Follow @ukpassportcheckOnline Premium
Receive your new passport at the appointment. Earliest slots are typically from 2 days after you apply.
UK Passport Check
Getting a Fast Track or Online Premium Appointment
Need your passport urgently? This page explains the Online Premium and 1 week Fast Track services, and how the free @ukpassportcheck Twitter account helps you spot when new appointments become available.
Before you book
Always read the official UK government guidance on getting an urgent passport before booking anything. Appointment availability, fees and eligibility can change.
Key information
1 week Fast Track
Collect a paper form from a Post Office and attend an interview. Passport delivery aims for within one week.
Peak-time alerts
When appointments are scarce, @ukpassportcheck posts when the GOV.UK booking service comes online again.
Free to follow
The Twitter bot is free. Enable mobile notifications to hear when Fast Track or Premium slots appear.
Do you need your passport urgently?
If you require your passport in a hurry you can apply for either the Online Premium service or 1 week Fast Track service. For both of these services you need to book an appointment online and attend an interview at one of the designated offices.
Who can use this service?
- You can use this service if you need to renew, replace or update, or get a first child passport.
- You are in the UK
When you cannot use this service
- If you are outside the UK
- If you are applying for a first adult passport
- If you have already applied for a passport that you have not received. Instead, you might be able to upgrade your existing application.
1 week Fast Track Service
You will receive your passport within one week of your interview (our data shows this to be an average of 5.68 days). You need to take a paper application form from a Post Office with you to the appointment.
Fast Track remains a paper-form route with an in-person appointment, so prepare your documents and photo before you book. Compare current community averages on latest UK passport waiting times if you are deciding between standard renewal and an urgent service.
Getting an appointment in peak times
It can be difficult at times to get a Fast Track or Premium appointment in busy periods. The website often places you in a digital queue and even when you are able to access the page there may be no appointments available — or only in parts of the country that are not practical for you.
To help our users we have partnered with the Twitter account @ukpassportcheck that checks to see when new appointments are released and alerts you via Twitter. You can find out more about this service below.
Welcome to the homepage for the Twitter account @ukpassportcheck
Here you will find information about the account and some frequently asked questions.
Warning: Before booking anything please make sure you have read through the UK government official website on getting an urgent passport.
About the account
The ukpassportcheck Twitter bot was set up in May 2022. At that time, it was unclear when urgent (Fast Track and Premium) passport appointments were made available on the GOV.UK website. There were conflicting messages circulating on social media. Initially designed to help a family member get an appointment, it was turned into a Twitter bot to help the public stay informed on when appointments were available. Within a few months it had helped thousands of people get their Fast Track and Premium appointments and reached over 20,000 followers on Twitter.
How do I use it?
The bot is free to use. But it requires you to sign up to Twitter. Once you have signed up, it is best to use the mobile Twitter app as this allows you to get mobile phone notifications for the tweets.
How do I get alerts?
Using the mobile Twitter app, follow the account and click the bell button at the top of the page. This will activate phone notifications for when the account sends a tweet. Make sure your phone is not on silent or do not disturb. The types of messages you will get alerts for are:
- When appointments have become available (service is “online”)
- When appointments are no longer available (service is “offline”)
- What appointments are available
- Occasional information tweets about the service and account
How does it work?
The code is open-source and available on GitHub and uses GitHub Actions to automate the process. This checks the Premium and Fast Track booking websites every minute. If the website stops displaying a No Appointments Available message (“offline”) then the bot will post a tweet to say the service is “online”, including the link to the booking system. Once it sees that No Appointments Available message again it will post that the service is “offline”.
The bot also looks at the appointments available and posts a tweet. The bot keeps checking, and if more appointments are added it will post again to Twitter.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. It is free. If you would like to say thank you, donations to this charity page would be greatly appreciated. The account has raised over £4,000 so far for The Grand Appeal and Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Frequently asked questions
These questions come from the original UK Passport Check guidance for Fast Track and Online Premium appointments.
You can book more than one online in the same session, but you need to book two separate slots, one for each person you are applying for.
Yes, as long as you're not within 48 hours of the appointment. You can change the appointment date by clicking the link in your confirmation email when the Fast Track service is next online. Then you will be able to select a different date and/or location.
Yes. You can if you're now 16 or older.
Related Passport Tools
Passport Validity Checker
Check common European passport date-validity rules before you travel.
Current Waiting Times
See the latest published averages across UK passport application types.
Renew Your Passport
Find out how long adult renewals are currently taking.
Passport Photo FAQs
Avoid photo rejections before you book an urgent appointment.
Submit Your Wait Time
Share your timeline and help keep community averages accurate.
Ready for the next step?
Follow appointment alerts if you need an urgent slot, then use Passport Waiting Time tools to check validity, compare waiting times or share your own timeline.