Guidance

Uncollected passports from the counter

Published 7 July 2025

About: Uncollected passports from the counter

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office operational staff what to do when customers do not collect their passports from the public counter.

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 21 October 2024

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to include the process for dealing with uncollected passports when the customer has applied using the Premium or Digital Fast Track (collect) appointment service.

How Counter teams deal with uncollected passports

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff what to do when a customer does not collect their passport from the counter.

New passports that customers are due to collect, must be stored securely in the counter collection cupboard. If the customer does not collect their passport within 7 days of their application being completed, the counter manager will tell a counter staff member to:

1. Remove uncollected passports from the counter collection cupboard.
2. Hand deliver them to the Counter team responsible for updating the log of uncollected passports (each Customer Service Centre (CSC) has their own printed log).

How to record and store uncollected passports

When you get a customer’s uncollected passport from the counter, you, the examiner, must:

1. Check our systems for any:

• recent contact from the customer about rescheduling their collection
• passport notes about the collection or delivery of the customer’s passport

2. Check the passports against the log of uncollected passports (each application processing centre has their own log).

3. Sign and print your name in the log, to confirm you received them.

4. Return the log to the counter member of staff.

5. Create an entry on the electronic uncollected passports log (found in your team shared folder).

6. Store the uncollected passport in the secure storage area.

Contacting the customer about their uncollected passport

You must contact customers by phone using the number on their passport application. If the customer:

• answers, you must ask them if they want to collect their passport from the counter
• does not answer (or there is no phone number) you must refer to unable to contact the customer by phone

Customer wants to collect their passport from the counter

If a customer wants to collect their passport, you must:

1. Add a passport note to the application, to tell the counter receptionist the customer is returning to collect their passport.
2. Inform the security guard the customer will be attending the counter to collect their passport.
3. Update the uncollected passports log (confirming the customer is collecting their passport).
4. Return the passport to the counter collections area.

The counter collection area will hold the passport for another 7 days before it repeats the cycle.

Unable to contact the customer by phone

If the customer does not collect their passport from the counter and you cannot contact them by phone, you must:

1. Send letter 020 (Uncollected passports first reminder letter) to the customer to ask, if they want:

• to collect their passport
• us to post them to the address on the application

2. Add a passport note to show what action you have taken.

3. Update the uncollected passports log to show the action you have taken.

If the customer replies to the letter, you must refer to:

• Customer wants to collect their passport from the counter - if the customer tells you they want to collect the passport
• Customer wants us to post their passport - if the customer tells you they want us to post the passport

If the customer does not reply to this letter after 14 days, you must refer to unable to contact the customer: sending a reminder letter.

Unable to contact the customer: sending a reminder letter

If you have already sent the customer a letter 020 and they have not responded after 14 days, you must:

1. Send them letter 021 (Uncollected passports final reminder letter).
2. Add a passport note to show the actions you have taken.
3. Update the uncollected passports log to show what actions you have taken.

If the customer replies to the reminder letter, you must refer to:

• Customer wants to collect their passport from the counter - if the customer tells you they want to collect them
• Customer wants us to post their passport - if the customer tells you they want us to post them

If the customer does not reply to the reminder after a further 10 days, you must refer to unable to contact the customer: customer does not respond to the reminder.

Unable to contact the customer: customer does not respond to the reminder

If a customer does not respond to the reminder letter after a further 10 days, you must:

1. Check the uncollected passports log to confirm the customer has not made further arrangements to collect the passport.
2. Destroy the uncollected passport.

Customer wants us to post their passport

If the customer cannot collect their passport from the counter, you must ask the customer if they want us to post their passport. You must only offer this solution:

• if it is more than 28 days after the original counter appointment
• as a last resort if the customer (or a third party) is unable to collect the passport

You must only post a passport to the address the customer has given us on their application form. If their address has changed, you must refer to the ‘secure delivery - change of address’ section of the posting passports and documents guidance.

When you confirm the address with the customer, checking it matches the address on their application, you must:

1. Add a passport note to the application to tell the post room staff they must send the passport by post.
2. Update the uncollected passports log, confirming the post room staff must send the passport by post.
3. Put the passport inside a secure delivery provider envelope and seal it.
4. Add the customer’s name and address to the envelope.
5. Deliver the envelope to the post room.

How to destroy uncollected passports

This section tells HM Passport Office examiners how to destroy a customer’s uncollected passport.

You, the counter examiner, must destroy the customer’s uncollected passport if the customer does not reply to the reminders we have sent them.

To destroy the uncollected passport, you must:

1. Cut out the personal details page.
2. Cut the passport into 4 equal pieces, making sure you cut through the photo.
3. Use an electronic shredder to destroy the personal details page separately from the passport pieces (if one is available). If a shredder is not available, you must put the personal details page and the passport pieces in a confidential waste bin.
4. Add a passport note to show the actions you have taken.
5. Update the uncollected passports log to show the actions you have taken.