Guidance

Passport readers

Published 13 October 2026

Version 6.0

This guidance is for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff and tells you about passport readers.

About: Passport readers

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about passport readers. It tells counter reception staff how to operate a passport reader when a customer attends a Customer Service Centre reporting a faulty passport.

Contacts

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Publication

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

• version 6.0

• published for Home Office staff on 19 August 2024

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to direct users to the IT Now knowledge base for instructions about using a passport reader.

Passport readers

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about passport readers.

Passport readers allow counter reception staff at Customer Service Centres (CSCs) to check the passport microchip (chip) functionality in a British ePassport.

Passport readers are located at the counter reception across CSCs at:

• Belfast

• Glasgow

• Durham

• Liverpool

• London

• Newport

• Peterborough

Customer Services Management Team also have a passport reader.

The provisions of this service are required to meet International Civil Aviation Organisation recommendations.

Using a passport reader to check if a passport is faulty

This section tells counter reception staff when a customer may attend a Customer Service Centre to have their passport chip checked and how to use a passport reader to check if a customer’s passport is faulty. It explains when Customer Services Management Team will use a passport reader to check a customer’s passport.

Customers may be advised by someone other than HM Passport Office (for example, immigration officers at border control) that their passport chip has failed to read.

When a customer contacts us to report that their passport is faulty, and they have travel booked in the next 4 weeks, they must attend their nearest Customer Service Centre (CSC), bringing:

• their passport

• evidence that they are travelling within 4 weeks

Customers do not need to book an appointment to have their passport checked but will only be allowed into the CSC by security if they bring their passport and evidence of travel.

Counter reception staff will use a passport reader to check if the passport is faulty.

When a customer contacts us to report that their passport is faulty, and they do not have travel booked in the next 4 weeks, they will be asked to send their passport to the Customer Service Management Team (CSMT) to be checked. CSMT will use a passport reader to check if the passport is faulty. See How CMST deal with a faulty passport.

How a counter receptionist checks if a passport is faulty

If a customer attends the counter and reports their passport is faulty, you, the counter receptionist must:

1. Check the customer’s evidence that they are travelling in the next 4 weeks
   • if the customer has no evidence of this, you must tell them to send in their passport to have it checked (see Customer reports a faulty passport)
2. Look at the passport and check for signs of damage
   • if the passport is damaged, you must follow the damaged passport guidance and advise the customer to make a Fastrack appointment

3. Check if the passport is faulty using the passport reader.

4. Add a passport note on passport records to confirm whether the passport is faulty or not

If the passport is found to be:

• not faulty, you must let the customer know and give them a letter confirming we have checked the passport and it is working as expected

• faulty, you must make an appointment (using the Online Appointment Booking system) for the passport to be replaced (free of charge and to the same expiry date as the faulty passport)

  • if the faulty passport has less than 12 months validity, the customer must pay the full fee for a new passport (HM Passport Office cannot issue a passport with less than 12 months validity)

You must refer to the counter manager who can apply their discretion to book the customer an appointment (overbook) if there are no appointments available.

See Examine an application with a faulty passport.

How to use a passport reader

To use a passport reader to check if a passport chip is faulty, you must log on to IT Now and search for the knowledgebase article KB0025929.

Related content

Cancelling British passports

Replacing damaged British passports

When a passport reader fails to function

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what to do if a passport reader fails to function.

It is the responsibility of the regional counter manager (or delegated individual) to make sure that any issues with the passport reader are escalated to the local systems team. The local systems team will investigate the issue and if the reader is broken, they will order a replacement via IT Now.

If a customer attends the counter and reports their passport is faulty while the passport reader is not in service, you, the counter receptionist, must:

1. Check the customer’s evidence that they are travelling in the next 4 weeks.

2. If the customer has no evidence of their travel, tell them to post in their passport to have it checked (see Customer reports a faulty passport)

3. Check if the passport has been damaged. If the passport:

   • has no damage, you must make an appointment for the passport to be replaced without any charge and valid until the expiry date of the original passport (if the faulty passport has less than 12 months validity, the customer must pay the full fee for a new passport)
   • is damaged, you must follow the damaged passport guidance and advise the customer to make a Fastrack appointment

You must tell the counter examiner that you have not checked the passport using the passport reader.

If there are no appointments available, refer to the counter manager who can apply their discretion to book the customer an appointment (overbook). See Examine an application with a faulty passport.