What to do if your passport is lost or stolen

If your passport is lost or stolen, report the incident immediately to the nearest police station to which the robbery/loss took place and obtain a police report. You should then follow the procedures below to obtain a replacement passport.  Should your need to travel be urgent you can take the police report to the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Sofia to apply for an Emergency Travel document. This will reduce the risk of someone stealing your identity or attempting to enter the UK on your passport.

When making a replacement passport appliction, please enclose a copy of the theft or loss report, along with a completed LSO1 form, to the British Passport Processing Centre in Düsseldorf.

To see the charges for issuing passports, please visit the list of passport fees.

The British Embassy in Sofia can issue an emergency passport if required. This is valid for a single trip to the United Kingdom only.

If you are in the UK and your passport has been lost or stolen, please contact the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) on their Passport Advice Line 0870 521 0410 for guidance.

LS01 forms are available from Consular Section of the British Embassy in Sofia and you can also download one here:

Form LS01: Lost or Stolen Passport Notification (PDF, 52k)

What if I need to travel in a hurry?

If you need to travel back to the UK and can’t wait for your full replacement passport application to be processed you should contact the Consular Section at the British Embassy Sofia: 00359 2 933 92 22.  We can issue Emergency Passports (EPs) which are valid for one single journey back to the UK.

Once your passport has been reported lost or stolen

Once you report your passport as lost or stolen to the British Embassy in Sofia, it is electronically cancelled. You will not be able to use it as a proof of identity, nationality, or for any other legal purpose. You must not use it as identification as this may be detected, and it may be seen as a potential fraud.

Also, you will also not be able to use it for travel. If you do so, your passport may be impounded by the Borders and Immigration Authority at a UK port or airport. If you are travelling overseas, you could face deportation or arrest.

What to do if you find a passport which has been reported lost or stolen

You must return any passport that has been reported lost or stolen to the British Embassy in Sofia as soon as possible. If you are in the UK, you should return your passport to the nearest Identity and Passport Service office.

Returning the passports of people who have died

It is important that the passport of a person who has died is cancelled so it can’t be used illegally. If you are in Bulgaria, the passport should be returned to the to the British Embassy in Sofia. When you return the passport, please enclose a copy of the death certificate. This is so we can be sure that the person concerned is deceased. You should also fill in the relevant form:

What to do with a passport when the passport holder has died

When we receive the passport, it will be cancelled immediately. We can then either return it, or dispose of it. Please let us know which you prefer. If you don’t tell us what you’d prefer, we will dispose of the passport when we receive it.

In the UK, you should return the passport to the nearest passport office. Details are on the Immigration and Passport Service website.