Applying for new or renewed passport? You might need to get new photos taken and your form signed – but just who can you ask to countersign these valuable documents?
Here we look at all the information you need to get your passport application back on track. Here’s the easy-to-follow guide you’ll need.
Find out who can and can’t sign your passport photoimage credit
When do I need to get my passport photo and form, or those of children, signed?
You’ll need to get two passport photos and form signed – by a person qualified to do so – if the applicant falls into any of these categories…
- First adult passport
- First child passport
- Replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged passport
- Renewal of a passport for a child aged 11 or under
- Renewal of a passport if your appearance has changed and you can’t be recognised from your existing passport
Who can sign my passport photos and form?
Firstly, they must satisfy the following criteria:
1) Have known the person applying (or the adult who signed the form if the passport is for a child under 16) for at least 2 years
2) Be able to identify the person applying, eg they’re a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows them professionally)
3) Be ‘a person of good standing in their community’ or work in (or be retired from) a recognised profession. See below.
If you’re applying in the UK the countersignatory must:
1) Live in the UK
2) Have a current British or Irish passport
If you’re applying outside the UK the countersignatory must:
Hold a current British, Irish or other EU, US or Commonwealth passport.
If they hold a US, Commonwealth, or non-British or non-Irish EU passport, your application must include a colour photocopy of the page with their photograph on it.
Tip: Applications will be processed faster if they are signed by someone with a British or Irish passport.
Recognised professions
Choose a person working in or retired from one of the following professions sign your photos (they must also satisfy the criteria listed above).
Accountant
Airline pilot
Articled clerk of a limited company
Assurance agent of recognised company
Bank/building society official
Barrister
Chairman/director of limited company
Chiropodist
Commissioner for oaths
Councillor, eg local or county
Civil servant (permanent)
Dentist
Director/manager/personnel officer of a VAT-registered company
Engineer – with professional qualifications
Financial services intermediary, eg a stockbroker or insurance broker
Fire service official
Funeral director
Insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company
Journalist
Justice of the Peace
Legal secretary – fellow or associate member of the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs
Licensee of public house
Local government officer
Manager/personnel officer of a limited company
Member, associate or fellow of a professional body
Member of Parliament
Merchant Navy officer
Minister of a recognised religion – including Christian Science
Nurse – RGN or RMN
Officer of the armed services
Optician
Paralegal – certified paralegal, qualified paralegal or associate member of the Institute of Paralegals
Person with honours, eg an OBE or MBE
Pharmacist
Photographer – professional
Police officer
Post Office official
President/secretary of a recognised organisation
Salvation Army officer
Social worker
Solicitor
Surveyor
Teacher, lecturer
Trade union officer
Travel agent – qualified
Valuer or auctioneer – fellows and associate members of the incorporated society
Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers
Who can’t sign my photos?
Apart from people not working in a ‘recognised profession’ or not being ‘a person of good standing in their community’, official guidelines also bar the following from signing:
Your countersignatory can’t:
Work for HM Passport Office
Be a doctor, unless they state that they know you well (eg good friend) and that they recognise you easily from your photo.
No. The person signing photos cannot be:
Related by birth or marriage
Be in a relationship with or live at the same address as the person applying.
He or she must write the following on the reverse of one of the two photographs you have.
‘I certify that this is a true likeness of [title and full name of adult or child who is getting the passport].’
They must then sign and date the photo underneath the statement.
The person who signs your form and photo could be contacted by HM Passport Office for additional information. The process could be delayed if they’re not available – on holiday for example.
I have been out of the country for 4 years on that time my son was born in ARGENTINA am currently doing hes paaport aplication further said i have lost contact with several freinds so i dont have any civil servant poeples to sighn for my sons passport what should i do?
Get a solicitor. They should sign it. Or they’ll get someone who Can.
Can the same person signed my first passport and my sons to verify us
Can someone who works in a shop sign my passport
I am an office administrator for a firm of solicitors. Can I countersign a child’s first passport?
Can my universal credit coach hoo works in the job center countersign my passport application and photo please
Can my hair dresser who as known me for. More than. Two. Years sign my passport?
Hi can a retired teacher sigh my daughter’s passport as doing it on line. Thanks
Hi Annie, Examples of recognised professions include teachers: https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications/accepted-occupations-for-countersignatories
Can a hairdresser of 25 yrs sight a passport
Frankly, it seems daft that a chiropodist (foot doctor) and optometrist (eye doctor) could sign, but a GP (all round doctor) can’t. And I suspect the reason is more to do with the government shortening waiting times/lists for NHS paid doctors, rather than some technical reason.
That aside, as far as hairdressers (hair doctors…?) go, no they can’t… UNLESS… they satisfy the other professions in their hairdressing capacity. I’m thinking if they are in the business for 25 years, they may well be the owner of their salon, so may well fulfil the criteria for being a company director of a business, or the accountant etc… Speak to them, and find out.
can a cousin that is a teacher? countersign a passport photo.
Can a person not in one of the professions mentioned countersign a passport