Recent UK Passport Applicant Timelines

Paid for standard service. Really impressed with the speed and efficiency.

Application received 28 July 2026 Documents received 30 July 2026 Photo rejected 7 August 2026 New photo received 7 August 2026 Application approved 7 August 2026 Passport printed 10 August 2026 First photo was taken at home which was rejected

No delays at all, photo taken by myself at a high quality.

Almost alarmed by the efficiency of this. The last two times I've had to renew, I went to London to do same-day. I was going to do that this year until I saw the prices have gone through the roof for that service; decided to risk postal (after many years reading terrible things about the service) and am gobsmacked. Applied on Monday, passport in hand on Friday of the same week. Now just need to wait for the return of my old passport and hope there are no issues there.

Online application submitted: 29/07 Documents received: 31/07 Passport approved: 10/08 Passport posted: 11/08 Passport received: 12/08 a couple of hours after notified delivery window

Online application submitted: 29/07 Documents received: 31/07 Passport approved: 10/08 Passport posted: 11/08 Passport received: 12/08 a couple of hours after notified delivery window

Online application submitted: 29/07 Documents received by passport office: 31/07 Passport approved: 10/08 Passport posted: 11/08 Passport received: 12/08 a couple of hours after notified delivery window

Passport Received 13 August 2026 Passport printed 7:30am on 12 August 2026 Application approved 2:25pm on 11 August 2026 Documents received 10:24pm on 3 August 2026 Application received 4:00pm on 31 July 2026 Application submitted 4:00pm on 31 July 2026

Took longer than I was expecting. When I would call about updates the passport office weren’t that helpful. However once the application was finally approved, it was a quick process. Application approved in the morning and printed later the same day. It was then dispatched to Royal Mail who delivered 2 days after approval Application submitted online 30/07/2026 Documents (old passport) received 03/08/2026 Application approved 11/08/2026 Printed 11/08/2026 Delivered 13/08/2026

Corby runs a very fast service. I think it’s fair to them that I measure their service based upon the date they officially received my documents and not when I submitted my application online. See my timeline and review below. Application Submitted 15:28pm 27th July Application Received 15:29pm 27th July DHL Delivered my Documents: 11:44am 30th July (I used DHL signed delivery) HMPO Corby Signed/Received my Documents: 15:21pm 31st July Application Approved: 10:38am 10th August Passport Printed: 7:16am 11th August Passport Delivered to me via Royal Mail: 11:12am 12th August. Overall, I recommend giving the whole renewal process between 6-8 business days, starting from when HMPO records your documents as ‘received’ and finishing when your passport is physically delivered into your possession. (This does review does not include bank holidays and pertains to late-July/Early-August 2026). Also be prepared to factor in an additional business day to account for the time difference between your courier delivering your passport and HMPO marking it as ‘received’. I strongly recommend opting for ‘signed delivery’ with your courier, even if it costs a bit more. Hope this helps!

Shocked at how quick the proccess was.

26th July - 3.52pm Submitted Application 26th July - Sent Old Passport Tracked 24 28th July - 11.30am Royal Mail Marked as Delivered 31st July - 11.48am Documents Recieved 7th August - 10.27am Passport Approved 7th August - 17.45pm Passport Printed 10th August - Royal Mail due to deliver Passport at 8.10 - 11.10am on 11th August.

Very fast turnaround , was expecting a longer wait.

Used Timpsons to take the photo and uploaded it on July 27th. Passport arrived Sat 8th August.