Should I be concerned about recent Royal Mail Strike action with my fast track one week service?

The HMPO is responsible for issuing and renewing all British passports and is the only government agency that can do so. For many years, the Royal Mail has been the main courier used for sending out passports and other documents. However, in recent years, the HMPO has moved away from using Royal Mail for fast track services.

The main reason for this change is the increasing demand for fast track and same day services, which Royal Mail cannot provide. Instead, the HMPO now works with a range of other courier services such as DHL and UPS. These companies can provide a faster and more reliable service, ensuring that passports and other documents are delivered on time and safely.

The HMPO also uses these couriers for other services, such as the return of passports to applicants and the delivery of accompanying documents. This ensures that the entire process is as efficient as possible and that applicants can get their passports in the shortest possible time.

Although the HMPO does not use Royal Mail for fast track services, it is still the primary courier service for standard applications. This is because Royal Mail offers a reliable and cost-effective service for the majority of applications.

Therefore you should not be concerned in regards to recent strike action as HM Passport Office does not use Royal Mail for fast track services due to the increasing demand for a faster and more reliable delivery service.

Please also note that Royal mail has announced further strike action in January 2023, however as stated above this will not effect any fast-track applications, for more information you can visit the Royal mail website

How the fast-track service works

You need to book a fast-track appointment at one of the local main passport offices in order to use the one week or premium one day services, when attending you will be required to bring a completed applications form along with supporting documents such as your existing passport (not if lost) and two passport sized photographs (in some cases these will need to be countersigned aswell as parts of the application form).

If you need to find your local office to book an appointment, or you can call the adviceline shown below to book this over the phone.

Once you have attended the appointment the passport office will process the application and then they will send your new printed passport via a third party courier service, which will provide the applicant with a tracking number so they can keep track of the progress of their passport documents.

The courier service offered by the HMPO is designed to make the passport application and renewal process faster and more convenient for those who need their documents in a hurry. With the service, applicants can have their documents delivered directly to their address, saving them time and effort. It is also secure, so applicants can be sure that their passport documents will arrive safely.