No one to sign DD’s passport renewal!!

[Pinkloveheartpjs]

Trying to renew DD’s passport and we have no one to sign. I could ask my manager but she hasn’t known me for 2 years and I wouldn’t want to put her in that position to lie for us.

I have 2 friends both SAHM, DH doesn’t have anyone he can ask the person he did ask doesn’t have a passport.

What on earth do we do?

I have so many people I could ask at work as I’m a HR professional but I haven’t know them two years.

I got another school mum to do it who fitted the criteria...we'd known her over 2 years although we weren't close friends.and just gave her a bottle of wine as thanks

The post office do a service that means they take the photo and attest that it's the person in the application, or they can counter sign I think. The application then goes through much quicker. It's so easy!

What is the purpose of all this I wonder? Lots of people have got passports by breaking the rules it seems (either by having people who don’t qualify sign for them, or having people who haven’t known them2 years). What is the reason for the signature being required, what’s it supposed to do? And what is the potential outcome of people doing it fraudulently, which it seems happens regularly based on this thread? What would happen if they just ditched this requirement completely, which it seems they may as well do?!

Her GP will do it, though there's normally a small charge.

No they won't, unless they know her personally

I just renewed my passport online . Don’t need anyone to sign photo . It might be because of her age but I would try doing it online . And it only took a week ti get my new one

Age 12+ don't need a countersignature unless their appearance has changed drastically

Honestly does anyone check this. I say this as someone who signed my daughters partners passport. All they wanted know had I known them 2 years and my passport details. I could have been anybody.

There are teachers in my family and they are allowed, and sometimes do sign, their student's passports. It's not often at all anyway that they are asked, as presumably most people have other friends and acquaintances to ask. The Passport office decided to add GP's in a Dr-Patient relationship to the list of people that can't, presumably as so many were asked.

No need for that "professional" to put their personal details anymore that the applicant will see, it can all be done electronically/by email now.

Anyone with a degree, eg BSC (Hons), BA (Hons) used to be on the list but that has been taken off in recent years! The list isn't exhaustive anyway, as long as someone has a passport, for e.g local government staff and NHS staff I've known many to sign passports without issue.

My children definitely needed countersignatures for their first passports as babies and for subsequent renewals, up until about age 12 I think.

Teachers or the Head will sign it if your daughter is at school. Ours do it all the time for pupils/staff or ex pupils.

When I had DCs passport renewed I phoned beforehand and was told the vast majority of photos did not require a signature. It was only required if the child looked vastly different and so not to worry about it. When I arrived at the passport office to pick it up, the person dealing with the passport said it did need signing because child was young in the initial photo. I then politely asked to speak to her manager to clarify because this was the opposite information to what I had been previously told and I had given DC’s age. Five minutes later she returned and said no signature required. It’s a strange system but should be OK without a signature OP. Perhaps the Post Office option would be your best bet though.

That classic 'sorry I can't sign as I don't have a passport' usually means, 'I don't want to do it for you/don't want to get involved'.

People with retired occupations can sign too. For example in my road lives a retired police officer and a retired architect. They can both sign. I've known care home managers/deputies to sign too.

Very outdated anyway, surely there is a better system that this process of essentially getting a referree, who you know, etc.

They do check. The countersignatory for my young child was phoned.

They are, according to the list on the website

Does your DC do any out of school
lessons/activities/sports? Many years ago when our eldest was in year 7 so didn’t want to ask school teachers, her independent instrument teacher signed.

i asked our headteacher for my son and they did it no problem

Teachers/headteachers can definitely sign. My husband got a work colleague to sign for us as he’d known my husband for a while. He was an AA technician back then. It was never questioned. How about the GP or dentist?

What about your old boss? Or old colleagues? Or uni/school friends who are now working in professional roles?

Teachers absolutely can countersign. Not sure where this misinformation that they can't has come from.

Teachers can sign for their friends and people they have known personally for two years but generally not for people they teach.

The OP didn't say my friend the teacher can't sign. If you read her posts it is clear she means her child's teacher can't sign which is true.

I recently signed a passport for a child in the school where I work (school policy recently changed to permit it). I did this online. At no time did it ask if I personally knew the parents, only whether I could identify the photo of the child. Most of the required information I took from the details we have in school, name of parents, dob etc. I emailed them to get information I didn't have - e.g. child's place of birth. In giving information as to how I knew the child, I was honest.

Maybe it hasn't been processed yet (I haven't checked with the family), but so far, so good.

If everything people have said on here was true, surely questions about it would come up on the website - e.g re whether I would recognise the parents.

I've also signed a lot of passports for other people's children outside of my own school. I've never been contacted about any by the passport office.

Teachers are definitely allowed. My teacher friend did all 3 of my kids first passports and my renewal last year. I find it hard to believe OP doesn’t know ANYONE on the list of professions, it’s quite vast.

Teacher is literally on the list. They won’t throw back a GP, he’s a person of good standing in the community.

Teacher is specifically in the government list.

Priest/Vicar/Rabbi/Imam etc? Are they allowed?