The referee declaration for a UK passport is the step where someone who knows you personally confirms your identity to HM Passport Office. If you apply online, they act as a “digital referee” and answer confirmation questions by email. If you apply by post, they act as your “countersignatory,” sign the application form, and certify the back of one of your photos. The person you choose must have known you for at least two years, work in a recognised profession or be a person of good standing in their community, and not be related to you, in a relationship with you, or living at your address.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
When a Referee Is Required
HM Passport Office asks for a referee when you apply for your first adult or child passport, when you replace a passport that has been lost, stolen, or damaged, and when you renew a child’s passport for a child under twelve.2House of Commons Library. Countersigning and Refereeing British Passport Applications You may also be asked for one if your appearance has changed enough that the office cannot match you to the photo on their records. Standard adult renewals where your existing photo is still a good likeness usually skip the step.
Who Can Act as Your Referee
Your referee must have known you personally for two years or more and be able to genuinely identify you. They also need to fall into one of two categories: someone who works in (or is retired from) a recognised profession, or someone considered a person of good standing in their community.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
The recognised professions list is broad. It includes accountants, airline pilots, bank officials, barristers, dentists, engineers with professional qualifications, fire service officials, journalists, Justices of the Peace, members of Parliament, ministers of religion, nurses, opticians, pharmacists, police officers, social workers, solicitors, teachers, and trade union officers.3GOV.UK. Who Can Confirm Someone’s Identity Directors, managers, and personnel officers of VAT-registered companies qualify, as do members or fellows of any professional body, licensees of public houses, and qualified travel agents. Anyone holding an honour such as an OBE or MBE is eligible regardless of profession.
If the passport is for a child under sixteen, the two-year rule applies to the adult who signed the application form. The referee does not have to have known the child that long.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
Who Cannot Sign
You cannot use someone related to you by birth or marriage, someone in a relationship with you, or someone who lives at the same address.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos The rule protects the independence of the check. Giving false information about your relationship to a referee, or using someone who does not qualify, can lead to rejection and may amount to an offence under the Fraud Act 2006, which carries up to ten years’ imprisonment on indictment.4Counter Fraud and Probity Services. The Fraud Act
Passport Requirements Depend on Where You Apply From
If you are applying from inside the UK, your referee must live in the UK and hold a current British or Irish passport.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
If you are applying from outside the UK, the rule opens up. Your referee can hold a current British, Irish, EU, US, or Commonwealth passport, and they do not need to live in the same country as you.5HM Passport Office. Confirming ID: Referees Where the referee’s passport is US, Commonwealth, or a non-British/non-Irish EU passport, you must include a colour photocopy of the page showing their photograph with your application.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
Applying Online: The Digital Referee
When you apply online, you enter your referee’s details as part of the application. HM Passport Office then emails them and takes them through a short set of confirmation screens in their browser. There is no paper form for them to complete.
For an adult application, the digital referee confirms two things: that the photo is a true likeness of you, and that your address is correct. Each is a yes-or-no answer.5HM Passport Office. Confirming ID: Referees
For a child application, the referee confirms more: the parents’ details, whether the child’s photo is a true likeness, the applicant’s address and the child’s link to it, whether the person submitting the application has the right authority, and the child’s place of birth. Again, each answer is yes or no.5HM Passport Office. Confirming ID: Referees
Warn your referee that the email is coming. If it lands in a spam folder or catches them by surprise, the application stops moving until they reply.
Applying by Post: The Countersignatory
On a paper application, your referee is called a countersignatory and does more of the work themselves. After you have filled in the form, they check your details and sign it. Their signature confirms that they have known you for more than two years, that you are who you say you are, and that the information on the form is true as far as they know. They also write their own passport number on the form.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos
Certifying the Photo
Your countersignatory writes the following statement on the back of one of your two printed photos:
“I certify that this is a true likeness of [title and full name of adult or child who is getting the passport].”
They add their signature and the date underneath.1GOV.UK. Countersigning Passport Applications and Photos Only one photo is written on; the second stays blank. The signature on the photo and the form should match the signature on the countersignatory’s own passport, because differences can trigger extra checks.
If You Cannot Find Someone Who Qualifies
This is where applications most often stall, particularly if you have recently moved or live abroad without close ties to British professionals. If you cannot find anyone who fits the criteria, HM Passport Office will phone you to discuss why and to remind you that your referee can live anywhere in the UK, or in a different country from you if you are applying from overseas.5HM Passport Office. Confirming ID: Referees
Where the problem is that no one has known you for the full two years, the office may still accept a referee who has known you for less time, but they will ask for additional documents to confirm your identity.5HM Passport Office. Confirming ID: Referees If the examiner still cannot settle it, they raise a guidance query internally. There is no standard route to skip the referee step; the office works with you case by case.
Avoiding Delays
Three practical steps head off most referee-related delays. Line up your referee before you start the application, so you already know they qualify and are willing. Tell them to expect an email or a form so nothing sits in a spam folder. Check that their passport is current and, if you are overseas and their passport is US, Commonwealth, or non-British/non-Irish EU, arrange the colour photocopy of the photo page in advance.