Tatkaal Passport: Fees, Documents & Process

Tatkaal isn’t a different kind of passport, it’s the same booklet through a faster lane. The speed comes from reordering the process:

• Normal: police verification happens first, then the passport is printed.
• Tatkaal: the passport is printed and dispatched first, and police verification is done afterwards.

Result: a clean Tatkaal application is usually dispatched by the third working day after your PSK visit (excluding the application day). A normal application typically takes 30 to 45 days end to end, because the passport office’s own processing (roughly 7 to 10 working days) only starts moving once police verification clears. Tatkaal works for both fresh and reissue cases.

• Adults (18+): submit any three documents from the list below.
• Minors (under 18): submit any two documents, from serial numbers 1 to 6 only.

• PVC / original / e-Aadhaar with verified digital signature (small cut-outs not accepted)
• PAN Card
• Student photo ID from a recognised educational institution
• Birth certificate (under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act)
• Ration card (latest / updated)
• Last passport issued (for reissue only)
• Voter ID (EPIC)
• Driving licence (valid, within the RPO’s state)
• Bank / Kisan / Post Office passbook (photo attested, latest transaction)
• SC / ST / OBC certificate
• Arms licence
• Pension documents (ex-servicemen, old-age pension, etc.)
• Service photo ID from Government / PSU / local body / public limited company

• You want any change in name (marriage, deed poll, etc.).
• Your present address is outside the RPO’s jurisdiction.
• It’s a minor’s application with Annexure C (e.g. parents divorced or separated).
• You were repatriated at government cost, deported, or travelled on an Emergency Certificate.
• You’re of Naga origin, or of J&K origin (including minors).
• You have an adverse police report, are watch-listed, or a habitual passport loser.

• Fresh: citizens by registration/naturalisation, adopted children, child of a single parent or out of wedlock, surrogacy.
• Reissue: lost / stolen passport, short-validity passport, passport damaged beyond recognition.
• Change of gender, appearance, or signature; change/correction of date or place of birth; change of father / mother / spouse name.

1. Log in at passportindia.gov.in and start Apply for Fresh Passport / Re-issue of Passport, the form is the same as normal.
2. Fill the application and submit to get your ARN. The Tatkaal choice is made at the payment/appointment stage, not in the form itself.
3. Fill the “Undertaking for Tatkaal Scheme” (available in Hindi and English on the portal), it’s a mandatory declaration for Tatkaal.
4. Pay & book: at Pay and Schedule Appointment, select the Tatkaal quota. Tatkaal slots open at a fixed time that varies by Passport Office (check the official “Appointment Opening Time” list for yours), and fill within minutes.
5. Visit the PSK on your date with all originals and any three documents. Once your status shows Granted, the passport is dispatched, typically by the third working day.

This is the key thing to understand: Tatkaal doesn’t cancel police verification, it re-sequences it.

• Post-verification (usual): the passport is issued and dispatched first, and the police verify afterwards. This is what makes Tatkaal fast.
• Pre-verification (some cases): if your history can’t be readily verified, the office may insist on verification before issue, which removes the speed advantage.

Even after you receive the passport, cooperate with the later police visit, an adverse report can still affect your passport. You can track both the application and police verification status online.