How to apply for Indian passport 2026

A fresh Indian passport starts online on passportindia.gov.in. You fill the form, pay the fee revised from 1 July 2026, and attend a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra with originals. Tatkaal costs extra and is not open to every case. Ignore older blogs that still quote Rs 1,500.

Passport Seva revised application fees with effect from 1 July 2026. Figures below are from the official fee table. Tatkaal is an extra Rs 2,500 on top of the normal fee.

Discount. Passport Seva's Fee Calculator note gives a 10 percent discount on fresh applications, not reissue, for minors up to 8 years and for senior citizens above 60.

Lost or damaged passports are a different fee row. Use apply for a lost or duplicate passport rather than guessing from this table.

Confirm the rupee figure on the Fee Calculator before you pay. Helpline: 1800-258-1800.

Every ordinary passport in India goes through passportindia.gov.in. There is no walk-in grant without that file.

1. Register. Create a Passport Seva account with email and mobile. Keep the login. Family members often sit on one account, but each person has a separate application.
2. Choose the service. Fresh passport if you have never held one. Reissue if you already have a booklet. Tatkaal is a scheme choice, not a separate website.
3. Fill the form. Complete every section the wizard shows. Save drafts. Use the name as on your birth proof and Aadhaar.
4. Pay online. UPI, net banking, and cards are the usual methods. Pay only the amount the Fee Calculator and checkout show after 1 July 2026.
5. Book the appointment. Pick a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. Slots are limited. Reschedule only through the portal, within the allowed count.
6. Reach on time. Carry the appointment receipt, originals, and self-attested copies the portal listed. Photo and biometrics are taken at the kendra. You will usually take a token, then a document check, then a granting officer. Stay until the last counter closes your file.

If slots are full, try another PSK or POPSK in the same city, or a later date. Do not buy a “guaranteed slot” from an agent. Post Office Passport Seva Kendras exist for towns without a full PSK. The form is the same. The fee is the same. The appointment is still mandatory.

Passport Seva's Document Advisor on the portal is the list that matters for your case. Typical fresh-adult papers include:

• Proof of date of birth, such as a birth certificate or Class X certificate, as the Advisor accepts for your category.
• Proof of present address.
• Identity document with photograph.
• Aadhaar, if you hold one, because many files use it as address and identity support.
• For minors: parental documents and the consent annexure the form generates for your family situation.

Carry originals to the PSK. The counter compares them with the upload. A mismatch on address or spelling is the usual bounce. If you recently changed Aadhaar address, take the updated Aadhaar plus one more current address paper. Do not hope the officer will ignore a different pin code.

Do not invent extra annexures. The portal names the annexure when your answers need one, for example a single parent or a name change. Print what the application PDF lists.

Normal and Tatkaal use the same Passport Seva account. The difference is fee, extra papers, and who is allowed in.

Normal. Pay the table fee. Attend the PSK. Police verification then follows the path your Regional Passport Office sets for that file.

Tatkaal. Pay the normal fee plus Rs 2,500 extra. You must also meet the Tatkaal document list. Some categories cannot use Tatkaal at all, including many name-change files. Confirm the current ineligible list on passportindia.gov.in/psp/TatkaalPassports before you pay the extra.

Tatkaal is not a private “speed” window. If the portal blocks the scheme, pay normal and wait, or see apply for Tatkal passport 2026.

Do not quote pre-July-2026 fees of Rs 1,500. Those figures are dead.

Police verification checks that you live at the address on the form. For many first passports the local station visits or calls. Some files are cleared on documents at the kendra. The portal status is the only reliable clock. This page does not invent a day count.

If the visit never happens, call the station with your file number, then the Regional Passport Office. Keep a written complaint number. A stuck verification is a common reason people file RTI, both to the police Public Information Officer and to the RPO.

Carry Aadhaar and a current address proof when the constable visits. If you have moved since you applied, tell the RPO. Do not wait for a closed door.

After the PSK visit, track the file on passportindia.gov.in with the application reference number. Status usually moves through granted, police verification, and dispatched. The same login shows appointment history.

A dedicated walkthrough is passport status check 2026. Helpline 1800-258-1800 can read the same reference. They cannot skip police verification for you.

• Paying an old Rs 1,500 fee copied from a pre-July-2026 article.
• Choosing Tatkaal when your category is ineligible, then losing time on a refund.
• Booking a slot without the originals the Document Advisor named.
• Address on the form that does not match Aadhaar or the utility bill you will show.
• Minor applications missing a parent consent annexure.
• Buying a PSK “appointment” from an agent.

File RTI under RTI Act 2005 s.6(1) to the Public Information Officer of the Regional Passport Office that owns the file. If police verification is the hold, file a second RTI to the local police PIO with the same reference number. The PIO must reply in 30 days under s.7(1). First appeal lies under s.19(1).

Draft with the AI RTI Drafter. Fees: RTI fees by state. Appeal: First Appeal Builder.

1. Status of passport application / ARN ________ dated ________, as on the date of this reply.
2. Name and designation of the official holding the file at the Regional Passport Office.
3. Whether police verification has been called, received, or is pending, with the police station name.
4. Copy of file notings and movement after the Passport Seva Kendra visit.
5. The pending step and the office now responsible for it.

Only on passportindia.gov.in. Create an account, fill the form, pay, then book a PSK or POPSK slot. There is no fully postal grant for an ordinary fresh passport.

Tatkaal extra is Rs 2,500 on top of the normal fee. A 36-page 10-year booklet is Rs 2,500 normal, so Tatkaal adds another Rs 2,500. A 60-page booklet is Rs 3,500 plus Rs 2,500. Minors below 18 on a 36-page 5-year or till-18 booklet pay Rs 1,750 plus Rs 2,500 extra if Tatkaal is allowed.

Pay first, then the appointment calendar opens. Choose Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, date, and time. Print or save the receipt. Reschedule only inside the portal.

It depends on the file. Many first passports see a local visit after the kendra. Some files are verified on documents. Track the police-verification line on Passport Seva instead of trusting a rumour about skipped visits.

Passport Seva maintains extra document lists and ineligible categories. Name change is a common block. Read TatkaalPassports before you pay the extra fee.

Yes, on fresh applications only, not reissue: 10 percent for minors up to 8 years and for persons above 60, as the Fee Calculator note states. Confirm the discounted total on the calculator.

Log in with the application reference number on passportindia.gov.in. See passport status check 2026 if the labels are unclear.

Try another kendra in the city or a later date. Do not pay an agent for a slot. If a published slot batch never appears, complain through Passport Seva and, if the file is already paid and stuck, use RTI to the RPO.

• Passport status check 2026
• Apply for Tatkal passport 2026
• Apply for a lost or duplicate passport
• How to apply for Voter ID
• All how-to-apply guides
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook

• Police verification certificate PCC apply
• New Passport Fees in India from 1 July 2026 - Full Rate List
• How to Apply for a Minor Child Passport in India

• passportindia.gov.in
• Passport Seva Fee Calculator
• Tatkaal passport conditions
• Passports Act, 1967; Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, in force 1 July 2026
• RTI Act 2005, s.6(1), s.7(1), s.19(1)
• Helpline 1800-258-1800

Reviewed for RTI Wiki by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak.