Passport Change of Address: Do You Need to Update It?
Everything you need to know about updating your address on your UK passport, and what you should update instead.
Table of Contents
Do you need to change your address on your passport?
No. Your UK passport does not need to be updated when you change address.
A UK passport doesn’t display your home address anywhere on it, so there’s nothing on the document itself that goes out of date when you move. HM Passport Office (HMPO) doesn’t require you to tell them either. Your existing passport stays valid for travel and as ID right up to its expiry date, regardless of how many times you move house.
You’ll still be asked for your current address if you apply for a new or renewed passport, but that’s only so HMPO knows where to send it. It has no bearing on whether you need to apply in the first place.
What HM Passport Office actually says
According to HM Passport Office guidance, you do not need to tell them if any of the following change:
- You get a new job
- Your marital status changes
- You change address, move home or move flat
- Your appearance changes slightly, for example you dye your hair, get a piercing or a tan
- You become a national of another country as well as the UK
- You emigrate from the UK
When you DO need a new passport
There are three situations where HMPO does require you to apply for a new passport:
- You change your name
- You change your gender
- Your appearance changes so much that you can no longer be recognised from your passport photo, for example after significant surgery
If none of these apply to you, your existing passport carries on working exactly as it did before you moved.
What you need to update instead when you move
Your passport can stay as it is, but several other organisations do need to know your new address, and some of them come with real consequences if you don’t tell them:
Organisation | What to update instead |
|---|---|
DVLA | Driving licence and vehicle registration address |
Council Tax | Your local authority record |
HMRC | Tax, Child Benefit and other HMRC-held records |
Electoral roll | Your local council’s electoral register |
Banks and loyalty cards | Tesco Clubcard, Boots Advantage Card and similar accounts |
TV Licence | TV Licensing account |
SlothMove notifies these organisations on your behalf under a Letter of Authority, so you can update everything except your passport in one form rather than logging into each one separately.
How to replace or renew a passport, if you do need to
If your situation does call for a new passport, for example a name change after marriage, here’s what it costs and how long it takes, based on HM Passport Office’s current published fees.
Current fees (2026)
Service | Adult | Child | Typical timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
Standard, online | £102 | £66.50 | Around 3 weeks |
Standard, by post | £115.50 | £80 | Around 3 weeks, often longer |
1 week Fast Track | £192 | £156.50 | 1 week from your appointment |
1 day Premium (adult renewals only) | £239.50 | N/A | Same day, 4 hours after your appointment |
Applying online is always cheaper than by post and takes the same amount of time, so it’s worth using the online service unless your circumstances require a paper form (for example, if your appearance has changed enough to need a countersignature).
Fast Track and Premium options
If you need your passport urgently, HMPO offers two priority services. The 1 week Fast Track service requires an in-person appointment at a passport office, with your new passport couriered to you about a week later. The 1 day Premium service is for adult renewals only: you attend an appointment and collect your new passport around 4 hours later. Both need to be booked online in advance, and appointments for Fast Track can be booked from the next day.
Passport change of address: the checklist for everything else
Now you know your passport can stay exactly as it is. The next step is making sure the accounts that do care about your address, like your bank, DVLA, and Council Tax, are all updated. Our moving house checklist covers everything worth doing during a move, and our change of address service can notify most of these organisations for you in one go.
Related Guides
What our customers say
FAQs
Does address on passport matter?
No. Your passport isn’t linked to a specific address the way a driving licence or a Council Tax account is. It exists to confirm your identity and let you travel, not to hold a current record of where you live. That’s different to organisations like the DVLA, where your address is part of what’s actually being registered.
How do I change my address on my UK passport?
You don’t need to. If you’re moving home and want to make sure everything else is updated, use our online change of address service instead, which covers the accounts that do need your new address.
Does it cost anything to change the address on my passport?
No. Because there’s no requirement to tell HM Passport Office when you move, there’s no fee for it either. You’ll only pay a fee if you’re applying for a new passport for one of the three reasons above, such as a name change.
How much does it cost to replace my passport?
As of 2026, a standard adult renewal costs £102 online or £115.50 by post. See the fee table above for Fast Track and Premium pricing. Figures are set by HM Passport Office and reviewed periodically, so it’s worth checking gov.uk/passport-fees before you apply.
About SlothMove
SlothMove has helped over 75,000 UK residents update their address across government and private organisations since 2019. We are an ICO-registered data controller, GDPR compliant, and backed by Taylor Rose MW, one of the UK’s
leading conveyancing firms.