Documents Required for Passport Renewal in India: Checklist

To renew an Indian passport you need your old passport, proof of your current address, proof of date of birth, recent colour photographs meeting the official specs, and a signed Annexure E self-declaration, all filed through an online application on the Passport Seva portal. The documents required for passport renewal in India expand beyond that core set if you’re also updating your name or spouse details, claiming Non-ECR status, or renewing a minor’s passport. Everything below is a checklist built around those situations.¹

Your Old Passport and the Pages to Photocopy

The original expiring or expired passport is mandatory for every re-issue application. Along with the original, bring one set of self-attested photocopies of the biographical details pages, the family details page, the page showing your ECR or Non-ECR status, and any observation pages stamped by the issuing authority.² If your passport was previously extended, copy that page too. The passport office keeps the copies and returns the original after punching holes through the cover to cancel it.

Proof of Current Address

Your address document must reflect where you actually live now, even if that differs from what’s printed in your expiring passport. Any one of these is accepted:³

Aadhaar card or e-Aadhaar (also works as identity proof).
Water, electricity, or landline telephone bills in your name.
A photo passbook from a scheduled public sector, private sector Indian bank, or regional rural bank.
A registered rent agreement for leased accommodation.

For a minor applicant, a parent’s address proof is accepted in place of one in the child’s name.

Proof of Date of Birth

If you were born before 1 October 2023, you can submit any one of the following:⁴

Birth certificate issued by a municipal authority or the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
School transfer certificate or matriculation certificate showing your exact date of birth.
PAN card, provided it displays your date of birth.
Driving licence issued by the state transport department, with the date of birth printed on it.
Voter ID card (EPIC), but only if it shows the full date of birth.
An attested extract from your government service record, or a Pay Pension Order for retired government employees.
A policy bond from LIC or a public insurance company showing the policyholder’s date of birth.

For PAN cards, driving licences, and voter IDs, the precise day, month, and year must appear on the card. A document that shows only the year of birth will be rejected. One point worth flagging: Aadhaar is accepted as address proof but is not on the official list for date of birth, so don’t assume a single Aadhaar covers both requirements.

For children born on or after 1 October 2023 the rule is stricter. Only a birth certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths or a municipal authority is accepted, and no alternative documents qualify.⁴

Photographs

You need recent colour photographs measuring 2 inches by 2 inches (51 mm × 51 mm) on a plain white or off-white background. The photo must show your full face from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, head centered, eyes open and clearly visible. Head height in the frame should measure between 25 mm and 35 mm.⁵

Avoid shadows on the face or background. No sunglasses or tinted lenses. Regular eyeglasses are acceptable if there is no glare. Head coverings are only permitted for religious reasons, and the full face from chin to forehead must remain visible. For the digital upload on the portal, the file size should be between 20 KB and 100 KB with a minimum resolution of 350 × 350 pixels.

For babies under one year the eyes do not have to be open. Children under ten get some relaxation on head positioning and expression, but the photo must still be a clear frontal shot of the child alone, with no other people, toys, or furniture in view.

Annexure E Self-Declaration

Every re-issue applicant must submit Annexure E, a self-declaration confirming your identity, citizenship, and legal standing. In it you declare that you are an Indian citizen, that no criminal proceedings are pending against you in any Indian court, that no arrest warrants or departure-prohibiting court orders exist against you, and that you have not been convicted of a serious offence in the last five years. The form also asks whether you have ever been repatriated at government expense.⁶

Annexure E is signed on plain paper with your full name, address, date of birth, date, and place of signing. Providing false information on any passport document can lead to imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to ₹5,000, or both under the Passports Act.⁷

Extra Documents if You’re Changing Your Name or Spouse Details

To add a spouse’s name after marriage, submit either a marriage certificate or a joint photograph declaration signed by both spouses (Annexure J). To delete a spouse’s name after divorce, submit the divorce decree or court order. If you’re remarrying and need to replace the listed spouse, submit the divorce order or death certificate of the former spouse along with the new marriage certificate or Annexure J.⁸

For any name change unrelated to marriage or divorce, you need clippings from two local newspapers or a Gazette notification from your state government showing the change, plus at least two public or school documents already issued in the new name to prove you’ve adopted it.⁹ Women changing their name or surname specifically because of marriage, divorce, or remarriage are exempt from the newspaper publication requirement.

Extra Documents if You’re Claiming Non-ECR Status

An ECR (Emigration Check Required) stamp on your passport means you need clearance from the Protector of Emigrants before travelling to certain countries for work. Non-ECR status (sometimes labelled ECNR) removes that requirement. If your old passport already had Non-ECR, you need to re-submit qualifying documents; if you are claiming it for the first time, renewal is the time to do it. Any one of the following supports a Non-ECR claim:²

10th-standard pass certificate or any higher educational certificate.
A professional degree — MBBS or equivalent in Ayurveda or Homeopathy, engineering, chartered accountancy, cost accountancy, law, teaching, lecturing, scientific work, or accredited journalism. Spouses and dependent children of professional degree holders also qualify.
Income tax return certificate or proof of assessment and payment for the last year, for individual taxpayers. Spouse and dependent children under 18 qualify along with the taxpayer.
Birth certificate or school leaving certificate, if you are aged 50 or above.
Nothing extra for children under 18, who are automatically Non-ECR; they will need qualifying documents when they renew after turning 18.
A written statement listing all exit and entry dates with the corresponding passport page numbers, if you have spent more than 1,095 days outside India.
Proof of status as a gazetted government servant (extending to spouse and dependent children).
A diplomatic or official passport.
A two-year vocational diploma from an NCVT- or SCVT-recognized institute, or a three-year diploma from a government-recognized polytechnic.
A nursing qualification recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act.
A permanent immigration visa for a country such as the UK, USA, or Australia.

If none of these categories fit you, your renewed passport will carry the ECR stamp. That only affects work travel to the 18 notified countries; for most travellers it makes no practical difference.

Extra Documents if the Applicant Is a Minor

A minor applicant (under 18) needs most of the same documents as an adult, plus a few additions. Both parents must sign the consent form known as Annexure D. You also need self-attested copies of both parents’ passports (biographical and last pages) along with the child’s birth certificate.⁸

When one parent cannot or will not sign, the applying parent submits Annexure C instead. This is a sworn declaration explaining why the other parent’s consent is unavailable, and the supporting document varies by situation:¹⁰

Other parent abroad: copy of their passport and proof of residence abroad (long-term visa or immigration stamps).
Divorced parent with sole custody: copy of the court order granting divorce or judicial separation.
Divorce pending: copy of the divorce petition. If a court order prohibits issuing the passport, you need consent from both parents or court permission.
Other parent refuses consent: copies of communication showing the refusal, with the passport office deciding whether the evidence is sufficient.
Other parent has abandoned the family: supporting documents establishing the abandonment, evaluated case by case.

The declaring parent must also confirm that the minor is exclusively in their physical custody. False information in Annexure C can result in cancellation of the passport and criminal proceedings under both the Passports Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

When You Can Apply and When It Triggers Fresh Police Verification

You can apply for re-issue up to one year before the printed expiry date, so gathering documents early is fine. If your passport has already expired, you can still apply within three years of expiry without triggering fresh police verification, provided your personal details have not changed and there is no adverse entry against your previous passport. Apply more than three years after expiry and the passport office will order a fresh round of police verification, which lengthens the process and does not change the document checklist above.¹¹

1
Passport Seva. Passport Seva Fee Structure
2
Passport Seva. Documents Required for Non-ECR
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Passport Seva. List of Acceptable Documents for Proof of Address
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Passport Seva. Proof of Date of Birth
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Consulate General of India, Toronto. Photograph Guidance for Applicants
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VFS Global. Annexure E Specimen Declaration
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India Code. The Passports Act 1967 – Section 12
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Passport Seva. Document Required for Re-issue of Passport
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Passport Seva. Revised Annexures
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Passport Seva. Annexure C Specimen Declaration
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Consulate General of India, New York. FAQ on Passport