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If a child has been born of assisted reproduction treatment, the birth mother, or if this does not apply, either
parent named on a parental order or court order granting parental responsibility, can give permission by signing the
declaration in Section 7. If both parents are females in a civil partnership and the partner not giving birth agreed to
the treatment, either partner can give permission by signing the declaration in Section 7.
If a child has been born of a surrogacy arrangement, the birth mother or if this does not apply, either parent named
on the parental order or birth certificate (following a parental agreement or court order giving them parental
responsibility), can give permission by signing the declaration in Section 7.
Step-parents (adults who enter into a marriage or civil partnership with someone who is already defined as a parent
as explained above) can only give permission by signing the declaration in Section 7 if they are named on a parental
order or parental responsibility agreement.
If the child is in care or is living with foster parents, we will need permission from the local authority before we can
issue a passport to the child.
If the court has made an order regarding custody of the child, or about the child having a passport, this must be
sent in with the application. If someone has made an objection to the child having the passport, we may refuse to
deal with the application.
If an adult is acting as a parent in a situation other than one described in this section, please explain the
circumstances in an accompanying letter to your application. We will also need documentary proof of your
responsibility for the child.
If we have already issued a passport to a child after an application has been made by one parent, the other parent
or anyone else with parental responsibility cannot apply for a separate passport for that child.
If you cannot sign the application form leave this section blank and use Section 6 or a covering letter to explain why
you cannot sign; this is normally done by the person filling in the application form on your behalf. Your passport will
note that the holder is not required to sign.
A ‘countersignatory’ will need to fill in this section if you are applying:
• for a first British passport
• to replace a lost, stolen or damaged passport
• renew a child’s passport
• to renew an adult passport if you cannot be recognised from the photograph in your current passport,
Countersignatories
A countersignatory is someone who can confirm the identity of the person named in Section 2. They need to confirm
that, to the best of their knowledge, the details given in the application are correct. They must also confirm that the
photograph is of the person named in section 2.
The countersignatory must:
Be a professional person, for example, a bank or building society manager, police officer, civil servant, minister of
religion, or hold a professional qualification (for example a teacher, accountant, engineer or solicitor) you can find a
full list on www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications