Can I countersign for a passport if I work for my local council?

I've signed for a few and it's been fine. (Also local government)

Honestly, these days, if you have your own passport, if you are a taxpayer, if you have a driving license (are not a criminal), etc etc, you are on all the governments systems, they are all linked, and can countersign a passport. That's pretty much everyone, regardless of job or profession.

Which just proves even more that getting bogged down in this stupid list or in the exact meaning of " of good dtanding" is pointless. This whole thing drives me crazy. It's signing a passport form, not donating a kidney.

@cheezeplease I can confirm that I've worked for a local council for years in various roles and have signed loads of passports, always putting my job title down as local government officer. I think you put your work contact details down when being contacted by email to verify the photo, which would be more difficult for a cleaner or refuse collector but they could probably just add their personal details. My job title doesn't have "officer" in it. I'm still a local government officer just like you.

Anyway as others have said, your employer won't even know you've done it so it's certainly not up to them.

Your employer can't give you a definitive answer as they don't work for the passport office and ultimately it's them that have the last say.

I'm just interested in getting a definitive answer.
Which you won't get from your employer as they aren't the arbiter of it. So it's really pointless asking their opinion.

But they can’t forbid you from signing. They may have a view as to whether what you do falls within the list, but they have no more insight into the issue/ability to give a definitive answer than you do.

As someone upthread said, ultimately it's up to the Passport Office if they accept a countersignatory...and in my experience, that depends on who looks at the application so it's not entirely black and white.

I signed two passport applications for a friend and her husband recently. I'm a member of a professional body but it's slightly obscure so doesn't appear on the "official list" but I've countersigned several applications before without any issues. But this time they accepted the husband's application I'd signed but not my friend's because "the countersignatory is not on the accepted list of professions" 🙄

I don't NEED to raise it?

I'm just interested in getting a definitive answer.

No-one's even asked me to sign a passport for them.

I was interested so I asked them 🤷‍♂️

Plus, no-one's asked me to sign one anyway. It was just a conversation we were having amongst staff.

Why do you need to raise it at work? The easiest way to test it would be to countersign a passport for someone and see if you get accepted

Here are some details of 'Local Government Officer' roles:

https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/career-profiles/government-officer/

This too

I really do think people want it to be more difficult than it is and refuse to believe it isn't. There's regular threads that always go the same:

1. OP - I don't know anyone in a profession on the list so I can't get a passport. It's soooooo unfair

2. Loads of posters(LoP) - I bet you can, the list is only examples. It says that clearly. What jobs do your friends do?

3. OP - nothing on the list. They work in Sainsbury's/are hairdressers/do admin for a small accountant/clean schools

4. LoP - Yeah, a few of those would be fine

5. and 4) get repeated multiple times

6. OP disappears having never confirmed if they had actually asked any of their friends

I suspect they all either continue to moan about it despite being given multiple options or are success with one of those options but don't want to admit that because they liked the moaning bit

It’s none of your employers’ business. It’s between you, the person asking you to sign and the passport office.

I'm not discussing the 'good standing' bit because I don't even really know what they mean by that.

I'm discussing the profession bit, where a few people have said all council employees can sign.

Also, just thinking now...

The official title of the Lollipop ladies/men in my council is 'School crossing patrol officer'.

But the refuse collectors are not called 'Refuse collection officers'.

So not all council staff are officers. I work for my local council and I'm not an officer and nor do I have a professional qualification.

But working for the council doesn't give you an additional special status. You can work in Tesco and be able to sign. They don't need to specifiy all employees of one kind of employer because it's all covered by the "OR good standing" bit.

I've had managers in call centres and retail places I've worked in sign it

Thank you!

This is exactly what I was told at work.

I think I'll raise it again tomorrow to see what they say.

No I can see they're just examples.

But it would be much clearer if it said 'All council employees'.

If you're a local government officer and of good standing (which I always take to mean no criminal convictions) then you can.

No it does not have to be an actual recognised profession.

I’ve signed a few. My job is not on that list in any capacity but I work for a well known company and therefore have a “good” email address.

This is wrong and untrue.

And the people saying "anyone who works for the council" is a local government officer are wrong, too.

Local Government Officer is a specific job classification and it's not just 'anyone'.

It is pretty clear really. People just do see the word "or" or "example" and decide that the wording says you "have" to be on this list when it really doesn't say, or even imply that.