Guidance

Passport printing and dispatch

Updated 14 August 2026

Version 12.0

This guidance is for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff and explains how to print a passport, the difference between central and local print and how customers receive printed passports.

About: Passport printing and dispatch

This guidance is for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff and explains:

• the difference between central and local print
• how to choose the passport printing location
• how customers receive printed passports

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 Guidance team.

Publication

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

• version 12.0
• published for Home Office staff on 29 June 2026

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated in the section:

• Replacements for passports issued with an error, to tell examiners when they can send a replacement passport to local print if they are dealing with an application to correct an error on the customer’s previous passport
• When the print location has been updated, to tell examiners they need to agree a time and date for collection with a counter manager, and update the customer, if a passport is being locally printed for collection
• How to change the print location to tell examiners they can change the print location to local or central print if the application meets the criteria.
• When the print location has been updated to local print, to tell examiners:
  • they must check whether a passport is being locally printed for either collection or post, before completing a Local Print Room (LPR) digital referral form
  • when to contact the customer, to tell them when they can collect their passport (if their passport is being locally printed for collection)

Passport print locations

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff where passports are printed, the differences between central print and local print and how to decide what print location to use.

DAP (Digital Application Processing) automatically selects whether an application will be printed using local or central print depending on:

• the type of passport
• the service type the customer has applied for (for example, Premium service applications are automatically sent to local print)
• if the customer has asked for a braille sticker when applying

You, the examiner, can print:

• standard and frequent traveller passports from:
  • central print
  • local print rooms
• urgent government business and compassionate passports in any local print location by changing the print location

The Durham passport office Collectives team will issue collective passports.

Central print

Central print is an automated passport printing service owned and managed by our business partner Thales, at their site. Central print allows HM Passport Office to print passports at a central location in a cost efficient and time effective way. Central print is used to print most passport types.

When the passports are printed, they are quality checked then delivered to our customers in the United Kingdom and overseas using our secure delivery providers.

Central print personalises 34-page or 54-page passport books by adding customer details, including their nationality and photo.

Central print also prints other passport types, such as British overseas territory and Diplomatic or Official passports.

Local print

Local print staff can print passports at one of our 7 regional customer service centres. After a passport is printed and quality assured, the customer can pick it up from a customer service centre or have it delivered by our secure delivery provider.

HM Passport Office use local print to provide passports for customers who have paid for a quicker service (for example, Premium or Digital Fast Track collect) and if we issue a passport for urgent government business or compassionate reasons or we are correcting an error.

You, the examiner, can change the location of the customer service centre the passport is printed at, if the customer asks for a different one. You must change the print location before the application is cleared for issue.

How to decide what passport printing service to use

You, the examiner, must send all standard and frequent traveller passports to central print (apart from those that meet our criteria for local print).

DAP will automatically send to local print:

• Premium service applications
• applications that include a request for a braille sticker

You can also send Urgent and Compassionate (U&C) applications to local print, by changing the print location.

When deciding if a passport needs to be printed using central or local print, you must consider:

• the type of passport the customer has applied for
• if the customer has requested a braille sticker
• if the customer has contacted us to ask for an upgrade and HM Passport Office are currently offering an upgrade service
• if there is a customer service reason to use local print instead of central print (for example, a passport error or an unnecessary delay, see Replacements for passports we have issued with an error)

When deciding to use central or local print, you must use the information the customer has given you and refer to the appropriate guidance.

When a passport print location can be changed

You can change the passport print location on an application, if any of the following reasons apply:

• unsafe or remote address and the customer needs to collect
• change of local print location (for example, if we need the passport printing at another application processing centre for the customer to collect it)
• official error and the customer has urgent travel in less than 2 weeks
• urgent processing required, due to a HM Passport Office delay
• the customer meets a photo exception due to a disability, in line with the Photo standards guidance
• there are safeguarding or vulnerability concerns
• the customer has applied for a Premium service, but the counter staff downgrade the application at the appointment as they do not meet the Premium service criteria (you must change print location from local print to central print)

If you need to change the print location, you must follow How to change the print location.

Replacements for passports we have issued with an error

When replacing a passport we have issued with an error, you the examiner, must check the:

• service level of the application
• date the customer is travelling
• customer service centre the customer wants to collect the replacement passport from

You must change the service level of the application, if it does not meet the customer’s needs and you are dealing with a U&C application.

The passport can be printed and collected from the office you are in or another office if the customer asks for a different location.

How to return a passport from central or local print

You can request a passport be returned to examination from central and local print if the application timeline shows an application has been approved, but the passport has not yet been printed. If you need to return a passport to examination you must follow Returning a passport to examination before printing guidance.

If the passport has already been printed, you must arrange for the secure delivery provider to return the passport to HM Passport Office. See Secure delivery: redirecting and returning passports and supporting documents.

How to change the print location

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to change the passport print location from central to local print.

Digital Application Processing (DAP) will automatically send the customer’s new passport to local print, if the customer has applied:

• using the Premium service
• using the Urgent and Compassionate (U&C) service
• for a passport containing a braille sticker

If the customer has applied using the standard service and the application meets our criteria, you must change the passport print location.

Changing the passport print location to local or central print

If you receive an application that meets the criteria for the print location to be changed to local or central print, you must:

Ask your operational team leader (OTL) or higher executive officer (HEO) for approval to issue the customer’s passport using local or central print.

Add a case note to the application, to record that a local or central print request has been sent.

Put the application on hold, until you receive approval (and the service request has been completed).

OTL or HEO: approving a print location change request

You, the OTL or HEO, must consider the request for local or central print. If you approve the request, you must raise a service request using ITnow, for the application to be updated.

ITnow will send the service request to the DAP support team, who will action the request:

• within 4 hours (if the request is received during normal support hours, between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday)
• the next working day (if received outside of normal support hours)

When the DAP support team action the service request, you the OTL or HEO will receive an email to confirm the request has been completed. You must update the examiner and tell them to proceed with examination.

When the print location has been updated to local print

When you, the examiner, are told to continue with the application, you must check if the new passport is to be locally printed for collection or post.

Where the passport is being printed for post, you must:

1. Complete and send a Local Print Room (LPR) digital referral form by email.
2. Update your OTL or HEO to confirm the request has been agreed and submitted.

Where the passport is being printed for collection, you must:

1. Contact the customer to check when they are available to attend the office and collect their passport.
2. Send an email to the relevant counter manager to confirm the date and time the customer will be attending the office.
3. Complete and send a Local Print Room (LPR) digital referral form by email.
4. Contact the customer to confirm the date and time agreed with the counter manager.

When the application processing is complete, the application will be sent to the local print room for printing. The local print room will print the passport and prepare it for collection or post (depending on the customer’s requirements).

How customers receive their new passport

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how customers receive their passport after it has been printed

HM Passport Office make sure valid passports are kept secure until they are received by the customer. Once a passport has been printed, we will deliver it using secure delivery or allow the customer to collect the passport from our public counter (if they meet the criteria for collection).

Secure delivery of printed passports

Our business partners collect printed passports directly from central or local print and deliver them to customers in the UK and overseas. Customers will have their passports delivered by:

• Royal Mail if they are in the UK
• DHL if they live overseas

Royal Mail collect printed passports from both central and local print and deliver them to customers in the UK.

For more information about secure delivery, see Posting passports and documents guidance and for information on delivery addresses see, Delivery and correspondence addresses for letters, passports and documents.

Customer collection of printed passports

You must follow the Counter collections guidance for information about:

• who can collect from the counter
• how we check the identity of the customer collecting from the counter
• how we deal with uncollected passports held in a public counter