What to do if…
you spot a major printing error on your passport details page shortly before travel

What to do now

1. Check the error against your travel documents. Compare the passport details page with your booking, any visa or permission to travel, and another ID document if you have one. Major errors include the wrong name spelling, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, sex marker, passport number, or photo.
2. Keep quick evidence ready. Take clear photos of the details page, the page showing issue information, your booking confirmation, and any visa or permission-to-travel confirmation. Save copies somewhere you can access if your phone battery dies.
3. Call the Passport Adviceline if travel is close. Say: “My UK passport has been issued with an error on the details page, and I have travel booked on [date]. I need to know the correct urgent error-replacement route.” If your travel is in the next 2 weeks, say that clearly.
4. Use online contact only as a backup for urgent travel. GOV.UK says the online enquiry form gets a reply within 72 hours, so phone is usually the safer first route when travel is very soon.
5. Ask which official route applies before paying or reapplying. Ask whether HM Passport Office will handle this as an error replacement, an urgent counter appointment, a gratis replacement, a paid urgent service, or another route. Ask what evidence to bring or upload, and whether the old passport number will be cancelled or replaced.
6. If HM Passport Office tells you to attend an appointment, bring the key proof. Take the passport with the error, your travel booking or arrangements, any visa or permission-to-travel confirmation, and any evidence that shows the correct details.
7. If HM Passport Office tells you to return the passport, follow their exact method. Use the return address and postage method they give you. Keep proof of posting, tracking, reference numbers, and any message from HM Passport Office.
8. If you are already abroad, ask about an Emergency Travel Document. This may be relevant if you are outside the UK, need to travel urgently, cannot use or replace your UK passport before travel, and your route can accept the document. Check the destination and any transit countries before relying on it.
9. Do not create new mismatches while waiting for instructions. Do not rush to change your airline booking, visa, or permission-to-travel details until you know whether you will travel on the corrected passport, a replacement passport, or an Emergency Travel Document.
10. Once you have the HM Passport Office plan, check with the airline. Ask what exact document details must match for check-in and boarding on your route, including any visa, electronic travel authorisation, or transit requirement.