Emergency travel document: £125, usually ready in 2 days

An emergency travel document costs £125, is applied for online, and is usually ready to collect 2 working days after you apply. It is normally valid for one journey, and the fee is not refundable.

This is the travel document a British consulate in the U.S. can hand over in person. It exists for people who need to travel within weeks and cannot use or replace their passport in time.

Who can apply

According to gov.uk, you can apply if you are a British national outside the UK, you need to travel within 6 weeks, and your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, is full, has recently expired or is held by HM Passport Office or a foreign embassy.

You must also have had a UK passport issued on or after 1 January 2006.

If you are not traveling within 6 weeks, renew or replace the passport instead. Without a passport issued since 2006, you usually apply for a full passport.

The exception is an urgent, unplanned trip for exceptional reasons, such as an unexpected birth, urgent medical treatment or a close relative's funeral, made through a contact form with evidence.

How the application works

Check first that the document is accepted by every country you will leave, enter or cross, up to five. Then apply online with a digital photo not used in a previous passport, a phone number, an email and a card. A friend or relative can pay if you have lost your wallet.

Your old passport is usually canceled automatically once you pay. You are then told how and when to collect, and whether you need an appointment at a British embassy or consulate.

Office	Covers	Note
Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland…	by appointment
New York	New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania…	by appointment
Los Angeles	Southern California, Nevada, Arizona…	by appointment
San Francisco	Northern California, Alaska, Idaho…	by appointment
Chicago	Colorado, Illinois, Indiana…	by appointment
Houston	Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana…	by appointment
Atlanta	Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi…	by appointment
Boston	Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire…	by appointment
Miami	Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands	Orlando option for Central Florida

gov.uk lists the emergency travel document service at the Embassy in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Boston and Miami. In Central Florida you do not need to go to Miami: you choose the Orlando option in the application, and Miami gives +1 305 400 6400 for questions about it.

Do not book travel until the email tells you how and when to collect the document.

When it takes longer

The two-day figure stretches to several weeks if your passport has expired, the applicant is under 16, the fee is unpaid, more documents are needed or you have to attend an appointment. Your travel dates may be printed on the document, so if plans change you reapply and pay £125 again.

Border control keeps the document when you arrive in the UK.

Have these ready

A digital photo never used in a passport

Your flight plans: countries and dates

A phone number and an email address

A card for £125

For a child, both parents at the appointment or a signed consent form

Applying for a child under 16

The child goes to an appointment with both parents or legal guardians. If one cannot attend, they sign the FCDO consent letter instead.

Applying for someone else

You can apply for another British national; they may still need to attend an appointment and collect the document in person.

Your passport is with HM Passport Office

You will be told if your passport will not be canceled, for example because it is with an embassy or you have already applied for a new one.

Before applying, check that the British passport cannot be renewed in time: gov.uk's own advice to people traveling in more than 3 weeks is to check whether a new or replacement passport would arrive first.

All the procedures

How offices take appointments