Guidance

Naturalisation and registration certificates

Updated 2 October 2026

Version 34.0

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about how to accept and deal with naturalisation and registration certificates. It explains how to check details on certificates, how to confirm endorsements, what to do if details do not match Atlas, how to query certificates with the Citizenship team and when to continue with an application.

About: Naturalisation and registration certificates

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about how to accept and deal with naturalisation and registration certificates. It explains how to check details on certificates, how to confirm endorsements, what to do if details do not match Atlas how to query certificates with the Immigration and Citizenship Service, and when to continue with an application.

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 34.0
• published for Home Office staff on 7 September 2026

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated:

• in the section British nationality certificate is not showing on Atlas to tell examiners to contact QuESt (Quality and Examination Support team) when a certificate issued after 30 September 1986 is not on Atlas
• in the section Checking the date on nationality certificates to restructure the guidance
• in the section Checking the nationality certificate for errors to restructure the guidance
• to include guidance from the Newly naturalised customers: interview exemption guidance that related to naturalisation certificates
• with minor formatting changes
• with structure changes to make the guidance easier to follow
• to tell examiners to send letter 305 using Comms Builder to tell them we have securely destroyed the certificate and notified UK Visas and Immigration department
• in the section British naturalisation and registration certificates, to remove a sentence that told examiners the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued some naturalisation or registration certificates overseas
• with a new section that tells HM Passport Office staff how to check a British nationality certificate with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man
• in the section When the Citizenship team change a British nationality certificate, to give examples of when the Citizenship team will amend a British nationality certificate
• in the sections How to query a nationality certificate with the Citizenship team and Contacting the Citizenship team to chase a reply, to tell staff that the Citizenship team have 10 working days to respond to queries
• with minor terminology changes

British naturalisation and registration certificates

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about naturalisation and registration certificates issued by the Immigration and Citizenship Service, how to check details shown on the certificate are genuine and case note certificate details.

Naturalisation and registration are legal processes by which an adult or a child with no automatic claim to British nationality can:

• become a British national; and,
• obtain the same rights and privileges as someone who was born a British national

Adults aged 18 and over must naturalise as British whereas, children under the age of 18 must register as British. Adults may also register as British, but this is only in special circumstances (for example, see Section 17H and 4K registrations: Chagossian descent).

The Citizenship team will issue a nationality certificate to the customer when they become a British national by registration or naturalisation in the UK. Customers who get British nationality by naturalisation or registration must attend a citizenship ceremony (unless they are exempt).

Crown dominions and British overseas territories also issue naturalisation and registration certificates to people who qualify and are resident in their jurisdiction.

A person is officially naturalised or registered from the date entered on their British nationality certificate. Their certificate shows the customer’s:

• current name
• previous name
• place of birth
• date of birth
• British nationality status, section and subsections of the relevant nationality act
• Home Office reference number
• certificate number
• date of registration or naturalisation

These are the details that must appear on the passport application, unless:

• we have evidence of a change to the details
• the customer has asked us to add Welsh characters to a passport
• the place of birth:
  • has officially changed
  • is recorded as ‘UNKNOWN’
  • only shows a country of birth
• the date of birth on the customers citizenship certificate shows a year of birth only

Naturalisation certificates issued by the Bailiwick of Guernsey do not show the customer’s nationality status. You, the examiner, must use the query process to refer the case to the Quality and Examination Support team to confirm nationality if you receive a Guernsey naturalisation certificate.

For passport purposes, customers must send us their original naturalisation or registration certificate to show their claim to British nationality and confirm their personal details. Some customers may send us their citizenship ceremony invitation instead of their naturalisation certificate. You, the examiner, must not accept these as evidence of British nationality.

If the customer sends their biometric residence permit, Home Office travel document (or a photocopy of the document) with their application, you must refer to Home Office issued documents guidance.

Dealing with British nationality certificates

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to assess British nationality certificates and how to record the details of British nationality certificates on the system and in case notes.

Checking an application supported by a British nationality certificate

When you receive an application supported by a British nationality certificate and you need to check the certificate against the UKVI or National Archive records you must:

1. Check the customer’s British nationality certificate using:
   • How to check a British nationality certificate held by National Archives
   • How to check a British nationality certificate with the Citizenship team
2. Check the information on the customer’s passport application and supporting documents match the details on the document and record. This includes, their:
   • full name
   • gender
   • date of birth
   • place and country of birth
   • personal details on the application
   • certificate details and correct these if needed (see, Recording British nationality certificates)
3. Compare the customer’s photo from their passport application with the photo on their Home Office record (if there’s more than one photo on the record, you must use the most recent one).
4. Refer to Place and country of birth guidance if the certificate shows a place of birth:
   • that is different from the application or has changed its name
   • is shown as ‘UNKNOWN’ on the certificate
   • only shows a country of birth
   • shows a Welsh place name written in English but the customer wants it shown in Welsh
5. Refer to Certificate issued on or after 30 September 1986 not showing on Atlas, if:
   • you cannot confirm the customer’s personal details and photo on UKVI systems
   • the UKVI system does not give you all the information you need to confirm the customer’s personal details and photo
6. Refer to Name changes after naturalisation or registration if the customer has changed their name after they have naturalised or registered.
7. Refer to Change of name before or during naturalisation or registration, if a newly naturalised customer has different names, for example, if they have:
   • an alias name (other names they use)
   • changed their name before or after they naturalised, or during the naturalisation process
8. Resolve any differences with the customer’s personal details (in line with current guidance).
9. Add a case note to record the details shown on the certificate.

If the customer is in the UK and naturalised in the UK, you must consider if they are exempt from interview as a newly naturalised adult.

Recording British nationality certificates on the system

The customer must record their nationality certificate details on their application when they apply for their first British passport in that status.

You, the examiner, must check the customer’s nationality or registration details when you complete a Nationality task.

You must:

1. Check the image of the certificate on the Documents tab.
2. Check the details shown on the certificate match the details entered by the customer on the Naturalisation or registration tab.
3. Click Edit details if you need to correct any errors on the:
   • Certificate number
   • Issue date
4. Add a case note to explain any changes you have made to the details.
5. Click Save.

DAP may show information in the Naturalisation or registration tab that:

• does not refer to the customer’s naturalisation or registration certificate, for example, when the customer sent the application and added in error:
  • a parent’s naturalisation or registration certificate details
  • their birth certificate details
• is not needed for a renewal, replacement or change application (as we will already have confirmed and recorded the details on the customer’s first passport)

You must:

1. Click Edit details and remove the information on the Naturalisation or registration tab.
2. Add a case note to explain any changes you have made to the details.
3. Click Save.

Case noting British nationality certificates

When a customer has registered or naturalised you, the examiner must add a case note recording the certificate details. For example:

Nat cert shows [insert nationality act and section reference]

HO ref number [reference number]

Dated: [insert certificate date]

Place of issue: [insert place of issue as shown on certificate]

Some registration sections in the BNA’81 can be ‘by descent’ (BD) or ‘otherwise than by descent’ (OTBD) depending on the customer’s circumstances. You must investigate the customer’s claim on Atlas to see Citizenship’s determination for the customer’s claim. You must make sure you case note their status in full (including the BD or OTBD determination) as it could affect a future claim.

See, DAP: recording nationality status.

British nationality certificate: change in personal details

We normally issue the customer’s passport in the same details recorded on their naturalisation or registration certificate. However, the customer may apply for their passport and give us different details in their first British passport application or in a renewal or replacement of an earlier passport.

By doing so the customer is usually trying to tell us that they are now known by a different name or there was an error in a previous passport. If the customer applies using details that are different from their naturalisation or registration certificate you must use guidance for:

• place of birth changes

• date of birth changes

• name changes

• gender change

How to check a British nationality certificate held by National Archives

This section tells HM Passport Office staff when, why and how to check a customer’s nationality certificate with National Archives.

The Citizenship team have records of naturalisation and registration certificates issued from 1 October 1986. If you are dealing with a nationality certificate issued from 1 October 1986 that is not recorded on Atlas, you must refer to Certificate issued on or after 30 September 1986 not showing on Atlas.

National Archives holds a record of:

• naturalisation certificates issued from 1 January 1981 to 30 September 1986
• registration certificates issued from 1 January 1949 to 30 September 1986

You, the examiner, must check naturalisation and registration certificate details issued before 30 September 1986 using National Archives.

To do this, you must email National Archives (using the National Archives email template).

In the email to National Archives, you must include all the information recorded on the certificate.

When you have completed your checks, you must:

• add a case note clearly recording all your actions and the outcomes of your checks
• not upload the results of the National Archives checks to Digital Application Processing

How to check a British nationality certificate with the Citizenship team

This section tells HM Passport Office staff when, why and how to check a customer’s nationality certificate with UK Visas and Immigration service’s systems.

You must check the customer’s nationality certificate against UK Visas and Immigration’s (UKVI) records if the application is for the customer’s first British passport (or first passport in that status) or you have concerns about the certificate.

You must continue to examine the customer’s application in line with all guidance if the certificate details match the customer’s record and you have no fraud concerns.

If the details on the certificate do not match the details on the UKVI systems, or you believe a mistake has been made, you may need to contact the Citizenship team directly to confirm the information and decide what you must do next. See:

• Checking the date on nationality certificates, for missing or incorrect ceremony dates
• Checking the nationality certificate for errors, for potential errors on the certificate

Certificate issued on or after 30 September 1986 not showing on UKVI systems

If you cannot find a naturalisation or registration certificate issued after 30 September 1986 on UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) systems, you must raise a guidance query to refer the case to QuESt (Quality and Examination Support team) with details of the case.

The Senior Casework team (SCT), within QuESt, will contact National Archives to verify the details on the certificate.

If SCT confirm the details on the certificate, they will tell you when they respond to the guidance query.

Checking photo images on UKVI systems

You must be able to confirm the customer’s identity from the photo held on the UKVI system against the photo on their passport application. Images of customers are not available for all cases on UKVI systems but customers who have naturalised since 2004 will have a photo on their UKVI record. See, If there is a record on the UKVI system without a photo.

Unable to confirm the customer’s photo on UKVI’s system

You must refer the application to your OTL, if:

• there is no photo available (for example, for a registered person or naturalisation record dealt with before 2004; and,
• you still have concerns after you have checked the customer’s details.

The OTL will instruct you whether to complete additional checks or refer to Public Protection for further investigation.

If the photo on the UKVI system is of poor quality, meaning you cannot decide if it matches the photo on the customer’s passport application, or you believe it may not be the same person, you must:

1. Refer the application to your OTL.
2. Ask the OTL to compare the customer’s photo on the UKVI system with the one on the passport application, to see if it’s the same person.

You (the OTL) must:

1. Compare the photo on the UKVI system to see if matches the one on the customer’s passport application.
2. Add a case note to record your assessment of the photos.
3. Refer the application:
   • back to the examiner if you believe the photos are the same person
   • back to the examiner to complete additional checks if you believe the photos are not of the same person

The examiner may refer the case to the Public Protection if there are fraud concerns.

When you (the examiner) get the application back from your OTL, you must:

• continue to deal with the application, if the OTL agrees the photo on the UKVI system and passport application is the same person; or,
• refer the application to the Public Protection, if you have concerns about the customer’s identity or you have any other fraud concerns; or,
• examine the referee, then invite the customer to an interview (if needed), if the OTL cannot tell if the photo on the UKVI system and passport application is the same person

If there is a record on the UKVI system without a photo

If UKVI’s system shows a naturalisation record for the customer without a photo, you (the examiner) must:

1. Send an email to UKVI, to:
   • tell them there’s no photo for a customer on the UKVI system
   • ask them to check their records and if they can add a photo
2. Wait for UKVI to respond.

If UKVI tell us, they:

• cannot add a photo, you must send the customer for an identity interview and add a case note to say why, in line with current guidance
• can add the photo, you must check the record again when the photo is added and continue to examine the application

There will not be any photos on UKVI systems for any certificates issued before 2004. In these cases, the customer must attend an identity interview.

If the photos do not match due to an error

A photo on UKVI systems may not match the photo on the passport because of an error (for example, you are also dealing with the customer’s family member and UKVI added the wrong photo). If this happens, you must:

1. Send an email to UKVI, to tell them that there looks like there is a mistake with photo on the system.
2. Store the application for 5 days, while you wait for UKVI to respond.

If you do not get a response in 5 days, you must send an email to the UKVI escalation team, to tell them that you have not had a response.

When UKVI respond, you must check the record again and continue to examine the application.

How to check a British nationality certificate with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man

This section tells HM Passport Office staff when, why and how to check a customer’s nationality certificate with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

You must check the customer’s nationality certificate against the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man records if:

• the application is for the customer’s first British passport (or first passport in that status); or,
• you have concerns about the certificate.

To do this, you must raise a guidance query with your local Quality and Examination Support team (QuESt) who will send it to the Senior Casework team (SCT).

The SCT will contact the Channel Islands or Isle of Man to check the British nationality certificate matches their records.

You, the SCT officer, must:

1. Email the relevant Channel Island or the Isle of Man authority to:
   • verify the nationality certificate details
   • ask if they have recorded any of the customers alias names on their system
2. Respond to the guidance query in line with current guidance, if the certificate details match the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man records and you have no other fraud concerns.

You, the examiner, must continue to examine the customer’s application in line with current guidance.

If the details on the certificate do not match the details on the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man records, you, the SCT officer, must:

1. Contact them again and agree what you must do next.
2. Respond to the guidance query in line with current guidance and tell the examiner what they must do.

You, the examiner, must deal with the application in line with the guidance query response and current guidance.

Lost naturalisation or registration certificates

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what they must do if the customer has lost their naturalisation or registration certificate

If someone loses their British nationality certificate, they can apply for a replacement and they may need to pay for it (see Replace or correct a UK citizenship certificate).

If a customer applying for their first British passport tells us they have lost their British nationality certificate, you must:

1. Ask the customer for a signed statement that explains when they:
   • naturalised or registered
   • lost their nationality certificate
2. Use UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) systems to:
   • confirm the customer’s naturalisation or registration details
   • check the customer’s personal details match the personal details on the passport application
   • carry out a manual facial matching check by comparing the photo on the system with the photo on the passport application, to make sure it’s the same person

If you can confirm the customer naturalised or registered using UKVI systems and their personal details and photo match the details on their passport application, you must:

1. Carry out checks against the watchlist and passport and application records.

2. Add the nationality certificate details to the application (see Recording British nationality certificates on the system).
3. Examine the referee (see Confirming ID: referees).
4. Continue to process the application in line with current guidance (if you do not have any concerns).

You must ask the customer for a replacement certificate if:

• you cannot confirm the customer’s personal details and photo on their naturalisation or registration record using UKVI systems (if they are applying for their own first British passport); or,
• the missing certificate belongs to a parent or grandparent, and it is needed to support the customer’s application

When the Citizenship team will change a British nationality certificate

This section tells HM Passport Office staff why the Citizenship team will endorse, amend or reissue a naturalisation or registration certificate, and what an endorsement will show.

The Citizenship team will reissue a naturalisation or registration certificate if they accept the original certificate was issued in error. Customers must contact the Citizenship team to change any detail on their certificate, if they believe there is an error.

If the Citizenship team have correctly issued the certificate based on the original evidence provided, they will not reissue using different details.

There is no time limit on when a customer can apply to amend a nationality certificate. However, they may need to provide the Citizenship team with evidence to amend the certificate.

Changing a British nationality certificate: National Archives

The Citizenship team may amend a British nationality certificate when they can confirm the Citizenship team made an error.

However, they may not be able to amend the certificate because of:

• limitations from legacy processes; and,
• different historical recording standards; and,
• incomplete records

Changing a British nationality certificate: ‘unknown’ or ‘stateless’

The Citizenship team will consider amending a British nationality certificate, when:

• the customer gives the Citizenship team new evidence of their place of birth; and,
• the Citizenship team made an error when they originally recorded their place of birth

The Citizenship team will not amend the certificate, if the original record is correct, based on the information available at the time.

Changing a British nationality certificate: certificate only shows country of birth

The Citizenship team will not amend a customer’s certificate to show a town of birth, when the original certificate:

• only shows their country of birth; and,
• was issued correctly, based on the information available at the time

They will only amend the certificate when the records show there was information available at the time to confirm the customer’s town of birth.

When the Citizenship team add an endorsement

The customer must provide evidence to the Citizenship team, if they want to change any personal details (for example, a different date or place of birth). The Citizenship team will add an endorsement to record the difference, to:   

• the top of the original certificate
• both top corners if there is more than one endorsement
• the bottom of the certificate if the endorsed certificate was issued before 1986

See, Checking an endorsement on a nationality certificate if you are unsure if you can accept an endorsement for passport purposes.

Endorsements added before 2018

Before 2018 the Citizenship team marked certificates in 2 ways depending on whether they accepted the customer’s evidence or not. The endorsement will show:

• as a ‘statement of fact’ when they did not accept the evidence the customer gave
• as an official endorsement when they accepted the customer’s new evidence

His Majesty’s Passport Office do not accept a ‘statement of fact’ endorsement as evidence to change the personal details on a passport. If we cannot accept the endorsement, you must contact the customer and tell them why. This gives them the opportunity to withdraw their application or have it issued in the original details entered on the certificate.

Statement of fact endorsements will show the details claimed by the customer and any evidence seen. For example:

“According to documentary evidence produced to the Home Office the place of birth of the person named below should read [PLACE OF BIRTH]”

“After the certificate had been issued, the holder (or the holder’s agents) informed the Home Office that his father’s date of birth should have read …………”

Endorsements added after 2018 and before 18 February 2020

From 2018 the Citizenship team stopped ‘statement of fact’ endorsements on certificates but did not standardise the wording on the endorsements.

However, the Citizenship team will clearly show on the endorsement they have accepted the customer’s evidence to change the detail on the certificate. For example, where the Citizenship team have officially accepted a change of name:

“I HEREBY CERTIFY that this is a true extract of the Home Office record of the Certificate of Naturalisation (or Registration) issued to SURNAME FORENAMES (new names)”

Endorsements added after 18 February 2020

From 18 February 2020 the Citizenship team introduced standardised wording for their endorsements. For example, where they have officially accepted:

• a change of name:

“According to documentary evidence produced to the Home Office the Name of the certificate holder should read (accepted name):

For head of Nationality Directorate.

(date of endorsement)”

• a change of place or date of birth:

“According to documentary evidence produced to the Home Office the date (and place) of birth of the certificate holder should read (place of birth) (date of birth)

For head of Nationality Directorate.

(date of endorsement)”