Renewing your child's Irish passport

This page explains how to renew your child’s Irish passport. Information about applying for your child’s first Irish passport is also available.

Your child must be an Irish citizen to be eligible for an Irish passport.

Irish passports for children are valid for 5 years. For your child to continue to travel abroad after this time, you will have to apply to renew their Irish passport.

If your child’s most recent passport was issued more than 15 years ago, you need to apply on their behalf as a first-time child applicant. If your child is now 18 or over, you should read the page about applying for your first Irish passport as an adult.

You may also wish to apply to renew your child’s passport because:

• Their passport was lost, stolen or damaged
• They have changed their name

You can renew your child’s passport at any time. If you apply for a new passport before your child’s current one has expired, the new passport will run from the date it is issued.

You can renew your child’s Irish passport:

• Online, through Passport Online
• By post, through Post Passport
• In person, through the Urgent Appointment Service

You can renew an Irish passport online, following the step-by-step instructions provided. You can renew online from anywhere worldwide.

The online application will tell you the documents you must submit after applying online.

You will need to send your child's previous passport if it has more than 6 months validity on it.

Digital photographs

You must include a digital photo as part of your application. You can do this in 3 ways:

• Take a photo at home using a digital camera, smartphone, iPad or computer that takes digital photos. The photo must capture your child’s image from the waist upwards.
• Have your child’s photo taken at a participating photo provider, who will give you a unique code to include with your online application.
• Have your child’s photo taken at a photo provider, and ask them to email it to you, or save the photo on a USB key. You must have access to the photo when completing your online application

You can read more about photo requirements for the Passport Online service.

Identity verification and consent

You will be asked to print a Child Passport Identity and Consent Form at the end of the online form. You should bring this form to a witness who will confirm your child’s identity.

At least one guardian must be present with the child to complete the Identity section of the form in front of a witness.

Our page on applying for your child’s first Irish passport explains more about guardian’s consent.

Post Passport is a service provided by An Post.

If you are an Irish citizen living in Ireland, you should fill in form APS 1. You will find this form at Garda stations and at any Post Office. It is not currently possible to download the paper application form.

You will need to send your child's previous passport if it has more than 6 months validity on it.

Photographs

You must include 4 recent identical photographs of your child with your application. Two of these photographs should be signed on the back by the person who witnesses the application. The witness should also write the form number shown in Section 9 of the application form on the 2 signed photographs. If you are applying for your passport in Ireland by post the witness must be a member of the Garda Síochána.

More detailed information on passport photographs is available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Post Passport abroad

You need to get an APS 2E passport application form first. You can get this form from the

Passport Office or contact the Embassy and they will post it to you.

Several UK Post Office branches in Northern Ireland provide the Post Passport service (pdf).

The following post offices in the UK also offer Post Passport:

• Cardiff Post Office, 83 - 85 Queen Street, Cardiff, CF10 2NX
• Glasgow Post Office, 140 West Nile Street, Glasgow, G1 2RD
• Liverpool Post Office, 1 – 3 South John Street, Liverpool, L1 8BN

If you are applying abroad, suitable categories of witness are listed on the application form. The witness should enter their daytime contact number on the application form as this may need to be verified by the Passport Service or the relevant embassy or consulate.

If you are submitting a paper based application through an Embassy or Consulate abroad, please see the Embassy or Consulate website for more information.

Please note: Passport Online is the fastest way to apply for your passport.

The counter service at the Passport Office is mainly designed to accommodate people who need their passports urgently, and don’t have enough time to apply in the other ways. In these cases, you should book an urgent appointment with the Passport Office in Dublin, Cork or London. More information on the Urgent Appointment Service is below.

The fees for renewing your child’s Irish passport are:

Passport Online (standard) - €20, plus €5 postage fee to cover the cost of returning documents to the applicant. Its €15 postage fee if you live outside of Ireland.

Post Passport (standard) - €30, plus An Post’s fee Express Post delivery of €9.50 for a single application.

Counter Service (in person at the Passport Office) - €45. An additional appointment fee of €150 (same day renewal) or €75 appointment fee (4 day turnaround) is charged for the urgent appointment service.

Complex online renewals take around 15 working days to process. All children applications are considered complex renewals, as consent of all guardians must be verified.

If you are applying by post, you should allow at least 8 weeks for your application to be processed (not including postage times). This period may be extended at certain times of the year due to increased application numbers.

Check the Passport Service website for current processing times.

Urgent Appointment Service

The Urgent Appointment Service offices are in Dublin, Cork and London. You must book an appointment before attending the office. There are 3 types of appointments and a fee will apply to this appointment service relative to how quickly your need your passport.

• Same day renewal service. These appointments can be booked 3 days in advance. All guardians of the child must attend the appointment and must bring the correct documentation.
• 4 day renewal service. These appointments can be booked 3 weeks in advance.
• 5 day renewal service (London only). These appointments can be booked 3 weeks in advance

Emergency travel documents

The Passport Service will still offer a same-day emergency service if you need a passport due to:

• A medical emergency or
• The death of a family member abroad.

Contact the Passport Service by phone 01 671 1633 or by webchat if you need a passport in an emergency.

The online application will tell you the documents you must submit after applying online.

If you are the sole guardian, you have to provide an up-to-date affidavit (AFF 1) stating that you are the sole guardian each time you apply to renew your child's passport.

The application form will provide guidance on exactly what documents are needed in your situation.

You can contact the Passport Service by phone or webchat.