Passports Office Reviews 

These imbeciles refused to return my UK birth certificate and US Passport. I was informed on the telephone, by a non-english speaking clerk, my documents were going to be destroyed. Excuses after excuses they will not take reponsibility. In what demented and incompetent world does any other government retain your passport and refuse to return it. This is disgusting and abhorrent behaviour. Typical of today's broken Britain.

I sent a about expired passport, but they lost the document. Their reaction was virtually so what not my problem.
Attempting to get a response from them was met with silence. No care that I'm exposed to identy theft or the breach of Data Protection. Tgey even attempted charge me twice for a new passport after the loss/theft of my old one.
I'm now struggling to get a new passport and they are only interested in blocking new applications.

Update:
I had to pay the passport office a few of £107 again! Because they wouldn't accept my postal order that was paid for in cash, so if you are applying for your first ever passport, DO NOT get a postal order, they don't accept them and was told that on the phone, you have to pay by card, despite what the official website states, the information on there is clearly not up to date.

Luckily I'll be getting my postal order back and it can be refunded, so if you are applying for your first ever UK passport, please take note to avoid the trouble that I had to go through.

01/02/2026:
I have sent off a passport application on the 01/02/2026 with a postal order which by the way got crossed, that was inside along with a bunch of paper work to apply for my first ever UK passport, a few weeks later, I get a text and email stating that I need to pay the fee.

Myself and my friend who has helped me out with the application and sent off the passport with a postal order which was paid in cash at a post office, so we made multiple phone calls to the passport office over the last 3 weeks.

The first time we phoned, an Indian person who answered the phone said I needed to pay, myself and my friend have explained the situation, which by the way, the Indian person couldn't understand and clearly didn't knew what we were talking about, only to then say we got nothing to worry about.

It was quiet then, heard nothing, a week after, they sent another email and text stating I must pay, so we phoned again, explained again, but a British person answered this time, they said that I needed to pay, so I've explained the situation and then they give a lovely excuse that they lost the postal order now, great stuff so I am over a £100 out of pocket, plus the cost to send it off.

So we sent off a receipt from the post office of proof of purchase of the postal order, guess what? I am told I need to pay again.

What's going on here? It clearly states on the government website that a postal order is accepted and they would need to bank it, but nope, I need to pay and I am £127 out of pocket to be precise, brilliant, over a month of applying and waiting with endless phone calls, just to end up being stressed all over a passport this is.

Clearly the UK Passport Office which is owned by the UK Government are a bunch of scammers, trying to make another £107 from me, not happening, I am looking at seeking legal advice and action, this is absolutely disgraceful and clearly the people who work there are incompetent and need training, absolutely disgusting service and the place needs to go into administration.

They have probably scammed loads of people over the years, what do you expect from the government, all I can say is if you are applying for a passport, don't get a postal order, they clearly don't accept them and the information on their website is clearly out of date and needs updating.

It took nearly 6 months to get first baby passport born in UK as a British citizen. 'Ordinary' British referees been not accepted because not holding required position in the society. The birth certificate was returned ruined-creased, wet from rain, pushed through the front door letter box even I sent the original document as a recorded letter in a hard envelope in protective cover.

Returned a damaged citizenship certificate and haven't responded to my complaint despiete regular follow ups. It's been 6 months.

I applied for passport on 13 January 2026 from Australia and received it o 26 January 2026, a toatal of 13 days including postage to the UK for suppirting documents and return postage. Every stage of dealing with my application was communicated clearly. Excellent and surprising service

We applied on line with the standard service for £94.50 each and we did our own photos with a mobile phone and and uploaded them. We applied on the Friday and sent our old passports in the post that same day. We received a email and text message on the Monday to say our old passports had been received. Then on the Wednesday we were advised that our application had been approved and the on the Thursday were told that our new passports had been printed and had been handed to the delivery service and they then turned upon the Friday. An amazing service from start to finish and all within one week…….well done all involved

HM Passport Office, Corby Office did a very swift and efficient turnaround on renewal of my Passport - 6 days from an online application in January to safe receipt (tracked mail) at my home! I was kept updated throughout the renewal process by email which saved me worry and wonder.
Thanks and well done Corby Office.

I recently spoke to 3 separate people at the HMPO about not being able to send my passport. I explained that I recently relocated to the USA and need my passport and immigrant VISA stamp as proof of immigration status for ICE. They have been less than helpful. I was told I either send in the expiring or write a letter cancelling the application and reapply when the passport expires or when I no longer need the visa stamp. I cant do either as immigrants have been advised indefinitely to leave their home with proof of immigration.

The non identifiable people I have spoken to have not been helpful or understanding and no procedures to deal with any situations or circumstances are in their workflow.

I am writing this as a husband who has watched his wife break down in tears at an airport, while a government system hid behind “policy” and destroyed something we can never get back.

My wife was previously an Indian citizen. We followed every rule, every process, and every cost the UK system required. We went through settlement visas, extensions, and finally naturalisation — all of which cost thousands of pounds and took years of paperwork, checks, and waiting. At every stage, her name was known legally, consistent, and accepted.

When her Certificate of Naturalisation was issued, her full name was recorded in a single field instead of correctly separating her first name and surname. This single administrative decision — made by the Home Office — created a chain reaction that no department would later take responsibility for.

HM Passport Office then issued her British passport under an “uncommon name” policy, inserting “XXX” into the given name field and placing her actual name entirely in the surname field, with an observation stating she has “one name”. On paper, the passport looked valid. In reality, it was a ticking time bomb.

On the day of travel, my parents and sister boarded the flight. My wife and I were denied boarding at the airport. The airline refused the passport outright. We stood there powerless while our family left without us to the UAE.

This trip was not a holiday we could “rebook later”. It was planned months in advance for my father’s 60th birthday, which is two days from the time of writing this review. A milestone that only happens once. My parents are already abroad. My wife and I are at home, devastated.

We lost thousands of pounds in flights, hotels, activities, parking, and transfers. But the financial loss is secondary to the emotional damage. My wife felt humiliated, helpless, and blamed for something that was entirely outside her control by HMPO call centre staff.

What followed after was even worse.

We contacted HM Passport Office, escalated, complained, booked a premium appointment, involved Citizens Advice, and begged for urgency. Eventually, HM Passport Office confirmed what became painfully clear: this was not their fault. They are legally bound to issue passports exactly as the Certificate of Naturalisation is written. The problem, they said, lies with whoever issued the certificate.

And yet — there is no emergency correction process. No fast-track. No human discretion. No ownership. Just departments pointing at each other while real people absorb the damage.

At no point were we warned when the certificate was issued that this naming format would cause international travel failure. At no point were we contacted in a meaningful way to explain the consequences. At no point did we consent to my wife being treated as a person with “one name”.
Once the error existed, the system washed its hands of us.

This experience has shown us something deeply unsettling: once a mistake enters the Home Office system, the citizen pays the price, not the system. There is no accountability proportional to the harm caused. There is no safety net for urgent, real-life consequences.

We did not ask for special treatment. We asked for a correction to an obvious administrative issue that had already caused serious harm. Instead, we were met with rigid scripts, delays, and silence.
This has caused: • Denial of international travel
• Family separation
• A ruined milestone birthday
• Severe financial loss
• Emotional distress and anxiety
• A complete loss of trust in the system

If you are a naturalised citizen — especially from a country where naming conventions differ — scrutinise your Certificate of Naturalisation before you ever book travel. Because if it’s wrong, you may only find out when you are standing at an airport being told you cannot leave the country.

This system did not just fail administratively.

It failed us as living people.

If any MP’s out there that can be bothered to read all the negative reviews maybe you could use your powers and sort this shambles of a department out. The positive reviews are down to the excellent on-line service. If you need a name change then it’s a very stressful experience. The department is not fit for purpose.

Outstanding speed via online renewal. Texts sent for every stage of progress.
Used photo box ID. Easy. This a new and invigorated passport office service.
Congratulations !!
.

Posted my application 2nd class post a week ago.
From receipt the Passport office kept me advised of progress throughout the process.
My new Passport arrived yesterday .Too less than a week, and this was standard service 2nd class post

Great service. We renewed our passports quickly and efficiently. We were kept informed and updated at every stage of the process. Why can't other government departments and processes be this efficient?

Sent all documentation for a surname change, I had called ahead an confirmed that the documents I was sending would be acceptable and told yes there would be no problems.
Then received an email to say one of the documents weren't accepted.
Then sent a different piece of documentation and now no updates on application, have checked the online process updates and there haven't been any for weeks.
Called today and a lady wouldn't tell me anything, kept saying we can't say if documents been received, you will receive an update on your application in your online tracker when necessary.
Poor customer service and poor tracker with no updates for weeks.

I was needing to get my passport done for the first time since I was a child. Plus I live overseas in America. Once I got the photo figured out, there are no places here in America that do passport photos to UK standards. I did the online application, got confirmation and then sent my documents to the passport office. From the time I submitted the application to the time everything was done and back in my hands, was 9 DAYS. Fantastic job! 9 days and i had my new passport in my hand! Unbelievable service, and it was during the Christmas holiday time.

I was quite anxious about our passport issue. It is a formal and quiet environment so can feel quite tense. I was dealt with a lovely lady called Rosa. She was kind and reassuring and put me at ease. She also went out of her way to let me know someone in the London office was looking at our case, which she didn’t need to do and kept me hopeful for the passport’s arrival!
I’ve done 4 stars as despite being pretty empty I waited a while.

First class service over the holiday period

Could not have been better. We can only hope that this level of service could be rolled out all over the UK!

Past guideline times, customer service unable to give any information. They can keep the application as long as they feel like as well as payment for the passport application and your documents. I thought getting this passport sorted will be quicker, however I should have made alternative arrangements. Massive fail and awful service

Very very good - fast, informative throughout process. Very impressed