The history of British passports goes back to 1414, when an Act of Parliament under Henry V mentioned the royal “safe conducts” that asked for a traveller to be let through. Today’s passport is issued by HM Passport Office, part of the Home Office (the UK government department responsible for borders and immigration). There is no legal requirement for a British citizen to hold one, but it is the standard proof of identity and nationality at the UK border and abroad.

History of British Passports

Safe conducts: where the British passport began

Safe conducts are the origin of the British passport, according to HM Passport Office’s historic passport guidance. At first they were little more than a note signed by the king or queen asking that the holder be allowed to travel freely, and an Act of Parliament in the reign of Henry V mentioned them in 1414. HM Passport Office notes that safe conducts went to people of any nationality: foreigners received them free of charge, while British subjects had to pay.

The Privy Council, the monarch’s body of senior advisers, granted passports between 1540 and 1685, as its register shows. The oldest British passport still in existence was issued on 18 June 1641 and signed by Charles I, according to the Home Office’s history of the UK passport. Both Houses of Parliament also granted passports between 1644 and 1649, and HM Passport Office records a Commons order of 14 April 1649 that refused a pass abroad to anyone who would not promise not to act against the Commonwealth.

From the monarch’s signature to the Secretary of State

Charles II’s reign (1660 to 1685) brought in a second kind of passport, still issued in the King’s name but signed by the Secretary of State rather than the monarch, HM Passport Office records. From 1794 all passports were granted by the Secretary of State, which remains the arrangement today. The Home Office identifies that minister as the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the forerunner of today’s Foreign Secretary. Records of passports issued since 1674 are held by The National Archives.

When British passports were written in French

French was the language of British passports between 1772 and 1858, according to HM Passport Office; before that they were written in Latin or English. The Home Office’s own timeline dates the switch to French to 1778 and describes French as the language of diplomacy at the time. From 1858 passports have been written in English, with a French translation of certain sections included since 1921. HM Passport Office also marks 1858 as the year British passports became documents of national identity, issued only to UK nationals.

1915: the first modern British passport

The 1915 passport was the first modern-style British passport, carrying the holder’s photograph and signature, according to the Home Office. It was a single piece of paper that folded out and sat between cardboard covers.

The Old Blue passport

The Old Blue, the dark blue hardback booklet many older travellers remember, began in 1920 and followed an internationally agreed format, according to HM Passport Office. The Home Office’s timeline dates the first blue passport in book form to 1921. HM Passport Office says the Old Blue had 30 pages (32 from August 1988), printed text in English and French, and largely handwritten details, including the holder’s profession, height, eye and hair colour and any distinguishing marks. Husbands and wives could share a joint passport, and children could be added to a parent’s.

Old Blues were originally valid for five years, and adult validity doubled to ten years in 1968. The Home Office says the first security feature, a special watermark, arrived in 1972, with laminated photographs following in 1975.

The British Visitor’s Passport

The British Visitor’s Passport was a simplified version of the standard passport introduced in March 1961, according to a passport guidance document published on GOV.UK. Eligible applicants resident in the UK could get one from a post office on sight of a birth certificate or other specified documents.

Burgundy passports and the European format

The burgundy passport came from the European Community’s common passport format, which member states agreed in 1981, HM Passport Office records. The Glasgow office issued the first UK common format passports in September 1988, and by spring 1992 every office was issuing them. The new book had a burgundy cover, laminated personal details and a machine-readable zone that border scanners could read. On 4 December 1997 the words “European Community” on the cover changed to “European Union”.

Later changes followed the same burgundy design. HM Passport Office says digital passports, with a printed digital photo and signature, began at the Liverpool office on 5 October 1998, the same date from which every child needed their own passport. The first biometric passport, with a chip holding the holder’s details and photo, was issued on 6 March 2006.

The return of the blue passport

The blue passport returned after the UK’s departure from the European Union. HM Passport Office says that from March 2019 it issued burgundy passports without “European Union” on the cover, and that from March 2020 it phased in the UK series C e-passport, with a dark blue cover, a hard-wearing polycarbonate details page and the electronic chip embedded in that page.

King Charles III and the British passport

King Charles III’s title began appearing on British passports in July 2023, when the Home Office announced that new passports would carry “His Majesty” for the first time since 1952. The opening page still asks, in the monarch’s name, that the bearer be allowed to pass “without let or hindrance”, the wording quoted on the Royal Family’s official website. For more practical travel advice, see our Plan Your Trip guides.

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