Child Passport

This page provides information on child passports, including whose consent is required, what happens if there is a caveat in place, and passports for looked-after children. 

Young persons aged 16 and 17

A young person can apply for an adult passport without consent from a parent or guardian if they are aged 16 or over (or will be in 3 weeks). There is an exception to this rule if the young person is subject to a court order until they are 18.

Who is required to provide consent? 

Consent is required from:

• a parent or guardian with parental responsibility for a child under 16 years of age or a child 16 or 16 years of age who is subject to a court order. 
• the young person who is over the age of 16 years and not subject to a court order

Unless an objection has been lodged with HM Passport Office by a parent or other objector, a passport is normally issued to children with the consent of either parent with parental responsibility. However, HM Passport Office, in some circumstances, requires additional consent or official authorisation. 

Additional consent or official authorisation could come from:

• a court order
• a parent or guardian - when there is a caveat in place; change to the gender in the passport for anyone under 18 years old; change of name for a child; a dispute between parents; lost or stolen passport. 

What is a caveat? 

In certain circumstances, a parent or guardian with parental responsibility can lodge an objection with HM Passport Office to the granting of passport facilities for a child. The record remains in place for 12 months, after which the objector is contacted to ask whether or not they wish to continue.

An objector can ask the Identity and Passport Service not to issue a passport for a child if a court has made one of the following orders:

• A Prohibited Steps Order;
• An order confirming that the child’s removal from the jurisdiction is contrary to the wishes of the court;
• A Child Arrangements Order and the objector is the person with whom the child lives with;
• An order specifying that the objector’s consent to the removal of the child from the jurisdiction is necessary;
• An order upholding the objector’s objections to the child having a passport or leaving the country.

It frequently happens that when an objection is accepted by HM Passport Office the child already has a valid passport. HM Passport Office is not able to force the surrender of a passport in order to give effect to the objection. The most that can be done by HM Passport Office is to note the name of the child for a period of 12 months so that if during that time the passport should come into the possession of HM Passport Office, or another application is made for a passport for the child, they could then act on the objection.

Lost or stolen passports

If the child's passport has genuinely been lost, report the loss to your local police station and inform HM Passport Office so that you can get a replacement. If you report a passport as being lost or stolen but know that it is being held by another person, this is deemed as a malicious cancellation.

HM Passport Office will need additional confirmation and consent, if:

• the person who originally consented to the old passport has not declared it lost or stolen.
• HM Passport Office is aware that there is a dispute about who should hold the child’s passport between those with parental responsibility.

Change of name for a child

A parent or guardian with parental responsibility will need to get the child a new passport if the child's name has changed.

The following supporting documents are required:

• the old passport
• a deed poll or similar document about the name change
• at least one piece of evidence that shows the new name being used, for example NHS records, child benefits or school records
• written consent from everyone with PR

Everyone who holds parental responsibility must give their consent to the change of name before HM Passport Office will issue a passport in the new name. In the absence of consent from each person with parental responsibility, a court order (Specific Issue Order) must be obtained specifically allowing the child's change of name. For more information, see our page on Changing a child's surname.

When HM Passport Office must not ask for additional consent: safeguarding concerns

HM Passport Office must not ask for additional consent from a parent or guardian with parental responsibility and instead refer to this guidance, if it is established they:

• have been violent or abusive to the child;
• have a Restraining Order or Prohibited Steps Order preventing or restricting them from contacting the child;
• are in prison.

Passports for looked after children

Guidance on this issue was provided by the Home Office in May 2020 and can be found here. 

Children under Care Orders

Children's services are normally only permitted to apply for passports on behalf of a looked-after child if they have parental responsibility, which occurs if the child is subject to a Care Order or an Interim Care Order. In these cases, children's services can apply for a passport on the child's behalf without the child's parents' or anyone else's permission. In all other cases, children's services do not have parental responsibility, and the application cannot be processed unless at least one person with parental responsibility consents.

Children under Section 20 accommodation 

Children's services do not hold parental responsibility when a child is in Section 20 accommodation, so they cannot normally apply for passport facilities for the child without the consent of a parent, guardian, or other person with parental responsibility.

On rare occasions, an application for a child may be received and those with parental responsibility refuse to give their consent. Instead, the applicant has submitted a court order indicating that issuing a passport is in the best interests of the child. This type of situation could arise if a child is voluntarily housed by the local authority under section 20 accommodation and wishes to go on holiday independently or with their carers. Applications received with such an order may be accepted.

Passports for children under wardship

A passport cannot be issued to a child who is the subject of wardship unless the court grants permission. Because HM Passport Office is not automatically notified of court orders, you must notify them in order for them to act on the order, and no action will be taken until they receive the actual court order.

Who should hold child passports?

There is no specific rule in family and child law regarding who should hold child passports; therefore, this will be up to parents to decide. If an agreement cannot be reached, either mediation or a Specific Issue Order can be sought.

The surrendering of child passports?

Where the court makes an order prohibiting or otherwise restricting the removal of a child from the UK, from any specified part of it, or from a specified dependent territory, the court may make an order under Section 37 of the Family Law Act 1986 requiring any person to surrender any UK passport that has been issued to, or contains particulars of, the child.