Guidance

Delivery and correspondence addresses for passports and documents (accessible)

Updated 26 January 2026

Version 31.0

Guidance for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff dealing with customers addresses on passport applications including when and how to amend addresses to make sure correspondence, supporting documents and passports are sent to the correct address

About: Delivery and correspondence addresses for letters, passports and documents

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff why we need a delivery address and how to:

• correctly record a customer’s address to prevent errors and incorrect deliveries of correspondence, passports and supporting documents

• ask for evidence of a new address or an alternative or ‘care of’ address

• change a customer’s:

  • delivery address after they send in their application, because they need to use an alternative address

  • home address and delivery address after they send in their application, for example, for safeguarding reasons or because they have moved house

  • home address and delivery address because they are a child in the care of Social Services and the Social Services department did not put their office address as the customer’s home address

• confirm an address for a third party or vulnerable person

• check a customer’s address

• update a customer’s address

• return documents to a third party

This guidance must be used for when a customer:

• has a new address because they have moved house

• needs an alternative address to their (residential) home address because they are:

  • in boarding school

  • at a university residence

  • needing a British Forces Post Office address

  • applying from a Visa Application Centre (VAC)

• needs a care of address because of:

  • safeguarding reasons (for example because of a domestic emergency (a fire or flood) or to flee from harm)

  • delivery problems as their home is not secure

  • not being at home for delivery, and they want their new passport and supporting documents to be sent to their work address

  • a child being in the care of Social Services, so we must send all correspondence, the new passport and supporting documents to the Social Services address

This includes when we have refused the application because the customer has no claim, or the customer has withdrawn their application.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 31.0

• published for Home Office staff on 17 December 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated:

• to tell examiners what they must do when the alternative address is in a different country

• to tell examiners how to deal with:

  • correspondence and delivery addresses for passport and documents when a customer is vulnerable, or they are in the care of Social Services

  • an international application that has no postcode

• to change terminology from overseas to international in relation to applications and addresses

• with formatting changes throughout

• in the section:

  • When the customer’s address is too long for DAP, to tell examiners how to deal with an application where the customer has provided an address that is too long for Digital Application Processing (DAP)

  • Customer’s new address is in a different country, to tell examiners how to deal with an international application where the customer has applied online but has asked us to change their home address to an address in a country that DAP does not support

  • How to format British Forces Post Office addresses, to amend instructions for formatting BFPO addresses, the instruction specifically affects applications dealt with by International Team 3 in Durham

• to change references from Child Protection and Safeguarding team (CPST) to Public Protection Specialist Safeguarding team (PP SST), following a team name change

• in the How to display international delivery addresses section to show how an international delivery address is formatted on the Digital Application Processing system

Delivery and correspondence addresses

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to view the customer’s address, when it must be checked and why customers must provide us with an up to date delivery address for the return of passports and documents.

HM Passport Office must always send correspondence, the customer’s documents and new passports to a secure address and not to unauthorised third parties.

We use address information to safeguard our customers; help prove their identity and prevent fraud.

We use a combination of automated and manual examiner checks to make sure the customer’s address is correct, and we do not:

• breach the Data Protection Act, as we as individuals and as an organisation have a legal responsibility to protect and store personal data

• compromise the customer’s passport and supporting documents by authorising delivery to the wrong address

• overlook safeguarding and vulnerability concerns for cases where address information is protected for the safety of the customer

• negatively impact our reputation and our delivery partners, by causing distress or potential harm to the customer if valuable identity documents are lost or compromised

How the customer provides their address

How the customer provides their address depends on whether the customer has applied:

• online

• using a paper form

Online applications: providing an address

When a customer applies online, customers are asked to give their residential (home) address for their delivery address (unless the application is from Social Services for a child in care). The customer must make sure the address they give us is correct.

The system will tell the customer what information they must give and populate it into the correct fields (reducing the risk of format errors). For:

• UK applications, the customer can:

  • input their post code and select their address from a list of validated UK addresses; or,

  • enter their full address manually if the address is not found on the validated list

• international applications, the customer must type their full address into their online application manually as there is no list of validated international addresses

Paper applications: providing an address

We scan paper forms onto the Digital Application Processing (DAP) system to create an electronic application using optical character recognition technology. You, the examiner, must check for:

• scanning and spelling errors

• missing information (such as a missing postcode or house number)

• incorrect formatting

Where you identify any of these issues, you must follow DAP: paper application task guidance.

UK applications must have a:

• house or flat name or number

• street name

• post code

A customer must provide a postcode if they are submitting a UK application. If the customer has not provided a UK postcode, you must follow When we need to confirm a residential address.

International applications must have a:

• house or flat name or number

• building name (if applicable)

• street

• city

• country

• zip or post code (if the country uses them)

There are some countries where DAP requires a mandatory postcode and the customer has not included a postcode in their address on the paper form. If you make any changes to the contact details on these applications, DAP will show an error message because the postcode field is blank (for example, if you are changing the delivery address to the Local Service address).

DAP will only ask for the postcode where it is mandatory, as this will be needed to progress examination. You must follow International applications: where a postcode is needed to find the postcode for the application.

How to view the customer’s address on DAP

The customer’s home (residential) address, passport or document delivery address can be viewed from the Application details, Contact and delivery tab. The tab will show the customer’s:

• phone number

• email address

• home address

• passport delivery address

• document return address

If a document delivery address has been updated on Application Receive Domain (ARD) for an individual document, the address where the document was sent to can be viewed from the Handling instruction tab. This tab will show:

• the action taken (for example, if the document has been returned to an alternative address)

• the address the document was sent to

• whether the document was marked for cancellation

When you must check the customer’s address

You, the examiner, must check the customer’s address is correct and acceptable if the customer:

• applies:

  • using a paper form

  • online

• asks us to send their passport or documents to an alternative or care of address rather than their residential (home) address

• moves house during the application process, including:

  • for safeguarding reasons; or,

  • a domestic emergency

• must have their passport and documents returned to a:

  • British Forces Post Office address

  • Visa Application Centre (VAC)

• lives in a country where there are specific address layout or information needs (see Local Services and International Submissions Booklet for details)

• is in the care of Social Services and we must send all correspondence, the new passport and supporting documents to a Social Services address

When you are dealing with an application, you must also check the timeline for any case notes added in relation to the customer’s address.

Some customers may give a business, alternative or ‘care of’ address in place of their home address in a covering letter, if they need to use a different address for any reason.

When DAP creates an examiner task

If Digital Application Processing (DAP) creates an examiner task, you must check the customer’s address appears to be a residential address.

Where the address is an alternative address or care of address, or the customer has moved address you must deal with the application as described in this guidance.

If there is no task available that will allow you to write to the customer (and you need to do this) you must select I cannot do this application then the reason Need more documents, no task to ask for them.

Paper applications: checking for scanning errors

We use optical character recognition technology to scan paper application forms.

You must check the address recorded on DAP against the paper application form. If you notice an obvious error (for example a spelling error or scanning error), you must change the address on the system to the correct details.

You must add a case note to the application if you:

• check an address with the customer or an online address finder because you are unsure about a postcode, for example:

  • if a character in a post code could be a U or a V,

  • if a postcode contains a O in the inner part of the code (UK postcodes do not use O where it could be mistaken for a number)

• change any part of the customer’s address on screen so it is different to the application form, for example:

  • to correct an obvious spelling error

When the customer’s address is too long for DAP

Customers who complete their application online will use the Digital Customer Service (DCS) to enter their details.

There is a limit to the number of characters that DAP can display. DAP may need to abbreviate an address (for example, Road to Rd) to maximise the available character space.

These minor abbreviations are acceptable, and you do not need to correct them.

Where the customer’s address exceeds 30 characters, DCS will:

• add an ellipsis (a series of dots to address line 1 or 2 to tell you there is missing information); and,

• add the customer’s full address as a case note to tell you there is missing information

You must manually update the customer’s address if there is missing information.

When we need to confirm a residential address

Where the customer has only provided their UK house number and post code, you can use official sources on the internet to confirm the rest of their address (for example, the Royal Mail post code finder).

You must contact the customer by phone if they have:

• only provided part of their residential address, and you are unable to confirm the full address using the internet

• not provided an address with their application at all

• provided an address on the application that does not appear to be a residential address (for example, a business address)

We cannot accept information other than a UK postcode or street name (where the post code is provided) by phone. If the customer gives you any further information, you must ask them to confirm their residential address in writing.

If you are unable to contact the customer by phone, you must send the customer letter 272. You must not continue with the application, until the customer has responded to the letter.

Customer has provided a UK postcode over the phone

Where the customer has given you a UK postcode and street name over the phone, you must check the information is correct using online reference sources such as Royal Mail post code finder.

If the information is not correct, you must contact the customer by phone to confirm the correct information. You must then check the address details the customer has confirmed, against the Royal Mail post code finder.

International applications: where a postcode is needed

Where you are dealing with an international application and a postcode is needed, if no proof of residence document has been received, you must contact the customer by phone to obtain the postcode.

If it is not possible to contact the customer by phone, you must check to see if the application was originally submitted using Local Services.

Where the customer has applied using Local Services, you must:

1. Contact the Supplier Queries team, who will contact the Local Service to request the postcode.

2. Add the application details to the Local Service error log.

Where the customer did not apply using Local Services, you must:

1. Email the customer from your team mailbox, asking them to confirm their postcode.

2. Put the application on hold.

When you have been able to locate a postcode for the customer, you must add a case note to the application to record where you have received this information from.

When the customer replies with their residential address

When the customer replies to your request for their residential (home) address, you must:

1. Check their signature is genuine.

2. Case note the results of your check on the customer’s signature and your decision to accept or reject the information.

If you decide to accept the information, you must:

1. Manually edit the home address field.

2. Add a case note to confirm the changes you have made.

3. Clear any tasks created, for example a Documents received task, in line with guidance.

4. Update the return delivery address for passports and documents on ARD.

5. Make sure the address evidence is held as a permanent record on the application (for example, a document is scanned).

If you decide not to accept the information, you must contact the customer by phone to request further evidence or information to confirm their residential address.

Types of delivery addresses the customer may provide

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about the types of delivery addresses a customer may provide on their application.

A customer must give us their residential (home) address in their application unless:

• they are in HM Armed Forces and are applying through the Armed Forces application route

• they provide a British Forces Post Office (BFPO) address (for example, they work overseas for the British Armed Forces or the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• they are His Majesty’s Government staff applying for a passport for work purposes

• they are in the care of Social Services (the social worker must put their office address as the customer’s home address)

There are various types of addresses a customer may provide as part of their application.

Residential (home) addresses

A residential (home) address is the location where the customer lives. This address should be the customer’s main place of residence.

The residential address is used for official purposes, for example, when registering for a driver’s license, utilities, or to vote.

A residential address is different to a correspondence or care of address, which is used for receiving mail and may not be the same as the place of residence.

Business addresses or a PO box number

A customer may provide a delivery address on their application, including a:

• business address

• post office (PO) box number (for security reasons)

• mail hosting address in a business park

For example, the customer may live and work in a hotel or campsite, in a boat or they may live above a business.

Business addresses

If the customer has provided a business address, you must contact them by phone or email and ask if this is their usual residential address.

Where the customer confirms it is their residential address you must case note the details and accept the customer’s address.

Where the customer confirms it is an alternative address and not their residential address, you must ask for their residential address in writing.

If you are unable to contact the customer by phone, you must send the customer letter 272. You must not continue with the application, until the customer has responded to the letter.

When you have received evidence of the customer’s residential address, you must consider whether you have enough information to send the documents and passport to the business address.

When HM Government staff provide a business address

When a member of HM Government staff gives a business address instead of a residential (home) address, you must make sure they provide an official letter to support the application. See:

• Additional passport guidance

• Diplomatic and Official service guidance

PO box number or mail hosting addresses

If the customer gives us a UK Post Office box address or mail hosting address (these are usually located in a business park or trading estate) you must not accept it.

This is because our delivery partners cannot deliver to these addresses in the UK.

If the customer has provided an international post office box address, they must send us evidence they use this address for all purposes.

An international PO box address can be used, if you are content it is a secure address and the documents will not be compromised.

University hall of residence addresses in the UK

We can accept customer addresses at university halls of residence in the UK if the address is the customer’s permanent residence during term time. However the delivery supplier may not be able to deliver and may need to contact the customer to re-arrange delivery (for example, because the building is multiple occupancy or there is no letterbox direct into the property).

You must contact the customer if you suspect the address is a university hall of residence and the customer would not be resident when their passport or documents were delivered (for example it is outside term time). You must:

• confirm if they will be resident at the address when their passport or documents will be returned

• advise them what evidence we need if they change their residential address (for example, if they stay at their parents address during the holidays)

If the customer tells you they are staying in university halls of residence, you must check if the courier will be able to deliver or will have difficulties. If this will cause a delay you must ask the customer for an alternative address or care of address.

International residential addresses

You, the examiner, must check the submission route information pages to see if you must return the customer’s passport and documents back to them through the VAC or to their home address. The VAC addresses are included in the submission route information for each country.

We do not send new passports or documents direct to the customer’s home address if the customer:

• must collect their passport or documents from a Visa Application Centre (VAC)

• applied through a passport office, immigration office or government building in a British overseas territory

You must update the address on the system and add a case note if you need to send the documents to the VAC or an alternative address.

When the customer is in the care of Social Services

We do not send correspondence, new passports or the customer’s supporting documents directly to the customer’s home address, if they are in the care of the local authority’s Social Services department.

If Social Services did not put their office address as the customer’s home address, you, the examiner, must update the customer’s address to the Social Services office address. This includes the customer’s:

• home address

• passport delivery address

• document return address

You must also update the email address, if the email address on the application is not showing as the Social Services department address.

BFPO addresses

The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) is a postal organisation based in the UK, used to send post to and from the UK.

It can be used by:

• serving armed forces personnel and their families

• an employee of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), or another official organisation, who is entitled to use BFPO (for example, UK Visas and Immigration and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO))

BFPO addresses are identified by the first line of the address showing BFPO followed by a number. The number is set by BFPO and identifies the location of the British embassy or consulate, Visa Application Centre (VAC) or overseas HM Forces base.

GOV.UK holds a list of BFPO addresses. These show different UK postcodes for each BFPO location. For example, Naples in Italy shows BF1 2AB. However, you must not use these postcodes as these are not physical locations in the UK and our delivery partners cannot deliver to these addresses.

For our purposes the remaining part of the address must always be in Ruislip, Middlesex with a UK post code. Mail sent to this address is then sorted and dispatched throughout the world by the BFPO.

We receive applications with BFPO addresses when a customer is applying for their own personal passport, a Diplomatic and Official Passport or through the HM Armed Forces route.

If you need address evidence, for example for confirming identity or for proof of an alternative address you must ask for it. These customers may send in a letter from their commanding officer or utility bills, tax or bank statements which use the BFPO address as evidence.

If you need to format a BFPO address, you must follow How to format British Forces Post Office addresses.

Customer has applied from overseas but wants to use a BFPO address

If the customer has applied from overseas but wants to use a British Forces Post Office (BFPO) you, the examiner, must:

1. Ask for change of address evidence.

2. Deal with the application using the appropriate overseas guidance for group 1, 2 or 3 countries.

3. Update the delivery:

   • address fields for the customer’s supporting documents and new passport; and,
   • country using the drop down menu in the Applications details, Contact and delivery tab

DAP: Application from BFPO postcode task

DAP will create an Application from BFPO postcode task when a customer uses the BFPO postcode:

• HA4 6EP

• HA4 6DQ

• starting with the prefix BF1

If you see the DAP task you must make sure the delivery addresses are formatted correctly for a BFPO address. If it is not, you must manually correct the address format in the:

• Passport delivery address field

• Document return address field

You must not change the information in the Home address field, as this is the information the customer provided.

You must check the fees to see if the customer has paid for international delivery. If they have, you must refund the difference between an international and UK delivery fee, using the DAP: refund guidance. We refund the difference because a BFPO address is a UK address.

Alternative or ‘care of’ addresses

For most customers in the UK or overseas, we send their new passport and their supporting documents to their residential (home) address.

A customer may ask us to send their new passport and documents to an alternative or ‘care of’ address, which may be:

• where the customer is currently living (for example, the customer may be vulnerable and be staying in a homeless shelter or refuge)

• an alternative delivery address (for example, because their home may not be secure, and they need the documents sent to their work address)

You must contact the customer by phone and ask them to confirm their current home address in writing. You must add a case note to the application, if:

• they have not already given it; and,

• they tell us they want to use a ‘care of’ address, in a letter, email, phone call or on a paper application; and,

• the customer is not in the care of Social Services.

If you are unable to contact the customer by phone after 3 attempts, you must send the customer letter 272. You must not continue with the application, until the customer has responded to the letter.

If they ask us to send them to an alternative delivery address, we must check we have enough information before we agree. Our agreement will depend on the reason the customer wants to use an alternative address, the address used, and the evidence given.

Customers may give us a different (alternative) delivery address or a ‘care of address’ as part of their original application. They may do this using a letter or written on a paper application form or while their application is in progress. For example, they may do this because they:

• have delivery problems and want HM Passport Office to send their new passport and supporting documents to a post office box address

• may not be home and want HM Passport Office to send their new passport and supporting documents sent to their work address

• are vulnerable and have left their home address, (for example, due to a fire, flood or domestic distress)

A customer may give us a different (alternative) delivery address or a ‘care of address’ (for example a post office box address):

• as part of their original application (in a letter or written on a paper application form)

• while their application is in progress (for example, they may have delivery problems or want the documents sent to their work address)

The customer must send us extra evidence and confirmation, if they tell us about the alternative or ‘care of’ address during their application or later.

You, the examiner, must ask for the extra information based on what kind of address they want to use. You, must also consider if the request to change the delivery address identifies:

• risk indicators

• vulnerabilities for a vulnerable adult or for a child

If the customer tells us about an alternative or change of address after they have sent in their application, they must tell us why in statement. They must confirm they will be liable for replacing the new passport or supporting documents if they are lost after they have been delivered.

When you are satisfied with the address provided, you must update the system with the new address by editing the appropriate address fields.

When the alternative address is in a different country

A customer may apply for their passport from one country (for example, the UK or France) but give a delivery address in another country.

This may mean you will need additional documents or extra fees depending on where the customer wants their documents delivered.

If the alternative address changes how we deal with the application, you must select I cannot do this application and either:

• Cannot change application from UK to abroad; or,

• Cannot change to international group 3 country

Where the change of delivery address does not change how we deal with the application (for example, where the customer applied from a group 2 country and they have updated their address to another group 2 country), you must:

1. Ask the customer to explain in writing why they have changed their delivery address to a different country.

2. Select I cannot do this application on DAP.

3. Select Unable to print and post letter.

The EHT (Exceptions Handling team) will then follow the Print and post guidance to send the Need a signature template by email and the form by post.

The customer must explain:

• how they will get their passport if it is delivered to a different country

• who the alternative address belongs to

• why they need to use an alternative address

You must ask the customer for evidence connecting them to the alternative delivery address if the customer asks us to send it to a:

• different residential address

• business address

When a ‘care of’ address is used for a Premium counter application

Our Premium service is only available to customers who are in the UK at the time of the application.

Customers who use our Premium service collect their passport, but they must still provide an address in the UK when they are completing their application online.

Some customers who work overseas may take advantage of this service if they are visiting the UK. The address they give us must be:

• their residential address in the UK

• the address where they are staying in the UK, if they normally live or work overseas (for example, a friend or family member’s address, or hotel address)

If you become aware the customer lives and works overseas, you must follow the Premium service: processing an application guidance.

When the ‘care of’ address is another residential address

If the customer asks us to deliver their passport (or supporting documents) to a different residential address (a care of address where they do not live), you must ask for written confirmation from:

• the customer (if the care of address was not given when they sent in their application

• the owner or occupier stating they will accept delivery

The owner or occupier must also send us evidence to confirm their link to that address, for example a utility bill showing their name and address.

When you receive the letter from the customer (if one is needed), you must:

1. Check the customer’s signature is genuine (where needed)

2. Check the address exists using online sources (where possible).

3. Add a case note to record your decision.

4. Update the customers address on the system by editing the appropriate address fields.

Where the child is in the care of social services any correspondence and the supporting documents and passport must only be sent to the Social Service office and never to a residential address.

When the ‘care of’ address is a refuge or shelter

When a customer asks us to deliver to a homeless shelter or refuge, they may give us:

• the address of the homeless shelter or refuge

• a PO box address

Where the customer has given a UK PO box address, our delivery service providers will be unable to deliver to it. You must ask the customer for an address we can use and consider if we need more evidence to confirm their link, depending on the address they use. This address can be, for example, the address of the homeless shelter or refuge, or a relative or friend’s residential address.

You must also update the customer’s home address so we send correspondence to the correct address. You must make sure you do this to safeguard the customer against possible harm. See, Vulnerability considerations for passports.

When you receive the letter with a new address (if one is needed) from the customer, you must:

1. Check the customer’s signature is genuine (where needed)

2. Check the address exists using online sources (where possible).

3. Add a case note to record your decision.

4. Update the customers address on the system by editing the appropriate address fields.

When the ‘care of’ address is a solicitor’s office

The customer must give us their home address on the application, but we will return their documents to a solicitor if they tell us the solicitor is acting on their behalf.

If you have signed confirmation the solicitor is acting on the customer’s behalf, you must:

1. Check the customer’s signature is genuine.

2. Check the solicitor and address exists using online sources.

3. Add a case note to record your decision.

4. Update the customers address on the system by editing the appropriate address fields.

When the ‘care of’ address is a hospital, mental health facility or care home

Some customers may give a hospital, mental health facility or care home address as their home address if they are staying there at the time of their application. Applications using these types of addresses could indicate a vulnerable person and you must check you have the correct information before you agree to change the address.

If the customer asks us to change the address from or to a hospital, mental health facility or care home you must check if the person asking to change the address is authorised to do so. If the customer is staying at one of these types of addresses you must get written confirmation from their doctor, ward or unit manager confirming this.

When you receive the letter, you must:

1. Check the address exists using online sources.

2. Add a case note to record your decision.

If the customer tells us they cannot receive post at the address they give us, you must ask for a different address and ask them to send us the necessary evidence.

When the ‘care of’ address is a boarding school

If a child is at boarding school the parent or legal guardian may ask us to send the passport and documents to the school address rather than a home address.

You must ask the person consenting to the application to:

• confirm the boarding school address (with a wet signature) and send it to us by post

• ask the school to send us written confirmation on letterheaded paper giving a name of a person at the address who will accept delivery

When you receive the letter from the parent or guardian you must:

1. Check the parent’s signature is genuine.

2. Check the address on the school letter exists using online sources.

3. Add a case note to record your decision.

4. Update the customer’s delivery address on the system by editing the appropriate address fields (the residential address will remain as the customer’s home address on the application).

When the ‘care of’ address is the referee’s

When the customer has put the referee’s address as the ‘care of’ address you must check if the intended passport holder is in the care of Social Services.

If they are in the care of Social Services, you must refer to Parental responsibility: children in care of Social Services.

If they are not in the care of Social Services, you must complete additional checks (and Refer for investigation if needed).

When there is a crisis situation

You must follow the Crisis situations – supporting our customers guidance if you receive an application from a customer who has applied for a passport following a crisis.

Prison addresses

You must follow the Prisoners guidance if you receive an application from a customer using a prison address in the UK or overseas.

If we are aware the customer is in prison, the passport must be sent for safe keeping, in line with guidance, to either:

• the governor of the prison in the UK (if the prison is in the UK); or,

• the governor of the prison overseas (see Prisoners guidance); or,

• the relevant consulate office of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) (see Prisoners guidance)

The customer cannot have a change of address or use an alternative delivery address whilst they are still in custody. If the customer has been moved to another prison, their address can be updated to the new prison address with the consent of the prison governor.

Evidence of a delivery address

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what evidence a customer needs to provide to confirm their delivery address.

Before we issue a passport to a customer, we must ensure that their documents and passport are going to be sent to a secure address and not to an unauthorised third party.

A customer must provide evidence of their delivery address, if they have:

• changed their address from the original address provided on their application

• applied from overseas, depending on the country:

  • they apply from

  • the evidence was issued in

Unless there is an exception in guidance due to mitigating factors, we will not issue a passport when there are doubts about the delivery address the customer has provided. If the customer cannot give us acceptable evidence, you the examiner, must tell them:

• you cannot issue a passport to their delivery address until they have given us the evidence we need

• they must provide us with the evidence we need within the timescales, in line with the Withdrawing passport applications guidance

In addition to providing evidence of the delivery address, we may also need the customer to provide consent.

Evidence needed to change an address

If we need the customer to provide evidence to confirm their change of address, they can provide:

• a utility bill or letter from the utility company

• written confirmation from the owner or occupier stating the customer is resident there

• a letter from a bank or financial institution

• a letter from Social Services

• a tenancy agreement

You, the examiner, must contact the customer by phone to ask them to provide evidence of their delivery address.

If you are unable to contact the customer by phone after 3 attempts, you must send the customer letter 272. You must not continue with the application, until the customer has responded to the letter.

You must not send a letter to the customer’s original home address, if they have told us they are changing their address due to domestic abuse or distress.

In addition to the evidence above, we may require the customer to provide some further information or evidence, depending on the type of delivery address they provide.

Evidence: alternative or ‘care of’ addresses

We must ask all customers for more information (for example, the reason why they are changing their address) and confirmation of their link to the alternate address. The customer must also provide us with a statement, confirming they take responsibility for the documents if they are lost after delivery, if the address is:

• a business address

• an alternative or ‘care of’ address

• a delivery address in a different country

If you cannot identify a customer or have doubts about why or where they want their passport redirected to, you must complete additional checks (and Refer for investigation if needed).

Evidence: BFPO addresses

If the customer needs to provide evidence to confirm a BFPO address, you can accept:

• a letter from their commanding officer

• utility bills, tax or bank statements which use the BFPO address

Evidence: customer has applied from a Group 2 or 3 country

We must have evidence of the customer’s overseas residency if they live in a group 2 or group 3 country.

We use proof of residency evidence to build a picture of the customer’s identity, not for checking we have the customer’s correct address details. See Confirming identity.

You can use overseas residency evidence containing the customer’s name and address as proof of their delivery address if needed.

Consent and checking a change of address is genuine

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what consent is needed to change the delivery address on a child or adult’s application, and how to check the change of address is genuine.

Before you agree to update the delivery address on a child’s application, you must always:

• get written consent from the person who gave parental consent to the application; and,

• check their additional consent is genuine

You must do this if, for example, a parent or guardian asks you to:

• send the documents back to an alternative address (and they did not originally send in the application)

• use an alternative delivery address

Unless the child is in care of social services or is at boarding school, you must contact the referee using letter 200 and ask them to reconfirm the link to the alternative or new address.

We do this because the information they confirmed on the application has changed.

Checking a change of address is genuine

When a customer provides us with evidence to confirm a change of delivery address, you, the examiner, must:

• confirm that any update to the address on an application is from the genuine customer; and

• consider if there are any vulnerability or risk indicators which would impact the intended passport holder (for example, if a child was at risk of abduction)

We would not expect the customer to give us their residential (home) address, then ask us to send their new passport to an alternative address and their supporting documents to different alternative address.

If this happens you must investigate further and consider if this is a potential fraud or vulnerability issue that must be referred to the Counter Fraud team (CFT) or the Public Protection Specialist Safeguarding team (PP SST).

Checking a change of address: adult applications

For adult customer’s unless specifically mentioned in this guidance (for example, if we believe they are vulnerable) or where you have other concerns you can accept a request to change or amend an address, and the evidence needed to support the change:

• in an email, from the customer’s email address originally shown on the application

• in writing (with a wet signature) by post

If you have concerns about the application or the customer sends a letter in writing, you must confirm the signature is genuine before you agree to change the address.

As the information the customer’s referee confirmed has changed (due to the new or alternative address) you must contact the customer’s referee (using letter template 200, asking them to confirm the new address. You must do this if:

• the customer is a first time adult and will not be having an identity interview

• you cannot confirm the customer’s photo identity from their previous passport record

Checking a change of address: child and vulnerable adult applications

When dealing with applications for children or vulnerable adults you must consider if the claimed address, change of address or alternative address creates vulnerability and safeguarding concerns. The use of an address other than the residential address of the customer or parent on behalf of the child must be investigated.

You must refer the application to the Counter Fraud team, if you have any doubts about the request to change the address and these are not satisfied through consent and evidence from the customer and the referee.

For vulnerable adults (where a third party has applied on their behalf) and for all child applications (except those in care), the request to change the address must be in writing (with a wet signature) and sent by post together with the evidence needed.

You must:

1. Consider if the claimed address, change of address, care of or alternative address creates vulnerability and safeguarding concerns.

2. Ask the customer to provide change, care of or alternate address evidence before you agree to change the address.

3. Check the signature is genuine.

4. Update the customer’s address (see DAP: updating the customer’s address).

5. Deal with any tasks relating to the customer’s address, for example:

   • Change of delivery address task

   • Customer living at a new address task

Checking a customer’s change of address with a referee

To help protect against fraud, identity abuse and abduction we reconfirm a change of address with the referee for:

• children

• vulnerable adults

• adults who cannot identify from our records

• adults applying for the first time who will not be attending an interview

As referees must have personal knowledge of the customer to be acceptable, they should, for example be able to confirm if the customer has moved, where they work or their relationship to another residential address.

If the referee cannot confirm the customer’s new address you must complete additional checks (and decide if you need to Refer for investigation).

Updating the customer’s home address

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to update a customer’s home address.

You, the examiner, must update the customer’s Home address field in Digital Application Processing (DAP) if they:

• have moved house

• have left the home due to domestic distress

• are in the care of Social Services

This will make sure all correspondence, supporting documents and the new passport are returned to the customer and there will be no data breach.

You must also consider if you need to send the customer’s new passport or documents to a care of address. You must:

1. Check if the customer applied online and their new home address is in a different country to the address on the passport application.

2. Consider if you must update their Home address.

3. Add a case note to record the original address supplied and your reasons for changing the address on the system.

4. Decide if either:

   • all documents need to be returned to the same address

   • some documents need to be returned to a different address to the others

Customer’s new home address is in a different country

If you need to update the customer’s home address, you must check, if:

• they applied online; and,

• their new address is in a different country

This is because DAP does not support online applications from all countries. This means in some countries, the customer must apply for a passport using a Local Service.

When you update the customer’s address, the country will have ‘(unavailable)’ next to it in the Country drop down list in the Contact and delivery tab, if:

• you try to update the customer’s home address; and,

• their new home address is in a country that DAP does not support

Customer intentionally entered an incorrect address

Where the customer has intentionally entered an incorrect address on their application to apply from another country, on DAP, you must:

1. Select I cannot do this application.

2. Select the Cannot change application from one country to another radio button.

The application will be referred to the Exceptions Handling team (EHT).

You, the EHT, must deal with the application in line with the Exceptions Handling team: withdraw and reapply guidance.

Returning all documents to the same address

If you need to update the customer’s home address or send the customer’s new passport or supporting documents to an address that is not their home (residential) address (for example, if the customer is in the care of Social Services), you must manually update the:

• Home address

• Passport delivery address

• Document return address

• delivery Country field for each address (if the customer wants their documents or new passport delivered to a different country)

You must manually update the customer’s home, passport delivery or document return address fields on DAP, if this guidance tells you to. You must:

1. Click on Edit in the Application details, Contact and delivery tab to update the relevant field.

2. Change the delivery Country field if necessary.

3. Type the new address carefully to avoid mistakes.

4. Format the address correctly (check the International Submissions and Local Services information guidance for specific in country instructions).

5. Add a case note to:

   • explain why you have amended the address

   • record the details of the previous and current address

   • record the evidence you have received

   • record the checks you have made to confirm the customer’s request is genuine and the address exists

Digital Application Processing (DAP) will automatically record the original address given on the application and any changes you make to the system.

Returning some documents to a different address

If you need to send one or some of the documents in the customer’s application pack to different addresses or to another Home Office department, you must:

1. Check the address is acceptable for our purposes.

2. Check you have the appropriate consent to send the document to the address requested.

3. Update the document handling instructions for that individual document, using ARD (Application Receive Domain).

When application processing is complete, ARD will send a notification to the DHU staff, who will return the documents to the address details provided against each document.

If you need to return documents to several different people, you must follow Sending documents to multiple people and addresses.

Formatting the customer’s address

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to check a customer’s address is displayed correctly on DAP (Digital Application Processing) and when you need to reformat the address for UK and international addresses.

You, the examiner, must make sure the customer’s address has all the necessary information to allow our delivery partners to deliver to the correct address.

Digital Application Processing (DAP) will display and print all customer addresses in a format acceptable to our secure delivery providers if the customer has applied online. For:

• online applications, you must not amend addresses to only reformat them. See When to reformat addresses

• paper applications, you may need to reformat the address to make sure it is displayed in a way that meets the supplier’s needs

• applications that involve a Local Service, DAP will create a task (see Local Services: processing the application)

Where you need to use the alternative address field, you must make sure you have typed and formatted the address correctly.

When to reformat the address

You, the examiner, must not reformat the customer’s name or address unless one of the following applies:

• you are processing a paper form and you need to format the address to meet the needs of our delivery partners

• you are changing the information originally given (for example, if the customer has moved address or did not give us their residential address)

• you are inputting new or additional address information manually (for example, if the customer wants us to use an alternative address or they are in the care of Social Services)

If you manually change the customer’s international address on DAP, you must check the International Submissions route and Local Service information guidance for any specific formatting issues.

In most cases you do not need to reformat an address or amend the customer’s name in the address field.

DAP will:

• format the customer’s address correctly when they input it into their application, if they apply online

• automatically add the name of the person making the declaration to the envelope (therefore children’s names are not shown)

• not abbreviate either:

  • the customer’s name

  • long addresses

• show titles of nobility correctly for the customer’s envelope

How to format a UK address

You, the examiner must make sure the customer’s UK address is correctly formatted if:

• they applied using a paper form

• you need to amend the home or delivery address fields

You must format a UK residential address as:

Address line	Information needed
Line 1	House or flat number and building name or street
Line 2	Street name (if house name given) or village
Line 3	Town
Line 4	County
Line 5	Post code

If the customer has given the minimum necessary UK address information, there is no need to amend the customer’s address. For example, you do not need to change county designations or correct widely known abbreviations such as:

• Rd (Road)

• Grdn (Gardens)

• Ave (Avenue)

How to format a Local Service addresses

You must make sure the delivery address is formatted correctly, if the International submission routes and Local Services booklet tells you to send the customer’s documents and new passport to a UK Visa Application Centre (VAC).

How to format an international delivery address

You do not need to reformat a customer’s address if the customer applied online using the Digital Customer Service (DCS).

Their address will have been automatically formatted so it is suitable for our delivery partners to deliver documents and passports in the customer’s country of residence.

However, you must make sure you format a customer’s address correctly if:

• the customer applied using a paper form

• you amend the details, for example, if you are adding an alternate delivery address

You must check the International Submission Routes and Local Service Information booklet for specific in-country instructions about international addresses.

You must use the alternative address field, if the booklet tells you to send the customer’s documents and new passport to a UK Visa Application Centre (VAC).

How to display international delivery addresses

Address formats differ throughout the world (for example, some countries do not have post or zip codes).

Where there are no specific formatting instructions in the International Submission Routes and Local Service Information booklet, you must check the address shows a minimum of:

Address line	Information needed
Line 1	Addressee
Line 2	House or flat number and building name or street
Line 3	Either State or District (you must only add one option to the line)
Line 4	Country
Line 5	Post code or Zip code (or leave blank if there is no post or zip code)

If you need to update the delivery address, you must select the country from the drop-down list and enter the correct information to the appropriate fields.

Customers from group 2 and 3 countries must provide address evidence as part of their application.

How to format British Forces Post Office addresses

When dealing with a BFPO address, you must check the address is formatted correctly for our purposes and the BFPO number and postcode is correct.

If you are sending the customer’s documents to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) that uses a BFPO address because we use a local service to allow the customer to collect their passport, you must use the address information (including postcode) and layout shown in the International submission route and Local Services information booklet.

For other applications, where a customer has provided an address with a BFPO number, you must use the following layout and address:

Address line	Information needed
Line 1	BFPO [insert BFPO number and place]
Line 2	West End Road
Line 3	Ruislip
Line 4	Middlesex
Line 5	HA4 6EP or HA4 6DQ

The postcode you must use depends on the type of application you are processing and the BFPO number. If you are dealing with an application and:

• the BFPO number has:

  • 4 digits, you must use postcode HA4 6EP (these are Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office addresses)

  • a maximum of 3 digits, you must use postcode HA4 6DQ (these are HM Forces and Ministry of Defence BFPO addresses)

How to format a Local Service address

You must make sure the delivery address is formatted correctly if the International submission routes and Local Services booklet tells you to send the customer’s documents and new passport to a UK Visa Application Centre (VAC).

You must check if the application has a postcode in the customer address if you get an error message when trying to add the Local Service address.

Sending documents to multiple people and addresses

This section tells HM Passport Office staff when they must send a customer’s documents to multiple people and addresses.

There are occasions when we must return the customer’s documents to several different people (known as third parties).

We may need to send documents included in a customer’s application pack to different addresses if, for example, we:

• need to return a document to another Home Office department

• are dealing with a solicitor acting on the customer’s behalf

• are dealing with a Social Services department

• have asked for extra documents to confirm a signature is genuine

• have asked a second parent to send in extra documents and they have asked us to return the documents to another address

You, the examiner, must make sure you return the correct documents to the right person at the address they provide. For example, where parents do not live at the same house and the documents must be returned to the correct parent.

If you need to send documents to multiple people and addresses, you must update the return address for each individual document you need to send to an alternate address, using ARD (Application Receive Domain).

When the return address for each document is updated on ARD and the application has been processed, ARD will instruct the DHU staff to return the customer’s document to the updated address provided.

For any other documents associated with the application, if the return address has not been updated on ARD, these will be returned to the customer’s default address as shown on DAP.

Applications returned from interview: address issue

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to deal with an application returned from interview due to an issue with the customer’s address.

An application may be returned back to examination if, during the interview, the:

• customer moved to a new house after they applied

• address is incorrect (for example, there is a scanning error)

• customer did not know their address and more information is needed

• address given is not the customers residential address

If you, the examiner, deal with an application that has been returned to examination, you must investigate and ask the customer for the evidence and consent you need to confirm the address.

If you have concerns about the application, you must refer it to the Counter Fraud team.

Changing an address after dispatch

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to change a customer’s delivery address after their passport or documents has been dispatched.

If we have already returned the customer’s supporting documents or authorised their new passport and they tell us to send them to a different address (for example if they have moved to a new house), you must:

1. Arrange to have the package redirected back to the office (if it has not been delivered).

2. Contact the customer and ask for the evidence we need to change an address.

3. Add a case note or passport note to explain what has happened and what the next action will be.

If you discover the customer’s address was incorrect (for example, due to a scanning or typing error) and the passport has already been authorised (but not yet delivered) you must:

1. Arrange to have the passport and supporting documents redirected to the correct address or back to HM Passport Office.

2. Record the correct address as a passport note on the electronic passport record.