Indian passport
Indian passport guide
What it costs, the exact documents for your case, and what the Passport Seva Kendra visit is actually like — written for anyone applying in India. Build your document list below, or jump to the verified Gujarat office directory.
- Fee from
- ₹1,500
- Validity
- 10 years
- Delivery
- ~30 days
What it costs
Government passport fees
| Service | Booklet | Government fee |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh or reissue | 36 pages · 10-year validity | ₹1,500 |
| Fresh or reissue | 60 pages · 10-year validity | ₹2,000 |
| Minor (under 18) | 36 pages · 5 years or until 18 | ₹1,000 |
| Replacement of lost or damaged | 36 pages | ₹3,000 |
| Replacement of lost or damaged | 60 pages | ₹3,500 |
Your documents
Build your exact document checklist
Your application
A notarised "true copy" is not accepted — the copies must carry your own signature, not a notary stamp. And nothing laminated: a photo of a laminated document is refused, so bring the actual document.
Proof of present address
A parent’s or a landlord’s bill does not count. If no utility is in your name, a registered rent agreement is the accepted fallback.
Using e-Aadhaar as proof? Download it from the UIDAI site, open the PDF and validate its digital signature in Adobe Acrobat until the green tick appears, then print the full page. PVC cards and old photocopies are rejected.
Proof of date of birth
Your current passport
Marriage
If your name on the marriage certificate does not match your other IDs, a joint declaration on the prescribed format is required alongside it — carry it ready rather than discovering the mismatch at the counter.
Change of name
You do not need studio photographs: your photo is taken at the centre. Carry only what is listed above, all as originals.
Email me this checklist
We’ll send the fresh-passport checklist and reply on WhatsApp within one working day.
On the day
The Passport Seva Kendra visit, counter by counter
Arrive about 15 minutes early
Bring the printed application receipt with its ARN (Application Reference Number) and your appointment confirmation. Security checks the appointment, notes your file, and lets you in — there is no walk-in queue, so the slot on your receipt is your entry.
Collect your token
Inside, your documents are given a first glance and you are issued a token that routes you through the counters in order. From here it is a single controlled line — A, then B, then C — not a scramble between windows.
Counter A — document check and biometricslongest step
The long one. An officer scans every original, captures your photograph on the spot (so you need no studio photos), and records your fingerprints. This is where an application stalls if a document is missing, self-attested wrongly, or an e-Aadhaar print fails the signature check — which is why the checklist above matters more than anything else in the room.
Counter B — verification officer
A second officer reviews what Counter A captured against your application and asks any clarifying questions — an address that has changed, a spelling, a previous passport. Answer plainly; this is a check, not an interview.
Counter C — granting officer
The final officer decides the application at the centre. Most straightforward cases are granted here and then; a case needing more scrutiny is marked for the Regional Passport Office to decide, and you are told which it is before you leave.
Exit with your acknowledgement letter
You leave with a printed acknowledgement confirming the visit is complete and stating whether police verification is pre- or post-passport. Keep it — it carries the file number you track the application with.
After the grant, the passport is printed and dispatched — usually reaching you within about30 working days, sooner under Tatkal. Every stage sends an SMS to the number on your application, and the acknowledgement letter’s file number lets you check status online at any time.
After the visit
Will the police check your address?
Post-verification
The common case for a fresh passport. The passport is printed and dispatched first, and the local police visit your address afterwards to confirm you live there. You have your passport in hand while this happens.
Pre-verification
Used where the case needs checking first — some first-time applicants, certain histories. The passport is issued only after the police submit a clear report, so the police visit comes before the booklet.
No verification
A clean renewal on an unchanged address, already verified for the previous passport, can be issued with no fresh police check at all. Tatkal cases are typically post-verification regardless.
You can track the police-verification stage online with the file number on your acknowledgement letter — the same number the status SMS messages quote.
Where to apply
Find your passport office anywhere in India
Regional Passport Office (RPO)
The apex office for a region — it handles the hard cases and the appeals, and processes ordinary applications too.
Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)
A full-service centre run with TCS support, taking a fresh or renewal application end to end in one visit.
Post Office PSK (POPSK)
A passport counter inside a city’s head post office, opened so applicants need not travel to a metro for a routine application.
Common questions
Indian passports, answered
What documents do I need for a fresh Indian passport?
Three things everyone needs: the printed online application with its ARN, one proof of present address in your own name (Aadhaar, Voter ID, a recent utility bill or a registered rent agreement), and one proof of date of birth (birth certificate, PAN, Aadhaar or a matriculation certificate). Bring every document as an original plus a self-attested photocopy — notarised copies are not accepted, and your photograph is taken at the centre, so no studio photos are needed. Renewals also carry the old passport; married applicants carry proof of marriage. The checklist above builds the exact list for your case.
How much does an Indian passport cost?
The government fee for a fresh or reissued 36-page passport with 10-year validity is ₹1,500; a 60-page booklet is ₹2,000; a minor’s passport is ₹1,000. Urgent (Tatkal) processing adds ₹2,000 on top. Replacing a lost or damaged passport costs ₹3,000 (36 pages) or ₹3,500 (60 pages). These are the fees paid to the Ministry of External Affairs; any consultant’s service charge is separate.
Can I get an urgent (Tatkal) passport, and how much faster is it?
Yes — you select Tatkal when booking, and it carries an extra ₹2,000 government fee. A Tatkal passport is typically dispatched within a few working days of the appointment rather than the roughly 30 working days of the normal route, and it changes when police verification happens (usually after the passport issues rather than before). Tatkal has stricter document and eligibility rules, so it is not open to every case.
Is police verification done before or after I get my passport?
It depends on your case. Most fresh passports go out on post-verification — the passport is printed first and the police check your address afterwards. Some cases get pre-verification, where the passport issues only after the police report, and a clean renewal with an unchanged address can need no verification at all. Your acknowledgement letter states which applies to you, and you can track the police-verification status online.
Do I have to apply for a passport in my home city?
No. You apply at any Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office PSK with an available appointment, and your present-address proof determines where the police verification is sent — not which office you attend. If you live away from your permanent address, you can still apply where you are; the process simply verifies both addresses where relevant.
Passport assistance
Have it handled, wherever you are in India
Our service charge is separate from the government fee, and we tell you both figures up front — no surprises at the counter, and no charge for the government’s share dressed up as ours.
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