How to Fill Out Annexure E for Your Indian Passport

Annexure E for an Indian passport is a self-declaration you print on plain paper, sign, and hand in with your application. It confirms your citizenship, your residential history, and that you have no disqualifying criminal record under the Passports Act, 1967.¹ Notarization is no longer required. Since the government simplified passport rules, you print the form, fill it in, sign it, and bring it along. No stamp paper, no magistrate, no attestation.²

What You Are Declaring When You Sign

The form has ten numbered statements, and each one maps to a ground on which the passport authority could refuse your application. Read them before you sign, because a signature at the bottom means you are affirming every line above it.³

The names of your father, mother, and spouse where applicable.
That you have been living at the address on your application continuously from a specific date.
That you are a citizen of India by birth, descent, registration, or naturalization, and have not acquired or lost citizenship of another country.
That within the last five years, no Indian court has convicted you of an offense involving moral turpitude and sentenced you to two or more years of imprisonment. Both conditions have to be true for this to be a bar; a shorter sentence, or a long sentence for something that isn’t a moral-turpitude offense, would not trigger it.
That no criminal case against you is pending in any Indian court.
That no warrant for your arrest, summons for your appearance, or court order blocking your departure exists.
That you have never been repatriated to India at the government’s expense, or that you were but have already repaid the cost.
That you will not engage in activities abroad that would harm India’s sovereignty or integrity.
That your departure will not be detrimental to India’s security.
That your presence outside India will not damage India’s relations with any other country.

The phrase “moral turpitude” is not defined in the Act itself, and it trips people up. Indian courts have generally treated it as conduct that is inherently dishonest or shocking to community standards, covering offenses like fraud, theft, bribery, or sexual assault. A traffic violation or a small regulatory fine would not qualify. If you have a past conviction and you’re unsure which side of the line it falls on, speak to a lawyer before you sign, because a false declaration carries its own penalties.

How to Fill It Out

Download the specimen form from the Passport Seva portal and print it on plain white paper.⁴ A few things catch applicants out:

Your name on Annexure E must match your online application and your supporting ID exactly. Initials versus a full name, or a dropped middle name, can hold up processing.
The residence date should be the actual date you moved to the address, not just the year. If you moved recently, police verification may cover both your current and previous address.
Sign at the bottom yourself. A representative cannot sign for you. For a minor applicant, a parent or legal guardian signs.
The specimen has separate fields for father and mother, but since the rules were simplified, only one parent’s name or a legal guardian’s name is required. Single parents fill in the field that applies and leave the other blank.²

Keep the original once it’s signed. The checklist for fresh passport applications specifically asks for the original signed Annexure E, not a photocopy.⁵

Who Uses Annexure E

Most private citizens applying for a fresh passport or renewing an expired one submit Annexure E. It applies to both the normal and Tatkaal (urgent) tracks.²

If you work for a central or state government ministry, a public sector undertaking, or a statutory body, Annexure E on its own is not enough. Current government employees need Annexure G, a No Objection Certificate signed by their controlling or administrative authority, listing designation, period of employment, and the issuing officer’s contact details so the passport office can verify it directly. An Annexure G is valid for six months from its date of issue.⁶ Employees of these organizations also submit Annexure H, a Prior Intimation letter notifying their department of the application.⁷

Submitting the Form and What Happens Next

You bring the signed Annexure E to your appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, along with the other documents you’re required to produce, such as proof of address and proof of date of birth. An official checks your declaration against the application you submitted online, collects your biometrics, and verifies your originals. The Annexure E is then scanned into your permanent passport file.⁴

Police verification usually follows. An officer visits the address in your declaration to confirm you live there and that your claims hold up. If the report comes back clear and your documents are in order, the passport is processed in a few business days. If the report is delayed or unclear, expect roughly 30 days or more.⁸

How Annexure E Can Speed Up Your Passport

One benefit of Annexure E is easy to miss. First-time applicants who submit it along with an Aadhaar card, Voter ID (EPIC), and PAN card qualify for post-police verification processing. The passport office issues the passport first, and the police check happens afterward, rather than the printing waiting on the police report.⁹

Under this mode, the passport is typically dispatched on the third working day after submission. The condition is that your Aadhaar number must pass online validation. If it doesn’t, or if any of the four items is missing, the application defaults to pre-police verification, and you wait for the police check to finish before the passport is printed.⁹

Penalties for a False Declaration

Section 12 of the Passports Act makes it a criminal offense to knowingly provide false information or suppress material information to obtain a passport. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to ₹5,000, or both.¹

A passport obtained by false declaration can also be impounded or revoked, which becomes a serious problem if you are already abroad when it happens. The fine sounds small, but the imprisonment risk and the record it leaves are not. If you have a pending case or a past conviction that falls inside the five-year window, disclosing it on the form and letting the passport authority decide is a better path than concealing it and hoping the check misses.

1
Passport Seva. The Passports Act, 1967
2
Ministry of External Affairs. Simplification of Passport Rules
3
Passport Seva. Annexure E – Specimen Declaration of the Applicant on a Plain Paper
4
Passport Seva. Annexures/Affidavits
5
VFS Global. Document Checklist – Fresh Passport – Mandatory Documents
6
Passport Seva. Annexure G – No Objection Certificate
7
Passport Seva. Annexure H – Prior Intimation Letter
8
VFS Global. VFS Global – Passport Information
9
Passport Seva. Police Verification Mode Details