Hello, I have applied successfully online for a new UK passport. I am required to return my old Passport , I have the address for return but the website does not mention how it should be done. Regististered? International postage stamp or Is is Freepost? I have searched the HM passport site ect but cannot find this information.
To return an expired UK passport, you can simply send it by post to the HM Passport Office at their Freepost address, which means you don’t need a stamp; include a note stating that you want them to dispose of the passport; the address is: “Customer Service Manager, HM Passport Office, PO Box 767, Southport, PR8 9PW”
Although I suspect UK Freepost from France won’t work so I would just put the ordinary postage on it.
I think I just put mine in a strong brown enveloppe sent by normal post. Received new PP 10-14 days later.
Hello Chris, I have an Address, Passport Office Corby, with a code in the address. This was given at the end of the online application.
No mention within the address of Freepost, as you say, probably that’s for UK returns only. Strange though because the info is for applications outside of the UK.
Thanks for taking the time,
Ian
Thanks Wozza, I’ve just had an email from Passport office saying preferably by signed for. That is an expensive option, i think I’ll just get stamps.
International suivi is probably the best middle groud.
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IIRC, there would have been at least a delay if the old passport had gone missing when I renewed mine last time.
I’m sure mine had to be sent recorded and both my new passport and the old one when it was returned had to be signed for as well.
Registered post from France now goes as International post to the UK and can be sent LRAR but don’t expect the signed returned slip, they send an email to say the passport has been received usually. Thisis your proof that you actually sent it as well.
Can somebody please clarify the 6 month rule for me? The date of issue of my passport is Sept 2015 and expiry Jan 2026. I have a WARP 10 year titre de séjour. I know I could find out online, but DH is in hospital and I have busy brain overload!
Thank you Jane
Thank you for your response Porridge.
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Thank you Shiba. It’s so expensive, that’s the problem
Sorry Emily, don’t know that but someone on here will. I wish your DH a good recovery.
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somewhere along the way, there is or was a rule about UK visitors to France (and elsewhere perhaps) needing to have a passport which is valid for xxx months after their return date… ??? is this perhaps what you are thinking of.
With my own expiring in 2025, I panicked and checked and double checked… but,of course, I’m not a Visitor (silly me) I live here in France!!
and if I recall correctly, for those of us with Permanent Residency Warp cards… the passport is valid for travel use until its last day…
I did manage to get a new PP and can now rest easy for another 10 years (mind you, taking the photo at home and doing the necessary on line was a bit nerve wracking)
I know it is but unfortunately you don’t have much choice. When I applied for my UK state pension I had to send over 25pages back, that cost a good deal but it gave me piece of mind and proof I had sent it all. Blame brexshite for all the price increase and faff, its their fault!
I thought you had to renew at least six months before the printed expiry date in the passport. Keep seeing news articles about brits being refused at airports because they had less than six months from the printed expiry date on their passports left and they are not accepted. If you don’t intend to leave this country then don’t worry about it and renew it nearer the time the printed expiry date says. After all you have the CDS and a passport so you are OK.
Thank you all. I wasn’t sure if it was the printed expiry date or ten years after the issue. I would only be visiting the UK briefly at some point so will move it down my to do list. 
NB: the extra time beyond 10 years on some passports can cause problems. There are stories of people not being able to board planes etc.
From the Post Office website:
Passport validity rules for Europe
Since the UK left the European Union in 2020, UK passport holders are now seen as ‘third-country nationals’ by EU and Schengen countries. This means the entry rules have changed. And many UK holidaymakers are still being caught out by them.
Passports issued after 2018 are valid for exactly 10 years. But if your passport was issued before September 2018, it might be valid for up to 10 years and nine months. This is because, before 2018, the passport office would add up to nine extra months from your old passport to your new one.
This means some people have passports that haven’t officially expired and are still valid for travel worldwide. The exception is travel in Europe, where passports must be less than 10 years old.
To travel to Europe and Schengen countries, your passport must be:
- Issued less than 10 years before your departure date
- Valid for at least three months after your planned return date
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Well, reading the above… Other countries will need unused months by the sound of it… but UK is fine.
and on coming back to France, as you are a French Resident (not a Visitor) and you have your 10 year CdSWA to wave at the French Control Clerk along with your Passport …so long as you re-enter France before your passport actually has 10 years (ie before September 2025) you should be OK … 
isn’t life complicated… aaaargh
PS hope your OH is better soon.
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