Passport - apply for a temporary passport
If you need a passport immediately and it is unlikely that it will be possible to issue an express passport by the time you travel, a temporary passport can be issued. The passport authorities may request the submission of suitable evidence.
The temporary passport is issued immediately by the competent passport authority.
It is valid for a maximum of one year and must be returned and cancelled when the regular passport is issued.
Forms/Online Services
Responsible authority
The passport authorities in Baden-Württemberg are
- the municipalities as local police authorities
- the administrative communities, which perform or fulfil the tasks of the registration authority.
As a rule, the citizens' offices or citizens' registration offices fulfil the tasks of a passport authority.
The passport authority in whose district you are registered with your home, or your main residence if you have more than one home, is responsible for you.
Important:
Your application for a temporary passport must also be processed by a passport authority in Germany that is not locally responsible if you can provide an important reason. A passport may only be issued with the authorisation of the locally competent passport authority.
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
- You have German citizenship.
- There must be no grounds for refusing to issue a passport, such as the justified assumption that you jeopardise the internal or external security or other significant interests of the Federal Republic of Germany or that you wish to evade criminal prosecution, the enforcement of a sentence or a statutory maintenance obligation by leaving the country.
A temporary passport can only be issued in justified individual cases. The prerequisites for this are usually
- if it is no longer possible to issue an express passport in good time before travelling or
- if the delivery of the requested regular passport is delayed and the destination and, if applicable, the transit country allows a temporary passport as a travel document or
- ifa travel document without fingerprints is expressly requestedfor children after the age of 6 and up to the age of 12 and
- if there are no grounds for refusing to issue a passport, such as a justified assumption that you jeopardise the internal or external security or other significant interests of the Federal Republic of Germany or that you wish to evade criminal prosecution, the enforcement of a sentence or a statutory maintenance obligation.
Procedure
- You must apply for a temporary passport in person at the passport office of your main place of residence and submit the required documents.
- When applying, you can have the photo taken on site - depending on the facilities at the authority - or you can have the photo taken in advance by a certified service provider (e.g. a photographer or the photo service of a drugstore). The service provider will send you a printout of a data matrix code (similar to a QR code), which the authority can use to retrieve your photo from the cloud.
The passport authority will check that the requirements have been met and issue you with the temporary passport immediately.
Deadlines
none
Required documents
- old, still valid passport or identity card or children's passport or birth certificate
- a current digital biometric photograph
- suitable proof of the planned trip, if applicable
Please note:
- The biometric photographs must comply with the relevant formal requirements. The photo sample table for identity documents provides assistance in this regard.
- From 1 May 2025, only digital photographs will be accepted for passport applications. Depending on the equipment at the authority, you can take the photo on site when you apply or you can have the photo taken in advance by a certified service provider (e.g. a photographer or the photo service of a drugstore). The photo is then stored by the service provider in a secure cloud. You will receive a printout of a data matrix code (similar to a QR code), which the authority canuse to retrieveyour photograph from the cloud . Please contact your authority in advance to find out about the options available there!
Processing time
immediately
Miscellaneous
You must report the loss of your temporary passport to the local authority as soon as possible.
A temporary passport does not contain an electronic storage medium (chip). No fingerprints are recorded.
Legal basis
- § 1 Passpflicht
- § 4 Passmuster; Verordnungsermächtigung
- § 5 Gültigkeitsdauer
- § 6 Ausstellung eines Passes
- § 7 Passversagung
- § 8 Passentziehung
Verordnung zur Durchführung des Passgesetzes (Passverordnung - PassV):
- § 14 Muster des vorläufigen Reisepasses
- § 27 Gebühren
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg, 05.03.2026