Criteria for applying for passport online

[KittyConCarne]

Has anyone recently used the online passport application process?

Haven't renewed my passport in years- will dig it out, but think it expired in 2010.
I was going to do it all by post but have just spotted that some people can now do it online, but can't find the criteria of who is allowed to do so.

Also, I had assumed I'd need my photos counter-signed, but just read somewhere on Google that you don't need to do this if you haven't changed appearance dramatically?

Any help would be much appreciated

I'd just do it online. You will be doing a renewal anyway. If you could still be recognised with the old photo then you wouldn't need a countersignatory. Even if you did you could still start the application online.

It's also cheaper to do it online

If it did expire in 2010, it's not just a straight renewal, so please do check carefully about photos and countersigning requirements. We had to jump through numerous, to us unnecessary, hoops when renewing a similarly expired Irish passport earlier in the year.

It is just a renewal as the OP has held a passport before. It doesn't matter that it has expired

The Irish passport application looks as if it has stricter criteria than for a UK one so it depends on where the OP lives

I just had one processed online. No countersignatory required, photo was checked as it was uploaded.

I renewed my dd's last passport online, then printed off the bit for the countersignatory. You still need to send off the old passport, so bunging some photos in too doesn't make much difference, does it?