Guidance

Authorisation and consent: checking evidence and recording decisions (accessible)

Published 8 January 2024

Version 1.0

This guidance is for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff, it tells them how to check if authorisation and consent is genuine and what they must record in case notes when the intended passport holder has not consented to the application.

About Authorisation and consent: checking evidence and recording decisions

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff:

• how to check authorisation and consent is genuine

• what they must record in case notes when the intended passport holder has not consented to the application (for example, when a parent, guardian or third party consents to an application)

• what document scanned images we must keep as a permanent record

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 the 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 1.0

• published for Home Office staff on 20 November 2023

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been reformatted and:

• more information about what must be case noted when confirming consent

• an extra example added to demonstrate what a case note could include

How to check if authorisation and consent is genuine

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how we check official authorisation and consent is genuine

The customer must send in documents and information to confirm the intended passport holder’s identity and claim to British nationality, and they have the authority to consent to the application.

You, the examiner, must check the documents to prove the customer has the authority to apply on behalf of the intended passport holder. HM Passport Office may ask for extra documents or additional consent to prove a parent or third party can agree to a passport application for the intended passport holder.

You, the examiner, will use Main Index (MI), Knowledge Base and contact the document issuing organisation (if necessary) to confirm the document and consent is genuine.

Checking official authorisation is genuine

Some passport applications need official authorisation from another organisation or government department.

You must check the official authorisation has come from the correct person or department. If you believe the authorisation is not genuine, you must:

1. Check external reference sources (such as 192.com) to get a phone number or address for the organisation.

2. Contact the organisation and check they have given their authorisation.

You must case note the checks you made and the outcome.

You must refer the application to the Counter Fraud team (CFT) if:

• you cannot confirm the authorisation

• the organisation tells you official authorisation has not been given

Checking consent is genuine

You must check the identity of the person consenting to the application or reporting the passport lost or stolen or no longer needed, if:

• you need additional consent, for example, when:

  • the person applying for the passport does not hold parental responsibility (PR)

  • everyone with PR is required to give their consent and it was not provided when the application was submitted

  • a child’s replacement passport application needs the consent of the person who originally applied to cancel the child’s lost or stolen passport (if the passport is not already cancelled)

  • a child’s passport is declared lost or stolen and the person who originally applied is unavailable (for example, their whereabouts are unknown) to confirm the loss

  • there is a caveat attached to the application

  • there is a dispute between parents about who should hold the passport

• the consent is from a third party representative (for example, friend, carer, social services or solicitors)

• you have fraud concerns about the consent given on the application or supporting documents

• the additional consent is for a collective passport

To check the third party representative or additional consent is genuine for these case types you must:

1. Look at the documents and information provided and link them to the intended passport holder.

2. Check their signature is genuine by comparing it to their signature in our Main Index records.

3. Ask them for more evidence (if it is needed) to:

   • confirm the signature and consent is genuine (when we have no signature on record)

   • prove a link to the intended passport holder (for example, by asking for the intended passport holder’s or customer’s birth certificate to prove a family link)

4. Make a case note recording the results of your investigation on the application.

Case noting consent: recording your decisions

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what they must record in case notes when the intended passport holder has not consented to the application.

You must case note who gave consent (and if needed, who gave additional consent) to the passport application if consent did not come direct from the person named on the passport (the intended passport holder). This means you must case note who consented to the passport application for all child applications and any adult application sent in by a third party.

You must case note:

• what evidence you saw to confirm they were eligible to give their consent (or additional consent) and the person’s:

  • full name

  • relationship to the intended passport holder

  • address (for example their business address or home address if you are made aware, they live at a different address than the intended passport holder)

• how you confirmed the person who consented has the right to do so, and include extra information where necessary depending on how you established their right to give consent (for example, how you confirmed they have parental responsibility)

Recording decisions example 1

Where a father has consented to a renewal passport application you must case note:

• his full name

• father

• his address (if you are aware, he lives at a different address to the one given on the application)

• “PR confirmed, case notes on previous application show father named on FBC”

Recording decisions example 2

Where a mother has consented to a renewal passport application you must case note:

• her full name

• mother

• her address (if you are aware, she lives at a different address to the one given on the application)

• “PR confirmed, mothers details match previous application”

Recording decisions example 3

Where a carer completes a passport application you must case note:

• their full name

• their occupation (title)

• their work address

• “confirmed using letter from Dr …. which shows the intended passport holder is unable to complete online application”

Scanning the documents

You must scan (as a permanent record) a copy of any additional evidence you receive to provide consent or authorisation for a passport. For example, a letter of consent from a parent, a court order, statutory declaration or letters from social services or a responsible adult.

We will destroy letters addressed to HM Passport Office, but we will return letters if it is difficult or impossible for the parent to obtain the consent again. We will send a copy of the scanned letter to the parent or guardian (if they ask for it) if we have already destroyed the original.

We will return all correspondence from third parties addressed to the customer or another third party.