British Passport Renewal: How to Renew Online, Costs and Timeline

Once the new passport is in your hand, you can add a HelloRoam eSIM for your trip before you fly. Maps, transfers and booking emails then work from the moment you land, and 24/7 support is there if anything goes wrong abroad.

Quick answer: how to renew your UK passport online at a glance

UK adults apply and pay on GOV.UK. Before you start, have three things ready: a digital photo, a debit or credit card and your passport. You don't need printed photos, and a standard adult renewal needs no countersignatory. Once you've paid, you post your old passport to the address in your confirmation email or text. HM Passport Office (HMPO) handles the rest.

One detail is easy to miss. You post your old passport after you apply, so you won't have it to travel on while you wait. HMPO cancels it when it authorises your new one, and the new passport has a different number. If a trip is approaching, account for that gap before you apply.

How to renew your UK passport online: the full process

The application starts on GOV.UK's adult passport renewal page. It is for anyone aged 16 or over, or turning 16 in the next 3 weeks. Children have a separate process.

The steps, in order:

1. Check you're using the right service. The same GOV.UK service handles renewals, first adult passports, name changes and lost or stolen replacements, each for £102 online.
2. Get your digital photo. Get a code from a photo booth or shop before you start, or take a photo on your own device during the application with someone helping you. It must have been taken in the last month.
3. Fill in the application. Enter your details, then add the photo code or take the photo when asked. Printed photos are only needed for paper forms.
4. Review and submit your application. Check your personal details carefully before you continue.
5. Pay by debit or credit card. The fee is £102.
6. Post your old passport. Your confirmation email or text gives the address. Write your application reference number on the envelope, and include any valid passports you hold from another country (the passport itself, or a colour photocopy of every page).

If your old passport holds a visa that is still valid, send it anyway: GOV.UK says it will be returned to you. The new passport arrives by courier or Royal Mail. If you're out, the card or letter left for you won't say the package is a passport, so don't bin it.

Documents you need to renew a UK passport online

The list is shorter than most people expect. To renew online, GOV.UK asks for three things: a digital photo, a credit or debit card and your passport. After you apply, you post your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country. Three items, one envelope.

No birth certificate. No utility bill. No countersignatory form.

Four groups often assume they have to use paper. Each of them has an online route:

• Children's passports: A child passport (under 16) renews online for £66.50 or by paper form for £80. For a child under 12, someone must confirm their identity online after you apply.
• First-time applicants: You can apply for a first adult passport online from the UK for £102.
• Name changes: Apply online for a new passport in your new name for £102. A name change needs no countersignature, and the name on your passport must match the one you use when you book travel.
• Lost or stolen passports: Cancel the passport first, then replace it online for £102. Someone must confirm your identity online.

For a standard adult renewal, no one needs to vouch for you. On a paper form, GOV.UK asks for a countersignature on first passports, lost, stolen or damaged replacements, renewals for children aged 11 or under, and renewals where you can't be recognised from your existing passport.

One practical note: the online service takes payment by debit or credit card only. A paper form sent by post can also be paid by cheque or postal order, and Post Office Check and Send takes cash, card or a postal order.

Getting a digital passport photo that meets the rules

For an online application, a digital photo comes one of two ways: a code from a photo booth or shop, which you get before applying, or a photo taken on your own device during the application. You enter the code and the photo is added for you. It must be a new photo, taken in the last month, even if you look the same.

Two persistent myths trip up applicants at this stage.

Myth 1: You need a photo booth. You don't, but GOV.UK's photo guidance says you'll need someone to help you take a photo on your own device, and that booth or shop photos are more likely to be approved.

Myth 2: Any clear photo will do. Not quite. The photo must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, in focus, in colour and not edited, with no hair over your eyes and nothing covering your face. If it doesn't meet the rules, your application will be delayed, which matters if a travel date is fixed.

The main rules: a plain light-coloured background, eyes open and visible, a plain expression with your mouth closed, and no shadows. No glasses unless you have to wear them, and no head covering unless it's for religious or medical reasons.

What a British passport renewal costs, from online to Premium

Renewing an adult passport online costs £102 from the UK, against £115.50 for a paper form, according to GOV.UK's passport fees table. The online fee rose from £94.50 in April 2026 under the 2026 fee regulations, an increase of about 8%.

Applying from another country costs more. The fee regulations set £116.50 for an adult applying online from outside the UK, and GOV.UK's overseas passport service has the forms and prices. Fast Track and Premium aren't open to you abroad: GOV.UK points you to an emergency travel document instead.

That's the baseline. The tiers above cost considerably more.

The 1 week Fast Track service costs £192 for an adult passport. You book an appointment at a passport office, the earliest the day after you apply, and the new passport arrives by courier 1 week after that appointment. The 1 day Premium service costs £239.50 and is only for renewing an adult passport. The earliest appointment is 2 days after you apply, you hand in your old passport there, and the new one is ready to collect 4 hours later.

GOV.UK says you cannot get a refund if you cancel your application or you're not entitled to a passport, so check you've picked the right application type before you reach the payment screen.

UK passport renewals usually arrive within 3 weeks

HM Passport Office says you'll usually get your passport within 3 weeks. The 3 weeks start when HMPO receives your documents, not when you apply online, so post your old passport straight away. It can take longer if HMPO needs more information or has to interview you, and it will tell you within 3 weeks if so.

That gap is exactly where travel plans come undone.

Picture a passport that expires in October, noticed in late June with a trip to Spain booked for August. It is already too short for Spain, which needs at least 3 months left after you leave the Schengen area, so renewing is not optional. The usual 3 weeks leaves room, but only if the photo passes first time and HMPO doesn't need more information or an interview.

Fast Track and Premium appointments can be booked up to 3 weeks in advance. If Fast Track is your contingency plan, check availability while there's still time to use it. One warning from GOV.UK: if you've already applied and your passport hasn't arrived, don't pay for an urgent passport. It won't come sooner, and you'll be charged a £34.50 admin fee for each extra application.

You can track an online application straight away if your reference number begins with 'PEX'. If you used a paper form, including paper Check and Send at the Post Office, call the Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000 instead.

Planning your renewal around upcoming travel

Apply well before you travel, and treat 3 weeks as the minimum rather than the plan. GOV.UK sets no fixed lead time, and HMPO's 3-week guide assumes your application goes through first time. If your trip falls inside that window, look at Fast Track or Premium appointments straight away.

Post-Brexit, validity matters as much as processing speed.

For Schengen countries such as Spain and France, the UK Foreign Office's travel advice says, as of October 2026, that your passport must have an expiry date at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area, and a date of issue less than 10 years before the day you arrive. The issue date catches people out. A passport renewed before 1 October 2018 might have an issue date more than 10 years ago, which makes it invalid for Schengen entry even though it has not expired. Check the GOV.UK foreign travel advice for your destination before booking flights, not after. Finland is in Schengen too, so check your dates before you book a Lapland trip from the UK.

How much time you need left on your passport depends on the country you're visiting, GOV.UK says. For regular travellers, renewing before your passport falls short of your usual destinations' rules avoids the £192 Fast Track fee and any last-minute scramble. A new adult passport is valid for 10 years.

Online is the easiest way to renew for most adults

Online renewal is the simplest route for most adults: no form to fill in by hand, no printed photos and, for a standard renewal, no countersignatory. It's also £13.50 cheaper than a paper form, and GOV.UK says applying by post takes longer. A paper form comes from a Post Office with Check and Send or from the Passport Adviceline. Post Office Check and Send costs £16 on top of the passport fee. Staff check your application before it goes, which GOV.UK says makes rejection less likely, and the digital version includes your photo, taken in the branch.

Online beats post on speed and cost for most adult renewals. Either way, your old passport goes to HM Passport Office.

Staying connected while your passport is renewed

Passport renewal halts international travel, not your data plan. The weeks of waiting are a good time to sort your mobile data before you go.

An eSIM (an embedded digital SIM, stored as a profile on your handset) downloads over Wi-Fi. You can buy a travel data plan, such as an eSIM for Spain, and install it at home before you leave.

Roaming on your UK network works the other way round. Three's Go Roam, for example, works automatically once you arrive in one of its destinations, and on Three plans without roaming built in you buy a Go Roam pass or pay a daily charge. EE and other networks set their own roaming terms, so check your plan before you go.

This matters most for dual-SIM setups. Apple says the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and later support Dual SIM with eSIM, so your UK number stays active for calls and texts whilst a local data plan runs alongside it. Our guide to using an eSIM on iPhone covers the setup.

Getting ready for your first trip on a new passport

A new passport arriving through the letterbox creates a short window to update everything connected to the old document number. It's tempting to book flights first. The sensible order is the opposite: updates first, bookings confirmed. GOV.UK puts it plainly: don't book travel until you have a valid passport, because your new one won't have the same number as your old one.

Work through these in sequence:

1. Update your airline booking and hotel reservations. Your passenger record still carries the old passport number and expiry date. Log into manage-my-booking and change them. Any hotel that required passport details at reservation needs the same update.
2. Contact your travel insurer. Some policies list the insured document number. An incorrect number can complicate a claim. Takes two minutes.
3. Check entry requirements against your new passport. If your old passport holds a visa that is still valid, GOV.UK says you can use it as long as you carry both passports, though the rules differ for Russia. Run a quick check against your destination's rules before confirming the booking.
4. Notify your bank. If your passport was used as primary ID when opening the account, update it. If you use Revolut, Wise, or Monzo as a travel card, check whether identity re-verification applies to your account.
5. Install your travel eSIM before you fly. Scan the QR code at home over Wi-Fi, so there's nothing left to set up in arrivals.

The eSIM step is easy to leave to the last minute, and arrivals is a poor place to sort it. Doing it at home takes a few minutes.