fee of £5 applies for this service

*** If the passport is:

• sent to the customer’s personal address overseas, the standard £9.70 fee applies

• delivered to an embassy, high commission or consulate through the BFPO, the £5.00 delivery fee applies

Forwarding fees

A fee of £13.31 applies when Local Services forward applications to HM Passport Office.

HM Passport Office partner fees

Service	Fee
Post Office Check & Send	£16.00
Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet)	£16.00

Overseas territories passport fees

The passport fees for each of the Overseas territories can be found on their own government website.

Overseas territory	Fees website
Bermuda	Bermuda passport fees
British Virgin Islands	British Virgin Islands passport fees
Cayman Islands	Cayman Islands passport fees
Monserrat	Monserrat passport fees
St Helena	St Helena passport fees
Anguilla	Anguilla passport fees
Turks and Caicos	Turks and Caicos passport fees
Gibraltar	Gibraltar passport fees
Ascension Islands	Ascension Islands passport fees (St Helena government website)
Falkland Islands	Falkland Islands passport fees
Tristan de Cunha	Tristan de Cunha passport fees (St Helena government website)

Channel Island and Isle of Man passport fees

The passport fees for the Chanel Islands and Isle of Man can be found on their own government website.

Place	Fees website
Isle of Man	Isle of Man passport fees
Jersey	Jersey passport fees
Guernsey	Guernsey passport fees

Other HM Passport Office fees

Service	Fee
Subject Access Request	£0