Guidance

Digital Fast Track: how a customer applies

Updated 29 August 2025

Version 3.0

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how customers can apply for a passport using the Digital Fast Track service.

About: Digital Fast Track: how a customer applies

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office operational staff about the Digital Fast Track (DFT) service and explains:

• how customers can apply
• what services are available to the customer and what information they need to provide to us

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think the guidance has factual errors, 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, email the Guidance team.

Publication

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

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 24 February 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to remove references to Birmingham Customer Service Office (CSO) providing Digital Fast Track (DFT) appointments.

Digital Fast Track: how the customer applies

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about how the customer can apply using the Digital Fast Track service when applying for a passport.

The Digital Customer Services (DCS) guidance explains how the customer provides their personal and contact details when making an application online.

As part of the application process, the customer will be asked to attend a counter appointment at one of our Application Processing Centres (APC).

The customer will be able to view a list of available appointments and choose an appointment at a time and location convenient to them.

The customer (or someone on their behalf) can attend the counter appointment.

Appointments for Digital Fast Track applications can be made 2 to 3 weeks in advance, based on operational demand. The appointments will last approximately 10 minutes. Customers may be able to change their appointment time after booking.

Digital Fast Track application process

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the Digital Fast Track application process.

Customers who want to apply for their passport using the Digital Fast Track (DFT) service must make their application online using GOV.UK. The customer’s application must meet the criteria to use the DFT service.

On the GOV.UK website, the customer must:

1. Answer some questions to check they are eligible for the service.

2. Select the option for needing their passport urgently if they wish to use the upgraded services (if HM Passport Office are currently offering an upgrade service).

3. Select the option for a Fast Track appointment if this is available (Digital Customer Service (DCS) will only show this option if the customer has answered the previous questions and they are eligible for the service).

4. View the available appointments and select one at a suitable time and location (this will be reserved until the customer has completed their application).

5. Complete their application using DCS, upload their digital photo and pay the fee.

When the customer has submitted their application, they will be told to attend their appointment and bring all of the required supporting documents.

Where a customer needs to make multiple appointments for multiple applications, they must:

• make each of these appointments separately
• complete a separate online application for each person

What DCS will tell the customer at the time of the booking

DCS will tell the customer, at the time of booking, they need to bring their old passport and any supporting documents listed to their appointment.

The customer will be given the date and time of their appointment and told they can reschedule their appointment:

• more than 48 hours before the booking time:
  • through the application tracking screen on DCS (this will allow the customer to change their appointment to a time after the appointment they originally booked)
  • by calling the Passport Adviceline
• within 48 hours of the booking, by calling the Passport Adviceline

If the customer cancels their appointment:

• we will refund their fee, if the appointment is cancelled more than 48 hours before it is due to take place
• they will be charged an administration fee if they cancel the appointment within 48 hours (the customer will be refunded the remainder of the fee)
• we will keep the full fee, if they do not attend their appointment and do not give a compassionate reason (and evidence) explaining why they did not attend

If the customer attends their counter appointment but they do not:

• qualify for the service, you must tell the customer we will downgrade the service and retain the full fee
• bring the required documents, they will be asked to rebook their appointment

DAP (Digital Application Processing) will continue to deal with the application under the DFT service level agreement, as the system does not have the functionality to downgrade the application.

How the customer chooses a Digital Fast Track appointment

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about how the customer chooses a Digital Fast Track appointment.

A customer can book their Digital Fast Track (DFT) appointment at any Application Processing Centre (APC) in the UK. Our Customer Service Office (CSO) sites do not provide DFT appointments.

During the online application process, Digital Customer Services (DCS) will show the customer all available dates and locations for counter appointments 2 to 3 weeks in advance, based on operational demand. For each passport office location, DCS will also give the customer a high level view of the next available appointment in that location.

Customers must choose a date and location depending on when and where they want to attend their DFT appointment. When they have chosen a date and location, DCS will ask them to select an appointment time. The customer (or someone on their behalf) can attend the appointment.

If the customer needs to change or cancel their appointment

If the customer has booked an appointment and they need to change or cancel it, they can do this:

• online, using the application tracking page on GOV.UK (if it is more than 48 hours before the appointment is due to take place)
• by phone, before the appointment is due to take place (if the appointment is within 48 hours, this is the only way the customer can change it)

Digital Fast Track: application scenarios

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the types of application scenario where a customer may apply for their passport using the Digital Fast Track service.

There are a number of different scenarios that a customer may contact us about, when they make a Digital Fast Track (DFT) application.

If a customer provides an alternative address

Where we need to retain the customer’s documents at their counter appointment, we can return the documents to an alternative address if the customer:

• requests this
• provides evidence they are:
  • the person who consented to the application
  • not an imposter trying to steal the customer’s personal data
  • linked to the alternative address

To do this, you the counter examiner, must follow the Delivery addresses for passports and documents guidance, to update the customer’s return address.

If the customer has not brought the evidence needed to confirm the alternative address, their counter appointment must be rebooked.

When the customer’s return address has been updated and the application processing is complete, the DHU (Document Handling Unit) will send the documents to the alternative address.

If the customer holds multiple passports

Customers must tell us about any other passports they hold. The customer can use the DFT service if they are applying to renew an additional British passport, but they cannot use the service to make an application for a first time additional passport.

If the customer wants to renew an additional passport, you must follow the additional passport guidance. The customer will be asked to provide us with evidence to show why they need one (for example, a letter from their employer). This evidence must be brought to the customer’s counter appointment.

The customer must provide this evidence along with their other supporting documents during their DFT appointment. If the customer has not brought the evidence to their appointment, the appointment must be rebooked.

If a customer’s passport is lost or stolen

Digital Customer Service (DCS) will ask the customer if their passport is lost or stolen.

If the customer tells us their passport is lost or stolen, the customer can still make their replacement passport application using DFT.

The customer must:

• report their passport as lost or stolen online, using GOV.UK
• still attend their counter appointment, even if they can no longer bring their previous passport to be physically cancelled

If a customer’s passport is damaged

DCS will ask the customer if there is any damage to the passport.

If the customer tells us there is damage to their passport, the customer can still use the DFT service to replace or renew their passport.

How a customer gives us their photo

The customer must upload a digital photo onto their DFT application when they are completing it online.

Digital referees

The customer may be asked to provide a digital referee as part of their DFT application. This is in line with our Confirming ID: referee’s guidance.

Declaration

DFT applications do not capture a customer’s signature.

Customers must be able to sign their new passport when they receive it. DCS will ask the customer if they are able to sign their passport. If they cannot, DCS will ask the customer why and record the customer’s reply on DAP (Digital Application Processing).

DCS will show the customer a declaration page.

How customers know what documents to bring

DCS will tell the customer to bring any supporting documents to their appointment, along with their old passport (if they have it).

The documents the customer will be asked to bring, will vary depending on the type of application they are making. For example, if they are applying for a first time child passport, they will be asked to bring the parent’s birth certificates.

How we return the customer’s documents

Depending on the application, the customer’s documents may be:

• retained until the application processing is complete, then returned to the customer by secure delivery
• returned to the customer at the end of the counter appointment