Guidance

Digital Check & Send (tablet) service: how a customer applies

Published 5 August 2025

Version 11.0

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how customers can apply for a passport online using the Post Office’s Digital Check & Send (tablet) service

About: Digital Check & Send (tablet) service: how a customer applies

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office operational staff about the Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet) service.

This guidance is about the Digital Check & Send (tablet service and explains:

• who can use it
• the application process for customers that:
  • need to provide a digital referee
  • do not need to provide a digital referee
• how the Post Office will send us documents

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 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 Guidance team.

Publication

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

• version 11.0
• published for Home Office staff on 31 July 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to remove references to Application Management System (AMS).

Who can apply for the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet) service. It explains what the service is, who can apply and what checks the Post Office does before offering the service.

The Digital Check & Send (tablet) service:

• is provided by some Post Offices in the UK
• allows customers to apply for their passport online
• costs the extra Post Office checking fee

The Post Office will offer a Welsh Digital Check & Send (tablet) service in Wales. If the Post Office clerk can speak Welsh, they will input the customer’s details, if the clerk cannot speak Welsh, the customer will be asked to input the details themselves.

If a customer asks about the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service, the Post Office clerk will log in to their system and confirm:

• if the customer can use the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service
• if the customer needs to provide a digital referee
• if the customer will need to print anything out at home
• what documents the customer will need to provide

If the customer is eligible for the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service, the Post Office clerk will:

• explain the application process
• tell them what information and documents they need for the application
• proceed with the Check & Send (tablet) service if the customer has all the documents and information required

If a customer cannot or does not want to use this service, the Post Office will offer their paper application (Check & Send) service.

Who can apply online using Digital Check & Send (tablet)

Most customers who live in the UK and have an email address, can use the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service. Customers not able to use this service are those who have a UK email address but:

• need a faster service (for example, a Premium or Fast Track service)
• want to apply for a collective passport
• want to apply for a Diplomatic or Official passport
• are applying as part of a group of His Majesty’s Armed Forces applications
• are applying from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
• want an additional passport

The Digital Check & Send (tablet) service is not available to international customers (see: How to decide if an application is a UK or international submission).

Application process for Digital Check & Send (tablet) service

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the application process for Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications.

If a Post Office clerk agrees to offer a Digital Check & Send (tablet) service, they will follow an agreed process. There are 2 steps to this, depending on if the customer needs to provide a referee or not.

If the customer does not need a referee

If the Post office clerk offers the customer a Digital Check & Send (tablet) service and they do not need a referee, the clerk, will:

1. Take the customer to a quiet area to complete the applications.

2. Start the application using a mobile computer (tablet).

3. Take a digital photo of the customer or upload a photo taken in a photo booth.

4. Enter the customer’s information and process the application online through Digital Customer Services (DCS).

5. Pass the tablet to the customer so they can:

   • check the information is correct
   • confirm they have read and agreed to the declaration

6. Take customer payment details and process the payment (this is a single transaction for both the passport application and Check & Send fee)

7. Give the customer a receipt for their application. This will include their application tracking reference (PEX ID). DCS will email the PEX ID to the customer.

8. Place a duplicate receipt and supporting documents (if there are any) in a pre-addressed Passport Office Special Delivery envelope (see: How the Post Office send documents to us guidance).

9. Explain the next steps of the application to the customer. For example, how:

   • their supporting documents will be sent to us
   • they can track their application

If the customer needs a referee

Customers can nominate a referee either online (digital referee) or using a paper form (paper referee (1 page form)). If a customer wants to provide a referee using a paper form, the Post Office will support the customer through the process. See: Paper referee (1 page form) process guidance.

Online digital referee process

If the customer needs a referee and they are happy to provide the details online (digital referee), the Post Office clerk will:

1. Follow steps 1 to 7 above.

2. Log in to the customer’s passport applications account.

3. Click Application tracker and enter the digital referee’s details.

4. Tell the customer they must leave and wait for an email notification telling them their digital referee has confirmed their identity.

5. Tells the customer (when they receive this notification) to return the Post Office to send us their supporting documents.

If a customer needs a new digital referee

DCS will send the customer email notifications, if the digital referee has:

• successfully completed their part of the process
• been rejected and they need to nominate a new digital referee
• not replied

Customers must nominate a new digital referee, if we reject their previous one or they do not reply. Customers can nominate a new digital referee, by either:

• logging on to their application tracking page and nominating a new digital referee themselves
• going back to the Post Office and nominating a new digital referee with the help of a Post Office clerk

Sending supporting documents when there is a digital referee

The Post Office will recommend the customer returns to the Post Office with their supporting documents after the digital referee has confirmed the customer’s identity. However, if the customer has brought their documents with them when they initially apply, the Post Office will send these to HM Passport Office immediately.

HM Passport Office will send the customer an email when the digital referee confirms their identity; the email will tell the customer where to send their supporting documents. They can choose to:

• return to the Post Office, to complete the process, and have their documents returned using Royal Mail Special Delivery (this is included in the Post Office fee)
• send the documents direct to HM Passport Office (at additional cost)

Paper referee (1 page form) process

If a customer wants to provide a referee using a paper 1 page form, they must be able to print the paper referee form themselves. The Post Office cannot do this on their behalf.

If a customer cannot print the paper referee form, the Post Office clerk will ask them to use the paper Post Office Check & Send service instead.

If the customer needs a referee and they want to use the paper referee (1 page form) process, the Post Office clerk will:

1. Follow steps 1 to 7 above.
2. Launch the customers Application tracker.
3. Select the option to print digital referee, to allow the customer to print the form at home.

The customer must then:

1. Print the paper referee 1 form at home.

2. Ask their referee to complete the paper referee 1 page form.

3. Take the completed form and supporting documents to the Post Office so they can send them securely to us or post them directly.

What the Post Office must do after the customer has left

After the customer has left the Post office, the clerk must do the following before they use the tablet again:

• delete the previous customer’s photo from the tablet
• remove personal information from the tablet
• disinfect the tablet ready for the next customer

Tracking their application

After the customer has applied using Digital Check & Send (tablet) service, they will be able to track their application. They will receive a Post Office receipt and email confirmation, both will have a link to their tracking page. The Post Office receipt and the email we send to the customer, will include their application reference number.

Customer notifications

Customers will receive the DCS notifications, by email or text message.

We will not send the day 1 notification, telling them to send us their documents, as we expect most customers will give their documents to the Post Office when they apply.

If the customer must provide a referee as part of the application process, they will receive DCS notifications until they provide one.

When the customer has submitted their referee’s details, the tracking page will update to tell them to go back to the Post Office to send HM Passport Office their documents. This is because they have already paid for this service as part of the Check & Send service.

If we ask a customer for more information or a new photo

In some cases, we may ask customers to provide more information or a new photo. If this happens, the customer may choose to go back to the Post Office and ask them to do this. The Post Office will not charge an extra fee for this service.

The Post Office clerk will:

1. Launch the Passports application on the tablet.
2. Log on using the customer’s information (for example, PEX ID).
3. Update the required information or photo.

How the Post Office sends us documents

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how the Post Office sends us documents for Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications.

The Post Office will only send Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications to Durham.

The Post Office clerk will:

1. Put the documents for each application in an individual clear plastic bag together with:

   • a duplicate receipt showing the PEX ID
   • an ‘Inbound Identifier’ telling Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) it is a DCS application

2. Place a maximum of 10 clear bags in a strong polythene envelope together with:

   • a yellow schedule form listing the enclosed paper applications and supporting documents for Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications

3. Send the documents by Royal Mail Special delivery, to HM Passport Office.

SSL will identify Welsh applications as they will have ‘CYM’ on the plastic bag. SSL in Durham will forward the documents to the Newport office.

How to deal with Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to recognise and deal with Digital Check & Send (tablet) applications.

Customers applications sent to us using the Digital Check & Send (tablet) service are not different from other online applications, You, the examiner, must examine the application as normal.

You will only know you have a Post Office Digital Check & Send (tablet) application if a refund may be needed. DAP (Digital Application Processing) will display the Check & Send fee refund option in relevant tasks.

How extra information will be recorded

If a customer or Post Office clerk gives us extra information online during the application process, our system will record this as a task in DAP.

Post Office errors

If there is an error on a Digital Check & Send (tablet) application, you must follow the DAP: Post Office Check & Send refunds guidance.

If we do not receive the customer’s documents

If a customer tells us they have sent their documents, but we have not received them, you must:

• contact the customer to find out how they sent their documents to us if:
  • they sent them to us directly you must follow lost or damaged documents guidance
  • the Post Office sent them to us, you must contact your local Customer Service Liaison (CSLT) team

Customer feedback

If you receive any customer feedback you must email the details of the feedback to Post Office Issues.