UK Digital Update

His Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) has formally started market engagement for a new passport manufacturing and personalisation contract. In the Home Office’s own description, the requirement is for a secure, end-to-end service covering secure design artwork, manufacturing, and personalisation of UK passports and related travel documents. The planned start date is September 2027, with the intention to replace the current arrangements ahead of their scheduled expiry in 2029 ¹.

The procurement notice is unusually explicit about operational scale and document scope. HMPO states it issues approximately 8 million passports annually and is the sole provider of passports to British nationals globally. It also lists the current contracted outputs: UK ePassports (and variants for Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories), Official/ Diplomatic/Emergency/Temporary ePassports, and Biometric Travel Documents used by UK Visas and Immigration (including documents issued to stateless persons and refugees), plus secure laminates for Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs).