You can renew a UK passport at any time after it expires. There is no deadline. HM Passport Office does not close the renewal route after a set number of years, so a passport that ran out last month and one that ran out fifteen years ago both go through the same standard renewal, at the same fee. The only real exception concerns passports issued before 1 January 1994, which are handled as first-time adult applications instead.
The One Exception: Passports Issued Before 1994
If your most recent UK passport was issued before 1 January 1994, HM Passport Office will not treat your application as a renewal. Instead, you apply as a first-time adult, which means extra identity checks and a counter-signatory.1GOV.UK. Getting Your First Adult Passport – Who Can Apply The same rule applies if you have only ever held a UK child passport and never an adult one.
For every other expired adult passport, the renewal service is open regardless of how long the document has been out of date.2GOV.UK. Renew or Replace Your Adult Passport – Renew You will need the expired passport itself when you apply, even if it stopped being valid years ago.
Why You Should Not Simply Wait
Nothing in the rules penalises a long gap between expiry and renewal, but two practical points are worth knowing before you leave it.
First, unused time no longer transfers. Since September 2018, HM Passport Office has stopped adding leftover months from an old passport onto the new one. Every new passport is valid for ten years from its issue date, no matter how much validity was left before.
Second, some countries require your passport to have been issued less than ten years before the date you enter. A passport issued before September 2018 that shows more than ten years of validity on its expiry page can be refused at those borders. If you are renewing a very old passport, this stops being your problem — the replacement will simply run ten years from the day it is issued.
You also do not need to wait until the day of expiry. You can renew earlier, and given the point above, there is no downside to doing so.
How the Renewal Works
Most people apply online through GOV.UK. As of early 2026, an adult online renewal costs £94.50 for the standard 34-page passport.3GOV.UK. Passport Fees The form takes about ten minutes if you have your expired passport, a digital photo, and a card to pay with.
Paper applications are still available. You can pick up a form at a Post Office offering the Check and Send service, or request one from the Passport Adviceline. The paper fee is £107, and you need to include two identical printed photos. Payment is by debit or credit card using the form, or by cheque made payable to “HM Passport Office.”2GOV.UK. Renew or Replace Your Adult Passport – Renew The Post Office Check and Send option adds £16 for verification of the form and photos before submission.
Fees rise on 8 April 2026. From that date, an online adult renewal will cost £102 and a paper renewal £115.50.4GOV.UK. New Fees for Passport Applications Applying before then saves a few pounds.
HM Passport Office says most applications are processed within three weeks of receipt. It may take longer if they need more information or ask you to attend an interview, and they will tell you within that window if so.5GOV.UK. About Our Services – HM Passport Office Online applications can be tracked using the reference number that starts with “PEX”; for paper applications, call the Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000.6GOV.UK. Track Your Passport Application
Your new passport arrives by courier. The expired one is returned separately, usually with a corner cut off to show it has been cancelled.
If You Need It Faster
Two urgent services are available for applications made inside the UK.7GOV.UK. Get a Passport Urgently Fast Track delivers your new passport by courier one week after an in-person appointment and currently costs £178 for an adult. The Premium service lets you collect the passport the same day as your appointment; the fee rises to £239.50 from 8 April 2026.4GOV.UK. New Fees for Passport Applications Both require an online application first, and appointments are hard to find during spring and summer.
If the Old Passport Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged
The no-deadline rule still applies, but the paperwork is a little different. A lost or stolen passport must be cancelled through the GOV.UK online service before you apply for a replacement.8GOV.UK. Cancel a Lost or Stolen Passport Having a photocopy or photo of the old passport makes the cancellation questions easier. After cancelling, you apply at the same fee as a standard renewal.9GOV.UK. Renew or Replace Your Adult Passport – Replace a Lost, Stolen or Damaged Passport Because you cannot return the old document, someone will need to confirm your identity online as part of the application.
A damaged passport also has to be replaced rather than renewed in the usual sense, though the fees and process match. HM Passport Office treats a passport as damaged if details are unreadable, pages are ripped or missing, the cover is separating, or there is staining from ink or water.
Updating Your Name or Other Details
An expired-passport renewal is a natural moment to change personal details. If your name has changed through marriage or civil partnership, include the certificate with your application.10GOV.UK. Names – Evidence to Change a Name For a deed poll change, either enrolled or unenrolled is accepted; an unenrolled deed poll must be signed in both the old and new name, witnessed with a wet signature, and dated. If you have changed your name several times and cannot show documents linking each change back to your birth or previous passport name, a statutory declaration covering every name you have used will be needed.
To change the gender marker, you can supply a Gender Recognition Certificate, a new birth or adoption certificate showing your acquired gender, or a letter from your doctor confirming the change is likely to be permanent. If you are updating both name and gender using a doctor’s letter, HM Passport Office also asks for evidence of the name change and proof you are living in the new name, such as a payslip or a council letter.11GOV.UK. Changing Passport Information – Gender