How to get an emergency passport from the UK

This article looks at what you need to do in order to get a passport at short notice in the United Kingdom.

Reasons for getting an emergency passport

Traveling within two weeks Urgent applications for passports in the UK are considered to be applications where you need your passport within two weeks. If you have over two weeks before you travel, then your passport application will not be considered to be urgent. If you do not need your passport within two weeks then you do not need to see the passport agency, you should just go to the Post Office and make use of their Check and Send service which speeds up the processing times because the post office staff can check your details first. Applying for a passport for general travel Many people use this service for stolen passports, lost passports or other replacement passport issues (such as last minute excessive damage, e.g. by fire or water damage). If you are applying for passport services for general travel, then you should stick to the usual deadlines and passport renewal times rather than go by an emergency route.

How to get an emergency passport

Important note Remember that you can only get an emergency application if you are planning on travelling within two weeks. For any other applications you must use the usual passport processes. Apply at a Regional Passport Office For an emergency passport application, you will need to apply in person at a Regional Passport Office. Choose an option You will have the option of either a same day service (Premium One-Day Service) or you can use their one week passport service (Fast Track One-Week Service). Make an appointment You will need to make an appointment to use this service. The demand to see personnel at these offices is very high and you should apply for an appointment as soon as you realise that you need the service. You are advised not to arrive more than ten minutes before your appointment in order to reduce queuing in the office. One week service The one week service is guaranteed to be delivered within one week if you provide all the information as required and if you are available to sign for the passport when it arrives. Please note that this service is not available for first adult passports. One day service The one day service guarantees your service on the same day but has time deadlines which vary by location. Check out the Direct.gov.uk passport pages in order to find out details of each office. This service is not available for all passports so again you must check that you qualify for the service.