Missed Appointments & Preparing To Attend

Book Urgent Passport Appointment

If you wish to attend an appointment at your local Passport Office you must book and pay for your appointment in advance, please note that HM Passport Office does not allow you to pay on the day as they do not have the facilities to take payments in the offices themselves.

You can book appointments in two ways:

• Online via our website (24 Hours)

• By phone by calling: 0203 598 2314 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri)


When making your booking request please note that there are two types of appointment services available:

• 1 Day Premium Service (Only available for adult 16+ renewals)

• 1 Week Fast-Track (Available for Adults/Children and Lost/Stolen/Damaged Passports)


Once your appointment is booked you will receive confirmation via email and text message, this will confirm the date and exact time to attend along with detailed information on the location of the office and the documents you will need to bring with you when attending.

Documents You Need To Provide

When attending your appointment you will often need to provide different documents for your individual circumstances for example if you are changing name or have changed appearance significantly, however all applications require a pre-filled Post Office form and two passport-sized photo graphs prior to attending.

You will need to obtain one of these application forms prior to attending as you will only have approximately 15 minutes when attending your appointment and this is not usually enough time to obtain a form and fill it prior to your meeting with the HM Passport Office clear.

Please be advised that most Passport Offices do have photo-booths available for getting your passport photos done on the day, however if your application type requires a counter-signatory to sign, date and certify your photos you will need to get these photos done prior to attending your appointment.

Changes To Appointments

If you wish to change your pre-booked Passport Office appointment, please note that HM Passport Office are only able to make changes if your change request is made more than two clear days ahead of your appointment date. For example if your appointment is booked for a Monday you can only make changes via the HM Passport Office advice-line up until 8pm on the Friday prior to your appointment.

Unfortunately there is no way around this time-frame as the HM Passport Office system will not allow them to make any changes other than changing the "attending party" within the two clear days.

Late/Missed Appointments

Once your appointment is booked you will be given an exact date and time to attend, HM Passport Office advise that you arrive approx 10 minutes prior to your appointment time as you will need to pass through airport style security in order to enter the office, during this check you will not be permitted to enter if you have any sharp objects or unsafe items, please ensure you check your pockets and bags prior to attend to save delays with this security check.


I am going to be late for my appointment

You MUST NOT be late for your appointment otherwise HM Passport Office may refuse to see you, in this event you will forfeit the fee paid and you will need to re-book a new appointment and re-pay the fee. This is due to the fact HM Passport Office will have other customers booked in immediately before and directly after your appointment slot (each appointment slot is approximately 15-20 minutes long), therefore they are only able to hold this slot for you for a period of a few minutes.

If you are running late for your appointment you will need to call the HM Passport Office advice line shown at the bottom of this article, depending on how busy the office is on that particular day you may be able to arrange a re-booking (however this is not guaranteed during peak times, however please be advised that in this event you will be required to re-pay the fee in order to obtain a new/later appointment.


Plan your journey

We would advise to avoid being late or missing your appointment that you plan your journey to arrive at least 30-45 minutes prior to your appointment time, if you are travelling by car. We would advise at least 1 hour prior if you are travelling by train or in adverse weather conditions.

Please note however if you are unable to make your appointment due to circumstances outside of your control for example, serious weather conditions such as snow or rail or motor accidents HM Passport Office may review your situation on a case by case basis, however this is not guaranteed so it is always best to plan ahead to avoid any issues with travel arrangements.