Document storage, retention and destruction

Question 1

About: Document storage, retention, and destruction

Accepted Answer

This guidance tells HM Passport Office staff and suppliers how we store, retain, and destroy documents when we have withdrawn a customer’s passport application or receive documents that cannot be associated to a live application.

It tells staff how:

we store documents when we have withdrawn an application
when we store documents, return them to an issuing authority, or destroy them
to request customer’s documents from storage, to return to the customer or link to a new application
to deal with customer questions about documents we have stored

This guidance applies to our 3 storage processes:

DHU (Document Handling Unit) storage, used for storing documents for applications processed on DAP (Digital Application Processing) and handled by the DHU
DMS (Document Management Service) long term store, used for storing documents for applications processed on DAP and handled by the DMS
archives, used for storing documents from applications withdrawn from AMS (Application Management System) or documents which Royal Mail were unable to deliver (non-secure delivery items only) and returned to the Customer Service Management team

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 email the Guidance team.

Publication

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

version 21.0
published for Home Office staff on 13 April 2026

Question 2

Changes from last version of this guidance

Accepted Answer

This guidance has been updated:

with link changes throughout
in the section Customer asks for the return of their documents, to tell HM Passport Office staff when we will accept requests in writing on a signed and dated letter, and when we can accept these letters sent to us by email
in the section Documents you must return to the issuing authority after 1 year, to tell examiners they must destroy any documents that are not listed in the table, instead of returning them to the issuing authority
in the section Documents you must destroy after 1 year, to tell examiners which documents they must destroy after 1 year
to tell the Document Intervention team how to deal with a British passport which has reached the end of its retention period in the DHU document storage: Item retention expired task section
in the section DHU document storage: Item retention expired task, to tell examiners they:
- can use the Item retention expired task to send a document to another location by internal mail
- must check if the customer has another live application before they complete the Item retention expired task
in the section Item retention expired task: Retain all items, to tell examiners how they can retain all items for a further 12 months using Digital Application Processing (DAP)
in the section Documents you must destroy after 1 year, to tell examiners they must destroy any:
- UK death certificates
- photocopies or certified copies of a document
- translations of documents
- test passports
- receipts
- un-cashiered cheques
in the section Request for the documents to be moved to a new application, to tell HM Passport Office staff what documents they must not associate to a new application from Document Handling unit (DHU) storage
in the section Request documents are moved to a new DAP application, to tell HM Passport Office staff what documents they must have removed from the application pack and retained in Document Management System (DMS) long-term storage
in the section AMS document archives: how to deal with a customer’s documents in archives, to tell archiving team members what documents they must remove from the application pack and keep in DMS long-term storage
in the section Item retention expired task, to tell examiners they must:
- add a progress update to the application on Digital Application Processing (DAP), if they are contacting the customer by phone or recording their consent for documents to be associated with another application
- use the pack ID when searching Application Receive Domain (ARD) for the customer’s documents
in the section Item retention expired task: British passports, to tell examiners they must follow Adding missing passport records to Passport Data Services guidance, if a customer’s passport record is not showing on Passport Data Services, but you have confirmed it using Genie or the Hong Kong database
in the section Documents you must return to the issuing authority after 1 year, to tell examiners:
- all documents being returned to the issuing authority will be sent using standard delivery
- court orders include divorce documents
in the section Documents you must destroy after 1 year, to tell examiners:
- the list of documents in this section is not exhaustive; and,
- if they receive a document that has been in storage for more than 1 year, it must be destroyed (unless it is included on the list of documents that must be returned to the issuing authority after 1 year)

Question 3

Storage and destruction of documents

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office staff and our suppliers when and why we store customer documents. It includes how we store customer documents and how long we keep them if we do not return them to the customer.

When we have unclaimed documents, we will:

return some documents to the issuing authority immediately
send some documents to a specific internal team immediately
store (sometimes called ‘archive’ or ‘long term store’) certain documents for 1 year when we cannot return them to their owner, and then take an action with them after 1 year
hold documents longer than 1 year if we archive them during a known crisis event

We keep unclaimed documents, for example, because:

we lost contact with the customer and withdrew their application (and we keep their documents to protect their identity, as we cannot guarantee the customer is still at the same address)
the documents have been returned to us, undelivered, by:
- Royal Mail
- our UK delivery partners
- our international delivery partners
- local service providers
there are documents we are unable to link to an application (for example orphan documents)

We must store all documents and correspondence sent by customers to support their application, including photocopies of documents, for example if:

it was an important part of the examination decision process
you would have returned it to the customer

We must not store letters addressed to HM Passport Office (for example, cover letters or photocopies of documents made by examiners or local services).

You must not change, remove, or alter any information on a document you keep in storage.

You must not store a customer’s British passport sent to us as a recovered document (for example, from the Police, immigration or from our secure delivery service). You must send it to the Lost, Stolen and Recovered team, who deal with recovered passports. They will update passport records and destroy the passport.

How we deal with stored documents

All HM Passport Office staff and suppliers must make sure we securely record and store documents we cannot return to their owner.

When we have stored the documents for 1 year and the customer has not claimed them, we will return the documents to the original issuing authority or securely destroy them. You must look at what to do with archived documents to confirm what to do with a customer’s documents.

By dealing with the documents in this way, we:

reduce potential fraud
protect documents
minimise impacts on storing documents
keep an audit trail of all documents returned to us

If we no longer have a customer’s documents

If a customer asks for documents we no longer have, you must:

1. Send the correct stock letter telling them we have destroyed or returned the documents to the issuing authority.

2. Refer to the complaints guidance if the customer wants to make a complaint.

Question 4

Document Handling Units: document storage

Accepted Answer

This section tells the Document Handling Unit what to do with customer documents attached to a withdrawn Digital Application Processing (DAP) application.

When a customer sends documents to a Document Handling Unit (DHU), they are scanned, validated, and stored by the Scanning, Validation and Storage operator staff.

All documents remain in storage while the application is being processed.

If we withdraw an application because we lose contact with the customer, ARD (Application Receive Domain) will set a 12-month retention date on any associated documents. When the 12-month retention period has ended, an Item retention expired task will be created on the application, where the documents can then be either:

returned to the issuing authority; or,
destroyed; or,
associated to a new application, if the customer has one (see Item retention expired task)

The Item retention expired task will be created for each document pack, rather than individual documents.

The Application Receive Domain (ARD) inventory log is an electronic system that keeps a record of all documents stored in Document Handling Units and allows users to instruct DHU how to handle documents.

Documents (including photocopies of documents) received as part of the application will:

be dealt with immediately, if they do not need to remain in storage
remain in storage in the DHU for 1 year (unless we need to keep them longer due to a crisis event)
be returned to the issuing authority or destroyed, after 1 year

Question 5

DHU document storage: Scanning, Validation and Storage operators

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how Scanning, Validation and Storage (SVS) operator staff deal with documents in storage.

The supplier operators are responsible for retrieving documents from storage when instructed through the Application Receive Domain (ARD) system.

SVS operators: dealing with documents stored for a year

When we cannot return customer documents to their owner, we store most documents for 1 year and return others to the issuing authority immediately. The SVS (scanning, validation, and storage) operators will deal with the ARD instructions for the documents held in storage.

The SVS operator will receive an instruction on ARD to retrieve the documents once the DAP (Digital Application Processing) user has processed the Item retention expired task.

The SVS operator will follow the ARD instruction for each document which instructs if a document must be:

destroyed
returned to the issuing authority
re-stored for a further year
sent to another internal location (for example, to Peterborough Lost, stolen or recovered (LSR) team)

SVS operators: return documents to the issuing authority

When the SVS operators return a document to the issuing authority, they will follow the instruction on ARD to send the document to:

the chosen embassy
another address provided by the user who processed the Item retention expired task

SVS operators: destroy documents

When the SVS operators get an ARD instruction to destroy a document, they will:

Shred the document and place it into confidential waste.
Tear it up into a minimum of four pieces and place into confidential waste.

SVS operators: dealing with a request for documents

When the SVS operators get an ARD instruction (from HM Passport Office) requesting a document is returned to a customer from storage, they will:

Get the document from storage.
Send the document to the application delivery address show on ARD.

Question 6

DHU document storage: Item retention expired task

Accepted Answer

This section explains how HM Passport Office’s staff processing tasks in the DAP (Digital Application Processing) Document Intervention team queue complete the Item retention expired task when documents in storage reach the end of their retention period.

Digital Application Processing (DAP) will create an Item retention expired task for the users processing the tasks in the DAP Document Intervention queue, based on the type of document and the length of time it has been in storage.

The Item retention expired task will be created for each individual document pack, when the storage retention period has expired.

Item retention expired task

You, the Document Intervention team member, will access Item retention expired tasks by clicking Next task on the Application Receive Domain (ARD) system.

You will see a list of the documents held in the document pack, in the task. You must:

Select each document link to see the document details.
Check if the documents are associated with an application.

Where the documents are associated with an application in a terminal state, or the documents are not associated to an application at all, you must check passport application records to see if the customer has any further live applications.

If the customer has any further live applications and you have no safeguarding concerns, you must contact them by phone and ask if you can associate the documents from their previous application with their new live application. You must add a progress update in DAP, to record that you are contacting the customer.

The documents can be associated to the new application if all the following apply:

the new application is being made by the same person; and,
the person is still living at the same address; and,
the person has provided the same email address as their original application; and,
there is no reason to suspect there is a risk of data breach

Where the customer has provided their consent, you must add a progress update to the application (using the HMPO contact option) to record this, and associate the documents with the new application.

If you are unable to contact the customer by phone, or the customer has not given their consent for their documents to be associated to their new application, or the customer has no further live applications, you must:

1. Use the archived document table to decide how to mark each document in the pack on ARD, for example select:

Destroyed – if the document must be confidentially destroyed
Returned to issuing authority and add the embassy address, for the country the document was issued from
Returned to another address if you need to return the document to a different address, enter the address as free text
Send to another location by internal mail if you need to return the document to another internal department

2. Select Save to record your selection, on each document.

3. Select the correct instruction for each document shown in the task or select Retain documents for 12 months if appropriate.

4. Add a case note explaining your decisions.

5. Select Submit.

Item retention expired task: British passports

When a British passport has been identified by the Item retention expired task, you the Customer Services Management team (CSMT) staff member must check passport records to see if the customer has reported the passport lost or stolen.

If the customer has reported the passport lost or stolen, you must:

1. Add a passport note to say:

‘Passport No [insert passport number] reported lost or stolen. Sent to Peterborough LSR team’.

2. Send the passport to the Lost, stolen and recovered (LSR) team in Peterborough.

If the customer has not reported the passport lost or stolen, you must:

1. Add a passport note to say:

‘Passport No [insert passport number] has been in storage for over 1 year. Passport has been cancelled and destroyed’.

2. Manually cancel the passport, selecting Destroyed as the reason for cancellation.

3. Update Application Receive Domain (ARD) to tell the Document Handling Unit (DHU) to destroy the passport.

You must follow Adding missing passport records to Passport Data Services guidance, if:

the passport record is not showing on Passport Data Services; and,
it is not an Old Blue (hardback style) passport; and,
you have confirmed it using Genie or the Hong Kong database

Item retention expired task: Retain all items

Where we need to retain the customer’s documents for a further year, you can select the Retain all items option. This option can be used, for example, when a country is in crisis and returning documents is not feasible.

To do this, you must:

1. Select I can’t do this task.

2. Select the Retain all items for a further 12 months option.

3. Add a case note to explain why you are retaining all the documents on the task (for example, if the country is in crisis).

4. Select Submit.

Question 7

DHU document storage: dealing with requests for documents

Accepted Answer

This section explains how HM Passport Office staff deal with requests to return or transfer documents from withdrawn applications, processed in a Document Handling Unit (DHU).

A customer, parent or an authorised third party may contact HM Passport Office about supporting documents they provided, after we have withdrawn a Digital Application Processing (DAP) application.

For example, they may ask us to:

return the supporting documents
associate the supporting documents to a new DAP application

Customer requests documents are returned

A customer, parent or authorised third party may ask us to return their documents stored in a Document Handling Unit (DHU), after the application has been withdrawn on DAP.

You, the HM Passport Office member of staff, must:

1. Check the application is showing as withdrawn on DAP.

2. Use the Application Receive Domain (ARD) system to check which document handling service has the documents in storage.

3. Ask the person to send you their request in writing.

We will accept the request:

by email (from the email address given on the application) or by post (in a signed and dated letter), if:
- the request has been sent by the customer, parent or a third party who has made the original application had authorisation to do so; and,
- they are living at the same address; or,
- they have changed address, and can provide proof of their new address
by post only (in a signed and dated letter) if the email address is different to the address given on the application, and the customer, parent or third party:
- is living at the same address; or,
- has changed address and provides proof of their new address

If we receive a request for documents to be returned and it is not from the person who originally applied, or had authorisation to do so, you must follow the Disclosures guidance.

Where a customer, parent or authorised third party has told us about a change of address, you must deal with it in line with the Delivery addresses for passports and documents guidance.

Where an application has been withdrawn by Public Protection (PP), you must refer the request for the return of their documents to PP by email, who will review the request and respond.

When we receive the request by email or post, it will be scanned by the DHU and DAP will create an Orphan documents task, which will be dealt with by either:

the Public Protection area (if they have withdrawn the application as part of an investigation); or,
the Document Intervention team (DIT), for all other scenarios

If the documents are held in a Document Handling Unit (DHU), when we receive the request by email or post, you must:

1. Check the return address on the letter matches the application and if it does not, request additional evidence (see Delivery and correspondence addresses for letters, passports and documents).

2. Access ARD using the Manage documents option.

3. Search for the document using the customer’s details and select the document you wish to return.

4. Select Return to alternate address and add the customer’s details to the instruction. See ARD: return a document to alternate address for how to complete the request.

5. Enter a case note recording the reason for the return and the details of the request received.

ARD will automatically send an instruction to the DHU, who will arrange for the document to be sent to the address you have entered.

Returning documents free of charge using secure delivery

The Application Receive Domain: handling of customer documents guidance tells you how to return documents free of charge using secure delivery, if the customer is entitled to the service.

Request for the documents to be moved to a new application

A customer, parent or authorised third party may ask us to move documents from DHU storage to a current application (for example, when an examiner has asked for extra documents, or a new application has been completed).

When associating documents in DHU storage to a new application, you must not associate the following:

paper application forms
payment mandates
new declarations (including the paper referee (1 page form))
photos

If the documents are in DHU storage, you must:

1. Access ARD using the Manage documents option.

2. Search for the document using the customer’s details and select the document you wish to associate to the new application.

3. Select Associated applications.

4. Enter the application number of the new application in the application number field.

5. Enter a case note to record why you are associating the document to the new application.

6. Click Submit.

ARD will associate the document to the new application, and DAP will automatically create a Documents received task for the examiner.

Question 8

DMS long term storage: Durham Archive Requests team

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office’s Durham Archive Request team how to deal with documents in long term storage and how they destroy or return the stored documents to the relevant issuing authority.

The Durham Archive Request team will deal with documents that have been held in long term storage for one year.

DMS long term storage: dealing with documents stored for a year

You, the Durham Archive Request team member, will deal with the documents stored for a year.

You must:

1. Follow what to do with archived documents to identify if a document must be:

destroyed
returned to the issuing authority
sent back to an examiner to reassess a crisis event

2. Record the action taken on your local retained log.

DMS long term storage: return documents to the issuing authority

When you are returning documents to the issuing authority, you must:

1. Search the internet for the address of the relevant foreign embassy or the financial institution you must return the documents to.

2. Draft a letter to send with the documents and put the letter and documents in an envelope addressed to the embassy or financial institution.

3. Add a passport note or case note (if possible) to the customer’s application or passport record advising the document has been returned to the issuing authority and the address you sent the documents to.

4. Record the action taken on your local retained log.

DMS long term storage: destroy documents

To stop the fraudulent use of a document you must destroy it. To destroy a document, you must:

shred the document and place it into confidential waste
tear it up into a minimum of four pieces and place into confidential waste

You must update your local retained log to confirm the documents were:

returned to the issuing authority
destroyed, the date of destruction, who destroyed them and who witnessed the destruction
returned to examination for more checks

Question 9

DMS long term storage: dealing with customer requests for documents

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office staff, how to get a customer’s documents out of Document Management Service long term storage if the customer asks us to return them or we need them for a related application if the customer reapplies.

A customer may contact the HM Passport Office to ask us to:

return their documents
record their stored documents on a new application which may be on DAP (Digital Application Processing)

If a customer calls the Customer Service Management team (CSMT) you (the CSMT agent) must follow DAP: customer contact record guidance.

Request documents are returned to HM Passport Office

You may need to request documents in DMS (Document Management Service) long term storage be returned to HM Passport Office, for example, if the customer has requested the return of the documents

To get them out of long term storage, you must:

1. Send an email to Durham Archive Requests

2. Make sure your email includes:

the subject field showing: ‘the application is in Long Term Store [insert site location]’
the original (withdrawn) DAP application number
the customer’s name
the documents you are requesting
where to send the documents (which examiner and office)

3. Destroy any emails by following the email retention policy.

The Durham Archive Requests team will send the documents directly to you with a long term storage (LTS) appendix, you must sign this as proof of the handover and return to the DMS.

If Durham Archive Request team tell you they have destroyed the documents or returned them to the relevant authority, you must tell the customer and request any outstanding documents required to support their application.

If the customer wants to make a complaint, you must refer to the complaints procedure guidance.

Request documents are moved to a new DAP application

You, the DAP user, may find the customer’s documents are in long-term storage if, for example, you:

have asked the customer for a document, and they tell you they had a previous DAP application withdrawn
may see a Not sending documents – do not have them task if the customer contacted CSMT to tell us this

When requesting documents from DMS long‑term storage to be sent to a Document Handling Unit (DHU) and added to a live DAP application, you must ask for the following items to be removed from the application pack and kept in long‑term storage:

paper application form
photos
sticky notes
payment mandates
any physical examiner notes
new declarations (including the paper referee (1 page form))

To get the documents out of long-term storage, transferred and recorded onto the current application, you, the examiner must:

1. Send an email to Durham Archive Requests

2. Make sure your email includes:

the subject field showing: ‘the application is in Long Term Store [insert site location]’
the original (withdrawn) DAP application number
the customer’s name
the documents you are requesting
where to send the documents (which examiner and office)

3. Destroy any emails by following the email retention policy.

The Durham Archive Requests team will remove the documents from long term storage and transfer them to a Document Handling Unit to be recorded and scanned onto the current DAP application you are processing.

DAP will create a Documents received task when this happens, and you can continue to process your application.

Question 10

AMS document archives: how we keep records of unclaimed documents

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the records we keep for archived documents from applications processed on AMS (Application Management System).

We record all unclaimed documents from applications processed on AMS (Application Management System) on a spreadsheet called the ‘retained document spreadsheet’. A team in each office (known in this guidance as the ‘archiving team’) are responsible for archiving customers’ unclaimed documents and maintaining the spreadsheet.

The archiving team must use the retained document spreadsheet to record archived documents:

held by the archiving team
returned to their owner
returned to examiners or issuing authorities
destroyed after 1 year

Responsibility for the retained document spreadsheet

The Security Liaison Officer is responsible for the retained document spreadsheet, they must:

give permission to the office KIM (knowledge and information management) champion for staff to access the retained document spreadsheet
make sure the retained document spreadsheet is:
- maintained correctly
- only accessed by authorised staff
carry out spot checks on the retained document spreadsheet
make sure the archive teams fill in the retained document spreadsheet
make sure the records show a clear audit trail

This is part of the Security Assurance team assurance programme and is subject to assurance visits.

Question 11

AMS document archives: how the archiving team deals with documents

Accepted Answer

This section tells HM Passport Office staff working in the teams responsible for archiving customers’ unclaimed documents (known in this guidance as the archiving teams) how to archive (store) customers’ unclaimed documents. It includes how to identify and send documents that you must return to the issuing authority immediately.

To archive a customer’s documents, you, the member of staff working in the archiving team, must:

1. Check the Archive form is filled in correctly and the documents received match the documents on the form.

2. Write your initials on the Archive form to confirm the documents are correct and sign the examination teams archive book (if you need to).

3. Put passport application forms, empty envelopes and correspondence not written on the Archive form in confidential waste.

4. Update the retained document spreadsheet to confirm, the:

application number
customer’s forename and surname
date the archiving team received the documents
documents received
documents serial numbers

5. Separate those documents you must return to the issuing authority immediately.

6. Write on the Archive form:

the date the archiving team received the documents
a review date 1 year in the future

7. Put the documents in a plastic wallet and place the Archive form at the front.

8. Add a case note or passport note on the passport issuing system to the correct application or passport record to confirm you have received the documents.

9. Store the plastic wallet, archive form and customer’s documents in the dedicated archive area, ordered by date (using the date the archiving team received the documents).

AMS document archives: returning documents to the issuing authority immediately

When you receive unclaimed documents into your archiving team, you must check the documents and separate those you must return to the issuing authority. You must:

1. Search on the internet for the address of the correct foreign embassy or financial institution you must return the documents to.

2. Draft a letter to send with the documents and put the letter and documents in an envelope addressed to the embassy or financial institution.

3. Make a note on the retained document spreadsheet to say:

you have returned the documents to the issuing authority
what documents you have returned

4. Add a passport note or case note to the customer’s application or passport record (if possible) explaining: - you have returned the document to the issuing authority - the type of document you have returned - the address you sent the documents to

AMS document archives: how to manage the archiving area

You, the archiving team member, must update the retained document spreadsheet when a document is:

destroyed
returned to their rightful owner
returned to, or from the issuing authority
returned to the issuing office
kept due to an ongoing crisis event

AMS document archives: how to deal with a request for documents

When the archive team gets an Archive request form, you the archive team member of staff, must add the following information to the retained document spreadsheet:

the details of the CSMT member, examiner, or Customer Service Liaison team
team number (or name), or the DHU (Document Handling Unit) you have sent the documents to
reason for the transfer or return of the document

AMS document archives: how to deal with a customer’s documents in archives

If a customer (or examiner) asks for a customer’s archived documents and they are in archives, you must:

1. Print the entry on the retained document spreadsheet and take it and the documents to either the staff member or the support clerk on the team asking for them.

2. Ask the member of staff collecting the documents to sign and date the printed entry and print their name.

3. Send the Archive document form to confidential waste.

4. Update the manual records and the electronic spreadsheet with details of your actions.

If you are sending archived documents to the DHU for a new DAP application, you must remove the documents from Document Management System (DMS) long-term storage and transfer them to a Document Handling Unit (using internal transfer), to be recorded and scanned.

When sending documents to the DHU for a new DAP application, you must remove the following from the application pack to be kept in long-term storage:

paper application forms
photos
sticky notes
payment mandates
any physical examiner notes
new declarations (including the paper referee (1 page form))

AMS document archives: how to deal with documents we have archived for 1 year

Every month the archiving team must review the unclaimed documents they have stored for 1 year and return them to the issuing authority or destroy them.

Each month, you must:

1. Find all the archived documents that are in storage for 1 year or more.

2. Decide if the document must be: - destroyed - returned to the issuing authority - sent back to an examiner to reassess a crisis event

3. Fill in a destruction log for each application number to record the documents you are destroying.

4. Update the retained document spreadsheet to confirm the documents were: - returned to the issuing authority - destroyed, the date of destruction, who destroyed them and who witnessed the destruction - returned to examination for more checks

5. Put the archive document form in confidential waste.

You must follow the Item retention expired task: British passports to cancel and destroy a British passport.

AMS document archives: how to maintain the return and destruction log sheet

You must complete the return and destruction log sheet with your actions taken if you have:

destroyed a document
returned a document to an issuing authority

The person who witnessed the destruction of the documents and the type of documents destroyed, must print their name and signature on the destruction log sheet.

You must keep the log for the current and previous financial year. This is subject to assurance visits, as part of the Security Team assurance programme.

AMS document archives: how to destroy documents

To stop the fraudulent use of a document, you must destroy it. To destroy a document, you must either:

shred the document and place it into confidential waste
tear it up into a minimum of 4 pieces and place them into confidential waste

Question 12

Documents in storage: what we must do with documents

Accepted Answer

This section tells you, the HM Passport Office staff member, how documents must be handled if they are in storage (for example, after an application has been withdrawn).

If you are a DAP (Digital Application Processing) user processing tasks in the DAP Intervention Queue, you must use this table to decide how to handle documents when the retention period expires.

All users must send documents using standard post (unless they are an internal transfer).

Documents you must deal with immediately

These documents must be dealt with immediately, for example, as soon as the customer’s application has been withdrawn.

For documents in Digital Handling Unit (DHU) storage, ARD (Application Receive Domain) is not creating the Item retention expired task immediately for these types of documents. Since November 2022 ARD has been creating the task once the document has been in storage for 1 year. You must take the action shown below when the task is created.

Type of document	Send them to
Bank cards, bank books, and cheque books issued by a UK bank or building society	The issuing bank immediately
Foreign passport and foreign identity cards	The correct embassy or consulate in the UK For the address, refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s list of foreign embassies in the UK If you are handling AMS archives, you must include the stock letter
Foreign currency (DMS long term store or AMS archives only)	HM Passport Office’s Finance team

Documents you must return to the issuing authority after 1 year

If you receive a document that is not listed in the table below (for example, a utility bill), you must destroy the document. You must only return the document to the issuing authority, if the document is included on the list below.

All documents returned to the issuing authority will be sent using standard delivery.

Type of document	Send them to
British passport which has a LS record	HM Passport Office’s Lost, stolen and recovered team If you are handling AMS archives, you must send all British passports together in one wallet and not separately, if there is more than one
Home Office documents	See Home Office issued documents
DVLA issued UK driving license	MACE, Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority, Long View Rd, Morriston, Swansea SA6 7JL If you are handling AMS archives, you must include the stock letter
Statutory declarations, affidavits	The solicitor named on the document. If the solicitor is unnamed or illegible destroy the documents
Care and Court orders, including divorce documents (where the document is not a digital version issued after 2021)	The court authority on the order
Foreign government issued certificates (such as birth, death, marriage, civil partnership, nationality, adoption certificates or family books)	The correct embassy or consulate in the UK. For the address, refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s list of foreign embassies in the UK If you are handling AMS archives, you must include the stock letter
Foreign driving license	The correct embassy or consulate in the UK. For the address, refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s list of foreign embassies in the UK If you are handling AMS archives, you must include the stock letter
Foreign Court and Care Orders	The correct embassy or consulate in the UK. For the address, refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s list of foreign embassies in the UK If you are handling AMS archives, you must include the stock letter

Documents you must destroy after 1 year

The table below includes a list of examples of documents that you must destroy.

This list is not exhaustive, and if you receive a document that has been in storage for more than 1 year, unless it is included on the list of documents that must be returned to the issuing authority after 1 year, you must destroy it.

Type of document	Issuing Authority	What to do
British passport which does not have a LS record	HM Passport Office	Destroy
UK birth certificates	England and Wales	Destroy
	Scotland	Destroy
	Northern Ireland	Destroy
UK death certificates	England and Wales	Destroy
	Scotland	Destroy
	Northern Ireland	Destroy
UK marriage certificates	England and Wales	Destroy
	Scotland	Destroy
	Northern Ireland	Destroy
UK adoption certificate	England and Wales	Destroy
	Scotland	Destroy
	Northern Ireland	Destroy
British consular birth certificate	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office	Destroy
UK or British Overseas Territories naturalisation certificate	UK Visas & Immigration	Destroy
UK or British Overseas Territories registration certificate	UK Visas & Immigration	Destroy
Workers Registration Scheme Certificates	UK Visas & Immigration	Destroy
Change of name deeds (including title deeds)		Destroy
Bank statements		Destroy
Travel tickets		Destroy
Bank cards, bank books, and cheque books issued by a foreign bank or building society		Destroy
Photocopies and certified copies of any document		Destroy
P60’s		Destroy
Payslips		Destroy
Letters (including letters from OGDs)		Destroy
Travel tickets		Destroy
Care and Court orders, including divorce documents (digital versions issued after 2021)		Destroy
Translations of documents		Destroy
Test passports		Destroy
Receipts		Destroy
Un-cashiered cheques		Destroy
Hospital records (including maternal or antenatal records)		Destroy

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