51²è¹Ý

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how customers can apply for a passport using Local Services.

About: Local Services: how a customer applies

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office operational staff about Local Services and explains who can apply using a Local Service, how customers can apply and what they must tell us, what documents customers need to bring to the Local Services office and how we will return them.

A Local Service office acts on our behalf overseas to safely deliver passports and documents to and from HM Passport Office. A Local Service office can be a:

• visa application centre (VAC)

• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) post overseas

• local government office

51²è¹Ý tells international customers how they must apply, including whether they must use a Local Service. You (the examiner) must follow guidance in the International Booklet.

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 ModernisedGuidanceTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk

Publication

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

• version 15.0

• published for Home Office staff on 18 June 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated:

• with minor formatting changes

• ready for processing Local Services applications on DAP (Digital Application Processing)

• to remove reference to commercial supplier, TLS Contact

• to include processing Local Services applications on DAP (Digital Application Processing)

• to tell Customer Service Management team staff the Local Service report they send must show the column to tell the Local Service if there are any supporting documents to be returned

• with terminology changes in relation to international customers

• to remove references to Application Management System (AMS)

Local Services: who can apply

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about Local Services and explains how customers apply, who can apply and how to choose the correct service type.

VFS Global (commercial supplier), some Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Offices (FCDO) and some local government offices provide international Local Services. Local Services staff are not passport examiners. They follow a checklist that we provide to check the customer’s application is completed correctly.

The main purpose of Local Services is to make sure there is a safe delivery of documents and passports both to and from HM Passport Office.

There are 2 types of Local Services available. They are called:

• full Local Services

• partial Local Services

Some customers must apply for their passport through Local Service posts, for example, when the country they apply from has:

• limited internet access

• currency issues

• laws that stop customers taking original documents across borders

• restrictions that stop customers paying for services by credit card

• security restrictions that stop customers from sending us a passport application

• laws that require the customer to keep their identity documents

Some international customers may apply by post with a paper form, but we will return their passport and documents to a Local Services office.

Full Local Services

This is when the Local Service submits the customer’s application, and we send the new passport to the Local Service. The customer must collect their passport and supporting documents from the Local Services office.

Partial Local Services

This is when the customer applies directly to us, but we return the passport and supporting documents to the Local Services office for the customer to collect.

Who can apply using Local Services

Customers who have British nationality and who must use Local Services can apply for any standard service type application (except online applications).

Local Services application process

Customers applying for a passport using a Local Service must:

1. Access 51²è¹Ý to:

• download their application form

• book an appointment to submit their application if needed (in some countries, the customer does not need to make an appointment)

2. Bring original supporting documents (with translations of any foreign documents) and colour photocopies to their appointment.

3. Show photo ID (for example, a passport or driving license) to apply in person at the Local Service office. If someone else is attending instead of the customer, they must show their photo ID when they arrive.

Customers who cannot book an appointment online must contact the Visa Application Centre (VAC) that deals with applications in that country.

Customers applying for a passport using a partial Local Service must access 51²è¹Ý to download an application form and follow the instructions about sending the application to HM Passport Office.

How the application (service) type is chosen

The customer will select the correct application (service) type in section 1 of the application form.

You, the examiner, must change the application (service) type, and case note the reason why, if the passport processing system or the customer choses the wrong one. For example, you must change the application type to ‘replacement’ if the customer’s passport has been lost or stolen and the customer has selected ‘renewal’ as the application type.

Local Services: how a customer applies

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how a customer completes a Local Services passport application.

The customer must give us their personal details by filling in section 2 of the paper form and provide their:

• full name

• maiden or previous name (if they have any)

• date of birth

• place of birth

• country of birth

• their gender (the sex marker shown on their passport)

Customer’s contact details

Customers must complete their address in section 2 of the application form. If the address is too long, the customer can write their full address, either on:

• section 8 of the paper form

• a separate piece of paper, which the customer must sign and date

The customer may provide us with a telephone number and email address on section 2 of the form but this is optional.

How the customer gives us their photo

Customers must provide 2 paper photos, including 1 countersigned (if needed) when they attend their appointment.

If a customer provides an alternative address

Customers may give us an alternative address, by confirming it either on:

• section 8 of the paper form

• a separate piece of paper which the customer must sign and date

Customers must provide evidence of their alternative address. Local Service staff will not check that the customer has provided acceptable alternative address evidence.

You, the examiner, must check that you can accept the evidence.

If a customer holds multiple British passports

Customers must tell us about any other British they hold. They will do this by filling in section 3 of the paper application form.

All customers must fill in section 3A, 3B and 3C (if needed).

If the customer wants to renew an additional passport, they must provide us with evidence to show why they need one (for example, a letter from their employer).

If the customer holds a foreign passport

Customers must tell us about any foreign passports they hold. They will do this by filling in section 3 of the paper application form.

All customers must fill in section 3A, 3B and 3C (if needed).

If a customer’s passport is lost or stolen

Customers must tell us about any British passports that are lost or stolen by completing section 3C. They must provide as much information as possible and confirm:

• the lost or stolen passport number

• where the passport was issued

• customer’s surname (at the time the passport was issued)

• first and middle names

• how the passport was lost or why it is not available

• date of loss

• place of loss

If a customer’s passport is damaged

If a passport has any damage, the customer must:

• select ‘replacement’ at section 1 of the application form

• write a reason for the damage (on section 8) of the application form or write the reason for the damage on a separate piece of paper and sign and date the letter

Customers may not realise there is any damage to their passport and so may not report it. You must check all British passports as part of the application for damage and follow current guidance.

When you need the details of a customer’s parents or grandparents

How the customer gives us their parent’s details

Customers must provide their parents’ details by filling in section 4 of the paper application form, when the intended passport holder is:

• under 16

• applying for their first adult passport

• applying to replace a passport that has been lost, stolen or damaged

How the customer gives us their grandparents’ details

Customer must provide their grandparents’ details by adding them to section 8 or on a separate piece of paper, when both their parents were born:

• on or after 1 January 1983

• outside the UK

If the customer has a naturalisation or registration certificate

If customers are applying for their first British passport and have become a British citizen through naturalisation or registration, they must give us their naturalisation or registration certificate details (on section 5) and include the documents.

How we capture signatures

Capturing a child’s signature (12-15 years)

The child (the intended passport holder) must sign the application (inside the box) on section 6 on the paper application form if they are 12 to 15 years old or will turn 12 within the next 3 weeks.

The customer (the person consenting to the application, for example, the child’s mother) must sign and date section 9.

How we capture the customer’s signature

The customer must sign and date the paper application form in section 9.

How the customer declares their information is correct

The customer must declare that the information about the intended passport holder is correct. They will do this by signing and dating the paper form (section 9) that lists what they are declaring. The signature on receipt must be dated within the last 6 months.

You must reject the declaration and send the customer a new form to complete where the application:

• is not signed, dated or both

• was signed and dated more than 6 months ago

Referees

When applying through a Local Service office, customers can only provide a paper referee (countersignatory). It is not possible to provide a digital referee or paper referee (1 page form) on a Local Services application.

How and when a paper referee (countersignatory) is needed

The customer will need a paper referee (countersignatory) if they are applying:

• for their first British passport

• to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged passport

• to renew a child passport (if the child is 11 or younger)

• to renew a passport (adult or child, 12 to 15 years old) if they cannot be recognised from the photo in their current passport

How customers and paper referees (countersignatories) give us additional information

Additional information from the customer

Customer must tell us any additional information (if they have any) at section 8 of the paper form or on a separate piece of paper.

If the customer provides information on a separate piece of paper, they must sign and date the paper.

Additional information from the paper referee (countersignatory)

The paper form does not ask for the paper referee (countersignatory) to provide additional information. The paper referee (countersignatory) may provide information on a separate piece of paper that they must sign and date.

How Local Services check the application

This section explains how the Local Service checks the application before sending it to HM Passport Office.

Local Service staff must check all applications made through a full Local Service to make sure:

• the photocopied documents are a true likeness of the original and stamp and sign the colour photocopies to confirm this

• the payment mandate includes the correct fee and a signature (the mandate will be cashiered when the application is received)

  • occasionally, customers from some countries must pay cash at the Local Services office
• photos are included and meet standards
• parents who live in a different country to their child must complete the parent contact details form

Local Services staff (who work for our commercial supplier) will then complete the document receipt template, which includes the customer’s reference number, and:

1. Keep 1 copy of the receipt.

2. Give a copy to the customer.

3. Include a copy with the documents sent to HM Passport Office.

4. Complete the reconciliation log.

If the Local Service is provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) or a local government office, they do not complete (or send to us) the document receipt template.

How Local Services send applications and documents

This section explains how the Local Service send applications and documents to HM Passport Office.

Local Services will send an application pack addressed to HM Passport Office and include:

• the application form

• the fee mandate

• colour photocopies of supporting documents

• a document receipt (if the Local Service is provided by a commercial supplier)

• photos

Local Services will:

• send the application by the agreed secure delivery method (for example, DHL or diplomatic bag)

• label DHL envelopes, assign track and trace numbers, arrange DHL manifest and collection (where required)

For applications processed on DAP (Digital Application Processing), the application will be handled by the Document Handling Unit (DHU), who will record, scan, and store the application form and documents.

DAP: how we return the customer’s passport and supporting documents

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to return the customer’s passport and documents if they are processing on DAP (Digital Application Processing), and what the Local Service will do to arrange customer collection.

When we print a customer’s new passport, we will send it to the Local Services office.

You, the examiner, must refer to the International Local Services and submission route information to find the correct return address for the customer’s passport and supporting documents. On DAP (Digital Application Processing) you will see a Change delivery from applicant address to collection address task.

We must notify the Local Service when we are sending them any new passports or supporting documents so they know to expect them (and can query with us if they do not receive them).

Customer Service Management team (CSMT) will send these notifications to the Local Services. A copy of the Local Services passback report will be saved in the Local Service Passback report folder daily. To send the notifications to the Local Service at the end of processing CSMT must:

1. Open the Local Services Passback report.

2. Update the report so only some columns appear:

• Application Type

• Applicant Type

• Local Service address

• Name of applicant

• DOB of applicant

• Telephone number

• Email address

• Person who provided consent (if application is for a child)

• Relationship to HMPO applicant (if application is for a child)

• Decision: Passport issued, Refused, Withdrawn

• Supporting documents to be returned? Y or N

3. Filter the report by each Local Service location.

4. Email the filtered reports to the Local Service locations using the email addresses in the International booklet).

Local Services staff will:

• update Part 3 of the reconciliation log

• create a new record on the reconciliation log, by completing parts 1, 2 and 3 (if the passport is for collection only)

• contact the customer to arrange for them to collect their passport and supporting documents when they arrive

• cancel the customer’s previous passport (if they have one) when the customer comes to collect their passport and supporting documents