Documents required for a passport (fresh application) in India

Updated 16 September 2026 · about 8 min read Share

🖨️ Print or save this checklist as PDF

Already hold a passport? Replacing one — because it is expiring, the pages are full, the details changed or it was lost — is a re-issue, and it needs far less than this page lists. See passport renewal and what a re-issue needs.

🎂 Proof of date of birth

The Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2025 replaced this clause entirely, and split it by when you were born.

Born before 1 October 2023 — attach any one:

• Birth certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969
• Transfer, school leaving or matriculation certificate from the last school attended or a recognised board, carrying your date of birth
• PAN card carrying your date of birth
• Extract of service record, or the Pay Pension Order for retired government servants, attested by the administration of your department
• Driving licence issued by the state transport department, carrying your date of birth
• Voter ID (EPIC) carrying your date of birth
• Policy bond from a public life insurance corporation or company, carrying the date of birth of the holder

The instruction booklet adds a declaration from the head of an orphanage or child care home, and notes that the service record, driving licence, voter ID and PAN count only if they carry the complete date of birth.

🏠 Proof of present address (any one)

• Aadhaar letter or card, or e-Aadhaar
• Water, electricity, gas connection or telephone bill (landline or postpaid mobile)
• Photo passbook of a running bank account — scheduled public sector, scheduled private Indian or regional rural banks only
• Rent agreement
• Voter ID (EPIC)
• Income tax assessment order
• Certificate from your employer on company letterhead with seal — public limited companies only, no computerised printouts
• Spouse's passport copy (first and last pages), if your address matches the one in it
• Parent's passport copy, for a minor

Give the proof of your present address only, however long you have lived there — but the form asks you to list every place you stayed in the past year.

What Aadhaar does, and what it does not do

• It does prove address and identity. Passport Seva accepts the Aadhaar letter, card or e-Aadhaar as proof of address and proof of photo identity, subject to successful validation against the Aadhaar database — and says furnishing it speeds up processing.
• It does not prove date of birth. Aadhaar is on neither list in the amended rules. Bring a birth certificate, school certificate, PAN, driving licence, voter ID or policy bond for that.
• An eAadhaar PDF is password-protected. Open it and save a clean copy before you print — the password format is in our eAadhaar PDF password guide.

👶 Minors

• Proof of address of the parents, and the child's proof of date of birth
• Parents' passports, where they hold them, with the spouse's name endorsed
• A declaration by both parents — or, where one parent has not given consent, the declaration the booklet prescribes for that case
• A passport-size photograph, which adults applying for themselves do not need

Validity: below 15, the passport runs for five years or until the age of 18, whichever comes first. Between 15 and 18 you can choose a full ten-year passport or one valid until 18 — the fee differs.

⚡ Tatkaal

• No proof of urgency is required.
• Police verification always happens after the passport is issued, not before.
• Tatkaal costs ₹2,500 more than the normal fee, whichever passport you are applying for — the fee table above already shows the total.
• Some categories cannot use Tatkaal at all, such as a citizen by descent applying for a fresh passport.

💳 What it costs

The Tatkaal column is the total payable, not an amount to add — that is how Schedule IV of the Passports Rules has stated it since 1 July 2026. A 10% discount goes to minors up to 8 and senior citizens above 60, but only on a fresh application, never on a re-issue. At a Passport Seva Kendra the fee is paid in cash; a District Passport Cell takes a demand draft in favour of PAO-MEA.

👮 Police verification, and when the passport arrives

For most fresh passports, verification happens before the passport is issued. Two common exceptions: government servants who submit an identity certificate (Annexure A), and minors whose parents already hold valid passports.

These are the timelines Passport Seva states it expects, not a guarantee. A police report that is not recommendatory stops the clock.

Where to apply

Apply online at passportindia.gov.in (Passport Seva), then book an appointment. A Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office PSK handles every passport service; a District Passport Cell, Speed Post Centre or Citizen Service Centre accepts fresh applications only. Carry your originals — they are checked and returned at the counter — with a self-attested photocopy of each.

📸 Photo, ECR and other papers

• For an adult fresh passport, the photograph is captured at the centre — nothing to upload
• A passport-size photo is needed for minor applications and certain annexures
• Taking a job abroad? Check whether your passport is ECR — see ECR passport and emigration clearance
• Name changed after marriage or otherwise? The booklet's annexures cover the declarations, including a joint declaration in lieu of a marriage certificate

Mistakes that cost people an appointment

• Bringing Aadhaar as date-of-birth proof. It is not on the list. This is the most common one.
• An infant without a birth certificate. Since 1 October 2023 births, nothing else is accepted.
• A document whose date of birth is incomplete — a year alone will not do for PAN, a driving licence or a voter ID.
• An address proof in someone else's name where the rules do not allow it, such as a utility bill in a landlord's name without the rent agreement.
• Assuming Tatkaal skips verification. It moves it after issuance; it does not remove it.

Frequently asked questions

General information, not legal advice — and ToolGalli is not affiliated with any government department. Document lists, fees and timelines change; confirm the current position on Passport Seva before you apply.

More document checklists: PAN card · Driving licence · Voter ID · Ration card · Bank account · Prepare a PDF for a form · All guides