First British passport or child passport from the USA

First or child passport
A child born in the U.S. to a British parent can often get a British passport straight away, online, for £75.50 plus courier. Registering the birth with the UK is optional and not needed for the passport.

A first British passport is also the document that settles the question of citizenship on paper. HM Passport Office handles it online from the UK; no consulate is involved.

Who can get a first British passport

The child or adult must already be British. A child born in the U.S. is usually British automatically if a parent was British otherwise than by descent, for example born in the UK. If the parent is British by descent, the child usually needs to register first; our guide to citizenship by descent sorts the cases out.

First British passport: where to start

For an adult who has never had a UK passport, the service warns that a passport interview may be needed, and says it will tell you.

Applying online for a child

You apply through the same service as renewals, choosing that you live outside the UK.

The fee from the U.S. is £75.50, plus the £28.64 courier fee, as the official service showed on 5 October 2026. After you pay, someone confirms the child's identity online; they get an email from HM Passport Office and do not sign a printed photo.

Document Why
Full birth certificate, with the parents' details Proves who the parents are
Proof of British nationality A parent's passport details or birth certificate, or a registration certificate
Any non-British passport the child holds The U.S. passport, if there is one
Court orders about the child Where they cover parental responsibility

Originals or official copies only: gov.uk says photocopies are not accepted, not even certified ones, and documents not in English need a certified translation.

 On a paper form from the U.S., the countersignatory may hold a U.S. passport, with a color copy of its photo page. 

The countersignatory on a paper form

Paper applications need a countersignatory who has known you, or the parent signing, for at least 2 years and who is not a relative or partner.

Outside the UK they can hold a British, Irish, EU, U.S. or Commonwealth passport, according to the countersigning rules; with a non-British, non-Irish passport you add a color photocopy of its photo page, and gov.uk says British or Irish passports make processing faster.

Photo rules that trip people up
  • Taken in the last month
  • At least 600 by 750 pixels and between 50KB and 10MB
  • Plain light background, nobody else in the shot
  • No red eye and no editing
  • A booth or shop photo with a code is more likely to pass
    • The name differs from the birth certificate

    gov.uk asks for a signed and dated letter from everyone with parental responsibility, a deed poll and evidence of the new name in use, such as school records.

    A child aged 12 to 15

    On a paper form, a child aged 12 to 15 signs the application too, alongside the person with parental responsibility.

    You need to travel soon

    A first passport cannot be replaced by an emergency travel document in most cases: that document is for people who have held a UK passport issued on or after 1 January 2006. See the emergency travel document guide for the exceptions.

    Who signs and what comes back

    Someone with parental responsibility signs a child's application. On paper, the documents go in the envelope sent with the form and come back by mail, with secure delivery available for a fee.

    If documents are not in English or Welsh, you send certified translations along with the originals, and laminated documents are not accepted (get a passport for your child).

    All the procedures
    Fees and requirements
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