Ahmedabad: If you have a passport application appointment and forget to carry your original documents, such as Aadhaar, PAN card or driving licence, your application will no longer be placed on hold. This is because the upgraded Passport 2.0 software now allows applicants to upload their DigiLocker documents before their appointment, and these will be treated as valid, officials at the Regional Passport Office (RPO) said.

The RPO processes around 3,300 new and renewal applications every day. Until now, DigiLocker documents were accepted in place of originals only if they were linked at the time of submitting the application. If an applicant had not added DigiLocker details earlier and failed to produce original documents during the appointment, the file would be kept on hold.

“With the introduction of the new Passport 2.0 system, a feature called ‘My Application’ has been added. This allows applicants to register their DigiLocker documents even before taking the token at the appointment counter,” an RPO official said. This change is expected to significantly reduce the number of applications placed on hold and speed up overall passport processing.

IDs and documents issued through DigiLocker can now be uploaded for verification during the passport application process by following the steps outlined in the attached flowchart: