Passport Application (New / Renewal / Tatkaal)

What is Passport Seva and who issues an Indian passport?

An Indian passport is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs under the Passports Act, 1967 and the Passport Rules, 1980. Delivery is handled through the Passport Seva programme, whose citizen portal is passportindia.gov.in and whose mobile front end is the mPassport Seva app.

Three kinds of office actually process applications:

• Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). The main front offices attached to each Regional Passport Office, handling document verification, biometrics and granting.
• Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK); smaller centres run inside head post offices, which extended the network into district towns.
• Regional Passport Office (RPO). The parent office that grants the passport, handles complex cases, appeals and grievances.

The process is deliberately split. You apply and pay online, then attend a mandatory in-person appointment for document verification and biometrics. There is no route that skips the physical visit.

Who is eligible to apply for a passport?

You can apply if:

• You are a citizen of India. There is no minimum age, passports are issued to infants, with a minor's passport valid for five years or until the child turns 18, whichever is earlier.
• You are applying for a fresh passport, having never held one.
• You are applying for a re-issue, because your passport has expired, is nearing expiry, has run out of blank pages, needs a change of particulars such as name or address, or has been lost or damaged.
• You are applying under Tatkaal and can produce the additional verification documents that scheme requires.

You cannot apply, or your application will not be granted, if:

• You are not an Indian citizen. Foreign nationals resident in India apply to their own country's mission.
• A court has ordered that a passport not be issued to you, or you are required to be in India in connection with proceedings before a criminal court. Pending criminal cases require disclosure and, in most situations, a court's no-objection.
• You have suppressed material information or given a false particular in the application. This is an offence under the Passports Act and leads to refusal.
• You are seeking Tatkaal but fall into a category the Ministry has excluded from expedited processing, for example certain lost-passport and change-of-name cases. The portal's Tatkaal guidance lists the current exclusions.

Minors need both parents' consent, recorded through the prescribed annexure. Where one parent is unavailable or the parents are separated, a different annexure applies, and the Document Advisor on passportindia.gov.in generates the exact list for your circumstances.

How much does a passport cost?

The Ministry of External Affairs notified the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026 on 25 June 2026, replacing Schedule IV of the Passport Rules, 1980, with effect from 1 July 2026. The headline adult rates are:

A 10 per cent discount continues for fresh applications by children up to 8 years and senior citizens above 60 years.

Two points matter more than the table. First, a re-issue is not cheaper than a fresh passport under the standard rows, the same amount applies. Second, other categories exist that are not shown above, including minors, lost or damaged passports and Police Clearance Certificates. Rather than trust a third-party figure, open the Fee Calculator on passportindia.gov.in, select your exact category, and use the amount it returns.

Payment modes for the online step are credit or debit card (MasterCard and Visa) and internet banking, routed through State Bank of India's Multi Option Payment System. Payment once made for availing passport services will not be refunded.

What documents are required for a passport?

Carry originals plus self-attested photocopies of everything. The verifying officer at the PSK sees the originals, retains the copies, and any missing item means the application is held or the appointment is wasted.

The address proof deserves particular care because it is the address the police will visit. If you have moved recently, use a document that reflects where you actually live now, not an ancestral address.

How to apply for a passport online

1. Open passportindia.gov.in and select Register. Choose the Passport Office nearest to your present address and create a user ID.
2. Log in with the user ID and password you created.
3. Select Apply for Fresh Passport / Re-issue of Passport. You may fill the form online, or download the e-Form, complete it offline and upload the XML.
4. Choose the scheme: Normal or Tatkaal, and the booklet size, 36 or 60 pages, then complete the form with your personal, family, address and emergency-contact details.
5. Submit the form. A unique Application Reference Number (ARN) is generated and sent to your registered mobile number by SMS.
6. Open View Saved / Submitted Applications and select Pay and Schedule Appointment. Online payment is mandatory before an appointment can be booked.
7. Select the appointment quota — Tatkaal or Normal, and the PSK or POPSK you want to visit, then click Pay and Book Appointment. You are redirected to SBI's Multi Option Payment System.
8. Choose net banking or card payment and complete it without pressing Back or refreshing, which can fail the transaction. On success the appointment is booked automatically and the Appointment Confirmation screen appears.
9. Print the Application (ARN) Receipt and carry it to the Passport Seva Kendra at the given date and time.
10. Attend the appointment, complete document verification, photograph and biometrics, then track the application until despatch.

What happens at the Passport Seva Kendra appointment?

The PSK visit runs through three counters in sequence.

1. Counter A, a Passport Seva officer scans your documents, captures your photograph and fingerprints, and confirms the form details on screen. Check every field here; corrections after this point are far harder.
2. Counter B. A Passport Office official verifies the documents against originals and records the verification.
3. Counter C, a senior officer takes the granting decision and, for Tatkaal applicants, collects the balance Tatkaal fee in cash once the Tatkaal application is accepted.

Arrive with the ARN receipt, all originals and self-attested copies. Reaching about 15 minutes before the slot is sensible; arriving late usually means forfeiting the slot, and you only get two reschedules in a year.

How to check passport application status

1. Open passportindia.gov.in and select Track Application Status, or use the mPassport Seva app.
2. Choose the application type, then enter your File Number: printed on the acknowledgement handed to you at the PSK; along with your date of birth.
3. Read the status. The sequence runs from application submitted, through police verification, to granted, printed and despatched.
4. Once despatch is shown, use the speed post tracking number displayed to follow the booklet to your address.

How long does a passport take?

Timelines depend almost entirely on police verification, not on printing. Under normal processing, police verification happens before issue, so the total time reflects how quickly the local police station completes and uploads its report. Under Tatkaal, verification is generally moved to after issue, which is precisely why the passport arrives faster.

Because the police step varies by state, district and even police station, the honest answer is a range rather than a fixed number, and Passport Seva publishes its current service commitments on the portal. Track your own file rather than relying on what a friend in another city experienced.

Why passport applications get delayed or rejected

• Address proof does not match where you live, so the police cannot trace you and file an adverse or incomplete report.
• Applicant not available at the address when the police visit. Keep your phone reachable and inform the household.
• Name spelt differently across Aadhaar, PAN, school certificate and the application. Passports are printed exactly as verified; mismatches trigger queries.
• Missing annexure, especially in minor, name-change and Tatkaal cases.
• Old passport not surrendered in a re-issue, or the ECR/observation page not produced.
• Undisclosed criminal case discovered at police verification, which stops the file until a court no-objection is produced.
• Appointment missed. The fee is not refunded and only two reschedules are allowed within a year of the first appointment date.

Most of these are fixed by uploading the missing document through the portal or by visiting the Regional Passport Office that holds your file. A rejection on merits can be appealed to the RPO, and beyond that to the Ministry.

Help and grievance redressal

• National Call Centre: 1800-258-1800, toll free. Passport Seva runs a 24x7 call centre answering queries in 17 languages; automated IVRS is available round the clock and citizen service executives from 8 AM to 10 PM.
• Jammu & Kashmir: 040-66720567 and North East states: 040-66720581 (paid numbers), because of a connectivity issue on the toll-free line in those regions.
• Grievance form on passportindia.gov.in for written complaints, with an RTI route where a reply is not received.
• Regional Passport Office in person for document disputes, adverse police reports and appeals.

Applying for a passport yourself is free of any charge beyond the prescribed government fee. Registering on passportindia.gov.in, filling the form, booking the appointment and tracking status all cost nothing extra. Agents and "passport consultants" charging Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000 for these steps are common outside every PSK, and none of them can make the police verification move faster. Worse, handing over your documents to an agent who fills the form with a convenient address is one of the surest ways to get an adverse police report. Fill the form yourself, pay only through the SBI payment gateway on the official portal, and never share your Passport Seva password or an OTP.