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Guidance

Additional passports: caseworker guidance

Tells HM Passport Office staff about passport applications from customers in the UK and overseas who ask for additional (more than 1) passports.

Updates to this page

From:
HM Passport Office
Published:
18 March 2020
Last updated:
1 October 2026
Show all updates

  1. This guidance has been updated in the section How customers can apply for an additional passport, to tell examiners that a member of the Armed Forces can apply for a first-time additional passport at the counter, if they have an urgent government business travel need and in the section When we will issue an additional or overlap passport, to create a new section called Additional passports: exceptional circumstances.

  2. Updated to remove reference to AMS (Application Management Service), correct links throughout and make minor terminology changes.

  3. Guidance updated to tell Digital Application Processing (DAP) national queue examiners they must not contact the customer to request a colour copy of every page of the passport, if the application was submitted at the counters using a priority service. Removed guidance relating to the Application Management System (AMS).

  4. This guidance has been updated to tell DAP (Digital Application Processing) examiners how to process applications for additional passports and ‘overlap’ customers, remove the RTL (return to legacy) instruction if a DAP examiner needs to amend the passport validity, and tell examiners how to deal with an overlap of an additional passport.

  5. This guidance has been updated to tell examiners how to deal with applications for additional passports for HM government staff.

  6. Updated to the latest version of the guidance.

  7. Accessible version added.

  8. Guidance updated to include applications from customers working in the haulage industry or food preparation, supply or distribution sector.

  9. First published.

Documents

Additional passports

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Details

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to process passport applications from UK and international customers who need additional (or second) passports.

This includes additional passports, when the customer holds one or more passports for the full validity of the passport, and overlap passports, where the customer holds more than 1 passport for a limited time because of overlapping validity. We can issue either an additional or overlap passport based on customer circumstances when they:

  • need to get visas to travel on business
  • travel to incompatible countries (countries with political differences which may prevent travel between them)
  • are a frequent traveller

An additional passport holder is a customer who holds (or is applying to hold) more than one passport of the same type. It does not apply to customers who are eligible to hold single passports of 2 different types, such as:

  • passports in 2 different British nationalities
  • one diplomatic or official passport and one personal passport

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