Manage Passport Appointment Booking and Online Payment System

The Passport Seva system launched new online Payment gateway for the passport appointment and applicants. The New services of online payment based appointment system, applicants will be required to make payment at the time of booking appointment on the MEA website. This online payment system will reduce number of no-show slots and only genuine applicants will book the appointment schedule. The Online Payment System is up and effective from 21st June 2013.

All The Passport Seva Kendras are already taking appointments through Online Payment System:

PSk was an assertive steps to deliver passport services to citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner. After the operations for over the last one year, it was observed that despite taking valid passport appointment booking large numbers of applicants do not turn up at the PSKs. This was not only resulting in lesser utilization of processing capacity of the PSK but was also causing denial of appointment schedule for other genuine applicants. The Online Payment system was introduced to resolve the issue of non-availability of passport appointment scheduling and to reduce no-shows of applicants, Ministry has launched online payment System for booking passport appointments.

Online payment system is a payment based appointment manage system in which applicants will be required to make payment at the time of booking the appointment for passport on the passport Seva MEA website. This Online payment system will only permit genuine applicants to book the appointment and number of no-shows will reduce. Online payment system follow the new process of payments that will be made while booking an appointment on the website www.passportindia.gov.in either by Credit /Debit card (both Master and Visa) or internet Banking of State Bank of India. Applicants can also use the Challan option provided on the Website and deposit the money in State Bank of India (SBI) branch after generating Challan online. This online payment system is very effective and simple process which can be followed without any complications. The Challan payment will provide the confirmation of payment receipt by SBI in online system, applicants can get the appointment.

With the new smart system, applicants will automatically give earliest available appointment schedule and applicants can choose their available schedule. The online payment system will remove any confusion between appointment management and payment. The Passport Seva Project (PSP) has transformed the passport issuance system across India as part of MEA’s e-Governance initiatives through an increased network of 77 PSKs. The Ministry is improving governance in Passport Offices by focusing on citizen-centricity, service orientation and transparency.

Benefits of the Passport Seva Project:

• Longer working hours to benefit the citizens.
• 24*7 Call Centres with personnel support in 17 languages.
• Complete digitization and processing of application when applicant visits the PSK, reducing the overall time spent and eliminating multiple visits.
• Highly secure environment.
• Greater transparency due to on desk Decision making.
• Status of application is available with latest update.
• Transparency in the process and online real-time availability of data.
• Ease of monitoring and decision making.

Online payment system procedure:

According to the new process, schedule of appointment date/time will be automatically allotted by the system as per the availability of appointment slots at the desired PSK. Prior payment of passport service fee will be mandatory for booking appointments at PSKs. An applicant will be able to cancel/reschedule the appointment only twice within one year of first appointment date. System will not allow booking of online appointment for that ARP once two reschedule options are exercised or first appointment was scheduled more than one year ago.

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Step1:

Create an online ARN for the desired passport service.

Click here to create an online ARN.

Step2:

Select the ARN and click the Schedule Appointment link.

Step3:

Select the Appointment Quota and click next.

Step4:

Select your Passport seva kendra location and then Enter captcha characters displayed on the screen. Then click next.

Step5:

Click “Book Appointment” to Manage Appointment for Passport to book appointment for the next Available appointment date that will be displayed on the system for your selected Passport Seva Kendra. 

“Currently no appointment is available for the selected Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). Please try scheduling an appointment form <next availability date/time> onwords.” Error will displayed In case appointments are not currently available for the desired PSK/appointment Quota.

Step6:

Select your preferred payment method. Steps for the payment are given below.

Step7:

An appointment slot will be automatically booked by the system for the ARN, and the same message will be displayed on the screen. 

Step7:

Take the printout of appointment Receipt by clicking on “Print Application Receipt” and visit passport Seva Kendra on the appointed date and time along with receipt and required documents.

Step8:

Online payment system support various payment mode in which candidates can submit their fee in following methods. Candidates will only allot appointment if they submit their fee. Various payment are:

Internet banking

Follow the following steps to pay through Internet Banking.

1. Register at Passport Seva Online Portal at www.passportindia.gov.in.
2. Login at passport seva online portal.
3. Click “Apply for Fresh Passport/Reissue of Passport” link under the services section.
4. Creat an ARN (Under normal/Tatkaal)
5. Attempt to schedule an appointment by clicking the Schedule Appointment link on the view Saved/Submitted Applications screen.
6. Attempt to ‘Appointment Quota’ (Normal/Tatkaal). This option is available only to the applicants with tatkaal ARNs.
7. Select the preferred Passport Seva Kendra for appointment booking.
8. System will display the next available appointment date for the selected Passport Seva Kendra. After verifying the detail, click the Pay and Book Appointment button to redirect to the SBI’s Multi Option Payment System (MOPS) website. The MOPS screen will be displayed only when appointment is released for the selected PSK under the desired appointment quota.
9. Select NET BANKING as the preferred mode of payment by selecting SBI or any other associate bank listed in the menu. Using the Internet Banking User Id and password to make Online Payment of indicated passport services fee.
10. Login through the internet banking screening to make Online Payment of indicated passport service fee.
11. After successful payment, applicant is redirected to the Passport Seva online Portal.
12. The Confirmation screen is displayed along with appointment details.
13. Click the Print Application Receipt button to print the Receipt, which contains details of the payment made along with the payment Reference Number as proof of payment.

Credit/Debit Card

Credit/Debit Card payment is the easiest way of payment.

1. Follow step 1 to 8 in the Internet banking.
2. Select CARD PAYMENTS as the preferred mode of payment by selecting the desired Debit or Credit Card payment option listed in the menu. Login using the Internet Banking User Id and password to make online payment of indicated passport service fee.
3. Applicant will need to provide necessary card detail as per the following self-explanatory screens.
4. After successful payment, applicant is redirected to the passport seva online portal.
5. Confirmation screen is displayed along with appointment details.

Challan Payment

Citizen applying for various passport services (Fresh Issuance/Reissue of Passports/IC/PCC) online through the Passport Seva Online Portal have an option of making respective application fee payments at SBI branches through a system generated challan. Applicants need to take a printout of the system generated challan and submit it at a nearby SBI branch along with the indicated application fee in cash. Payment will be reflected after at least two working days of depositing the fee in the SBI branch. Application can try booking PSK appointments once the Payment Status is displayed as ‘Success’ in the system. Steps for the Challan Payments are:

1. Follow step 1 to 4 from Internet banking
2. Click the Pay using Challan link to navigate display the make payment screen.
3. Click the Generate Challan button to generate an SBI Bank Challan.
4. Take a printout of this challan and deposit the same along with the indicated amount (in cash) at any of the SBI branch during banking hours. On deposition, SBI official will enter the fee payment details in the system. The Transaction ID (Bank Journal Number) will be generated and noted in both copies of the challan. One copy will be kept by the bank and the other copy, duly stamped and singed by bank official, will be returned to the applicant. The ARN detail printed on the Challan will be validated by SBI and Payment status will accordingly be updated in the passport Seva system after at least two working days.
5. The reconciliation process updates Passport Seva Online Portal regarding Payment Status of the challan. Applicant will be notified by an e-mail regarding the actualisation of the Challan.
6. Applicant can also track the the status of the Challan using the Track Payment Status screen.
7. Once the Payment Status is confirmed as ‘Success’ an e-mail will  be sent to the applicant (if e-mail ID has been provided while filling application form) to book a PSK slot. Applicant needs to navigate to the view Saved/Submitted Application screen and click the Schedule Appointment link to manage an appointment for passport.
8. Select the (Normal/Tatkaal). This option is available only to the applicants with Tatkaal ARNs.
9. Select the preferred PSK for booking.
10. Click the Book Appointment button. An Slot (if available) is booked automatically for the selected PSK and confirmation screen with appointment details is displayed

New Online Passport Appointment Booking Process

The Online Passport Appointment Booking process has been changed from today 1st June. Now government has introduced the online payment gateway. One must have to make the payment before the slot booking. But this service is started only in Dehradun till now. But before starting of online payment appointment booking process in all the PSKs has been changed. Step by step online payment has been made mandatory for booking appointment for all the PSK. In this process slots has been allotted automatically by the system according to the availability of the slots. This process will be in a testing mode starting and testing in the Dehradun RPO. There are some new rules has been introduced after the conversion of the whole process. An applicant will be able to cancel/reschedule the appointment  only  twice  within one year of first date. System will not allow booking of online passport appointment booking for that ARN once two reschedule options are exercised or first date was scheduled more than one year ago. The online Passport Appointment Booking process has been changed by Indian Government on 1st June. But this change was bad compare to the old one because it is very harassing. This time government has made the online payment mandatory for passport application. This change was first come in effect on 1st June as a testing mode in Deharadun and on 21st June most of the Psk started the online Payment as well as challan payment method. This change was done due to the non availability of the passport appointment. I want to congratulates Ministry of external affairs for this step because due to this step the non visiting to kendra was reduce so Psk will efficiently use their full capacity. With the launch of online payment based appointment booking process now applicants will be required to make payment at the time of booking appointment on the government's website. This was a great change but the appointment booking process is completely hell like. When the online appointment booking process come to effect first they shows the Appointment date and time, and every Psk having their own rules of the slots opening timing. Every person was able to decide whether they want to choose this date or not. But in the new process server will automatically allot the date and time. Even they will get allotted appointment of the next day compare to the older system no one will allotted the appointment of the next day. Compare to the older system here is no way to book appointment according to our convenient date and time. And now the appointment taking  So this is the most worst step which was taken by Indian Government.
Now I am going to explain the full process of New Passport Appointment Booking System.

According to the new process one must have to make payment prior to the manage appointment. There is two way to make payment Online payment using Debit/Credit card and Internet Banking and Challan Payment.Now I am going to describe the process of Online Passport Appointment Booking

Step by step guide on New Passport Appointment Booking Process (PSKs with Online Payment is NOT Mandatory) :

The account create process is still the same. Only the online passport appointment booking Process has been changed so I will guide you the whole process of getting the slot.

1. Login to http://www.passportindia.gov.in and click view saved/submitted form.
   
2. Next select the ARN for whick you seeking slot booking and click Schedule Appointment.
   
3. In next step you will get a screen written "you have not taken an appointment" You have to click Next there.
   
4. In this step you have to select your preffered PSK enter the captcha code and then click next.
   
5. In this step you will come to know the date of your appointment booking. You will not able to select the slot timing. That will system generated.
   

  6. This is the Passport Appointment Booking confirmation screen. Here you will get the appointment time and ID.

This is the whole process of getting the slot in the new process without online payment.

Process for PSKs where Online Payment is Mandatory for Passport Appointment Booking

Advance payment of passport application is started in some of the PSK in India. And all the other remaining PSK will start step by step.

The accepted Online Payment mode are as follows

1.  Internet Banking (through SBI and associate bank accounts only)
2. Debit Card and Credit Card (Visa and MasterCard only)
3. Challan Payment Mode: Bank Challan (payable at SBI branches in India only)

Steps to follow for the payment through Internet Banking.

• Register to Passport Seva portal and Login.
• Submit your online Form and generate ARN.
• You have to follow the steps 1 to 5 as the same steps you followed in PSKs with Online Payment is NOT Mandatory.
• After that you have to Pay the Charge and click book the Appointment. You will get redirect to SBI’s Multi Option Payment System (MOPS) website. (Note: You will get redirect only at the slot open timing).
• Here click NET BANKING as the preferred mode of payment by selecting SBI or any other SBI associate bank listed. Now login with your Internet Banking ID and Password to make online payment.
• When payment is successful you will redirect to the passport seva online portal.
• After Successful Payment you will see the The Appointment Confirmation screen and you will get you appointment no also.

Steps to follow for the payment through Credit/Debit Card

• Register to Passport Seva portal and Login.
• Submit your online Form and generate ARN.
• You have to follow the steps 1 to 5 as the same steps you followed in PSKs with Online Payment is NOT Mandatory.
• After that you have to Pay the Charge and click book the Appointment. You will get redirect to SBI’s Multi Option Payment System (MOPS) website. (Note: You will get redirect only at the slot open timing).
• Here click CARD PAYMENT as your payment term and select your desired Credit/Debit Card.
• Now you will redirect to the Payment Gateway, enter your card details carefully.
• And after confirmation of successful payment you will redirect to passport website and get your appointment details.

Steps to follow for the payment through Challan.

There is one new payment option is added by the passport authorities which is known as Challan Payment Option. This service is currently available for SBI bank only. This challan is system generated. You have to pay the passport application charge in the SBI bank along with the challan. Payment will be reflected atleast after 2 days of payment. Passport Appointment Booking process will be continued only after the "SUCCESS" payment status in the system.

Process of payment through Challan.

• Register to Passport Seva portal and Login.
• Submit your online Form and generate ARN.
• Now select the ARN for which you want to book Appointment. and then click pay using Challan link below.
• Now click on the Generate Challan button to automatically generate an Challan.
• Print the challan and deposite the passport application fee to the nearest SBI bank. You will provided Transaction ID by the bank officials along with the payment acceptance challan.
• After the payment it will take atleast 2 working days to reflect to your passport portal.
• After the confirmation just follow the steps 1 to 5 as the same steps you followed in PSKs with Online Payment is NOT Mandatory

How to cancel and Reschedule Online Passport Appointment Booking.

• Click the Schedule Appointment link on the View Saved/Submitted Applications screen.
• Click the Reschedule/Cancel Appointment button.
• In next screen you will see reschedule/cancel attempts left.
• After selecting your preferred PSK enter CAPTCHA and click next.
• According to the availability you will see the slot date, Now click Book Appointment and your slot get booked and previous slot gets automatically cancelled.

OK. Now that I have the passport with me, I thought I also have to recording my learning for posterity. Four visits to the passport office and I know a thing or two.

The Indian government Passport Management System works (It is the software that handles passport processing data). So be humble about your opinion on the sarkari processes… you just need to know how to get your work done in this vast government machinery. Which is what this blog is about. 24 simple tips that you won’t get in the official website or in any consumer complaint websites.

1. Take time to fill the form carefully, honestly and neatly. If you have any queries, check. Be sure that you will be caught for any mistake coz the Indian government Passport Management System works. Check out the link for the various mistakes that can be addressed with a penalty at http://passport.gov.in/cpv/penalty.htm . Make sure you don’t commit those mistakes.

2. You need to take a token to submit the passport application form. Online application is available for certain cities where you can book an online appointment management (date and time) and so skip the token procedure completely. That would help you skip the standing in the token queue (See more on queues under the Queues sub section). Check out the cities with the Online registration option on https://passport.gov.in/pms/Information.jsp .

3. Keep the receipt safely till you get your passport.

If you are reading this blog then chances are that you haven’t got your passport for some reason that you don’t know. And you are figuring out just what to do.

Passport status

4. Passport status can be checked on the website http://passport.gov.in/  or http://passportstatus.nic.in/ .

5. The message in the status will not tell you what is wrong exactly which is when you would feel lost and helpless and curse the ‘system’. Fretting wont help you. Nor will the person lending you a sympathetic ear. Read on…

Email queries

6. Email to grv.jscpv@mea.gov.in  would get you a response but not a detailed one. You can visit your cities passport office home page too for some email Ids and phone numbers. But it wont help.

Visit the RPO

7. The only way to move your file is to visit the RPO. Chances are that you will have to visit the RPO a few times before anything happens.


8. In Delhi, the RPO’s don’t meet any visitors on wednesday. Check which day is applicable for your city.


9. In the Delhi passport office, RPO for Tatkaal sits in the ground floor and the RPO of the general category sits on the first floor. Don’t expect a swanky office space. Your tax may not really have been put to great use. The office is dusty and congested. Be prepared.


10. People around will complain about how sarkari the place is etc etc etc etc etc etc… etc. Don’t bother to contribute. It will only exhaust you in the already stuffy place and make you irritable. That won’t help when the RPO asks you to visit again and the thought of all the queues, travel and leave from office engulf you. Expect the worst. Smile, say OK and never question the RPO.


Queues!!

11. You don’t need to take a token to visit the RPO if you have already applied for the passport. But you need to show the receipt of the payment made for the passport application. So the token queue can be skipped.


12. If you are in Delhi, then this is the timing for the queue:

a. Token queue starts at 9.30 am. If you need a token then be there by 8.45 am coz by then the queue starts building up.

b. The entry to the building starts at 10:00 am and once the entry starts, the queue moves smoothly. If you want to meet the Tatkal RPO or if you have schedule an online appointment there is no need to come before 10:00.

c. If you want to meet the RPO in the general category, then you could come by 9.30 am to be slightly ahead in the queue.


13. Don’t try to jump the queue. Especially the one outside the RPO’s office! You can’t use gender, age and other sympathy generators. No one will help you. So don’t expect any help. (By the way, Senior citizens can skip the main entrance queue but only their spouses can accompany them. Don’t call in on your ageing parents or grandparents just to skip the queue! The Indian Government is ahead of you on this one. There is a notice right outside with this message).

14. The officials come in only after 10:30 am and most by 11:00 am. So you cannot really avoid the waiting part.

15. Once the officials are there the queues move forward fairly quickly.

16. You maybe asked to stand in another queue if you have to pay a fine or get some document checked. Bear it with a smile.


What to carry in all your follow up visits to the passport office (This should save you another trip or two to the passport office)

17. Carry 4 sets of personal particulars form (or PP form). You might need 2 or 3 but why take a chance.

18. Passport size photographs. To be safe carry the same version as in your application form.

19. A few blank pages incase you are asked to submit any application

20. Stationary – Pen, Glue stick, stapler etc

21. Originals and photocopy of the various documents that you are/were required to submit with your passport application.


RTI (Right to information)

22. If nothing works, you can try RTI. The common man has no clue how RTI works, so here is my contribution – Just write a letter to the PIO (Public Information Officer) of the department requesting for the information you seek along with a Rs 10.00 postal money order. Send the letter via speedpost and keep the receipt. You can get the address of the PIO of the concerned passport office at http://passport.gov.in/cpv/RTI.htm .

23. You can followup with an email to uscpvrti@mea.gov.in if you wish.


Bribing

24. Don’t even think about it! (I did not think of it either). The Indian government Passport Management System works. And you should go through the procedure.


To repeat myself yet again - the Indian government Passport Management System works. You just need to figure out what to do. And no, there are no shortcuts. If you did not get your passport for whatever reason and regardless of whether it was your fault or not, you have to go through the government procedure And yes, it is just like the television serial Office-Office. Grin and bear and you will receive your passport - finally.

Ultimate Guide for Passport Appointment Booking

Hi friends I wrote this article on the base of my survey from the help of passport agent and online
applicant who are not able to get passport appointment. In this survey included 40 PSK in India and 13 RPO and 450+ travels managers having experience in booking passport appointment online . I'm sure the article help you to get passport appointment booking because I got this trick from the TCS employees and appointment experts. Also added passport seva web developer suggestions.We all know that if we have to submit the documents at local passport office for make a passport, This might look easy, but Passport appointment booking is not at all easy. Previously every district had the center to submit documents but now according to the new rules, you can only submit these documents at the PSK. So it has become even harder to get the passport appointment for the passport So today I am going to show you some tricks so that you will find the answer how to book passport appointment online.
The online passport appointment booking system is introduced to reduce the crowd from the PSK.

Now a days crowd from the PSK is cleared but  the public having more harassed from this because most of the Indian public are not so much computer friendly. Even the computer friendly user’s also not able to get passport appointment online. Indian government also made call center for information about passport application but it is completely useless because when you ask about documents they will give you information about passport application but it is completely useless. Now you will ask Why ?????
I told this useless because when you ask about documents they will give you clear information but when you ask them about some issues regarding documents they always says " Final decision passport authority karegi ". Then why they hell created this just to waste our money. It would be much better if they record the documents info and feed them in server at-least they will able to save the cost of call center setup. The Online Passport appointment booking for Bhopal, Dehradun, Goa, Hyderabad, Ameerpet, Tirupati, Begumpet, Nizamabad, Toli Chowki, Vijaywada, Jammu, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, Srinagar server are the most Toughest server because at 4 PM server gets too slow even the appointment experts also unable to see the time slots so how can an individual will book the appointment online. Many online sites are offering hacking software & hacking tricks which guarantee the appointment booking. The cost of the software is 15000 for single user. May be this type of slow server is the cause of those software & hacking tricks. So it is not possible for any user to break the speed of software , so it is not possible for any user to break the speed of software so its obvious that they have to reach the agents for booking appointment online. The passport appointment booking for Bhopal, Dehradun, Goa, Hyderabad, Ameerpet, Tirupati, Begumpet, Nizamabad, Toli Chowki, Vijaywada, Jammu, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, Srinagar is hacked with slow hack & Visakhapatnam, surat, coimbatore, amritsar is fast . The Appointment booking for Visakhapatnam, surat, coimbatore, amritsar is fast in the sense that all the online appointments got booked within 8-10 secs. So here also getting online slot is not possible for passport applicants.

After launch of PSK many people having trouble in apply for a passport and booking appointment online.
I am going to describe a step by step process " How to apply for a passport and manage appointment".

Step 1: Visit the http://www.passportindia.gov.in from your browser.

Step 2: Click register in the upper right hand side of the site.

Step 3: Fill up the given form in CAPITAL letter and again click register in the register. You will get the confirmation " You have been registered successfully ".

Step 4: Now click home in the upper left hand side of the site and then click login just below register in the passport seva website.

Step 5: Now fill up the User id which you have created in the register process and click continue.

Step 6: Enter the Password and Captche ( Reasoning Picute) and click continue. Now you have to fill the Passport application form. There are two types of application process. Online and offline. I am going with offline as it has many benefits but I am not going to explain it now.

Step 7: Click " Download e-Form " under services tab in the left hand side below Applicant Home tab.

Step 8:Now download the e-form by clicking the link in the image below.

Step 9: After download the application form right click on the downloaded zip and click extract here.

Step 10: After extract open the form Fill it correctly in CAPITAL letter.

Step 11: Now its time to save the form but cross check it before saving. Now click " validate and save ". After click a warning pop ups The form data will be saved click " ok ". It will generate a xml file. Save it and remember the path of the xml file.

Step 12: Now again login to passport seva website and click upload e-form just below download e-from.

Step 13: Choose the xml file by clicking " Choose File " and click upload.

Step 14: If you have done everything correctly then you will get the confirmation Your form has been submitted successfully.

Step 15: Your next work is to get the appointment. For getting the appointment just call us at 8001645417. We book appointment for all over India.

Step 16: Once we will book a slot for you take a print of the appointment and reach PSK with all the documents and fees in cash. Now I am going to disclose some internal matter of the PSK. They tell everyone to report sharply to the PSK but always visit the PSK 30 minutes late so that you don't have to stand in a line.

One more thing that don't forget to carry additional documents.

 OK, now I am going to explain the trick of Booking Passport Appointment Online. First review to keep in mind this tips.
1. Manage Passport Appointment page : Type the code carefully on Manage slot page make a difference between 'Zero' and 'O'.

2 Time slot page: Use the Morning time or evening time it remains much free.

3 Booking a slot: Book the slot fast by writing down the Captcha as fast as possible.

4 Use a High internet connection :Use a good 3G network or Broadband connection atleast 4 mbps speed otherwise you remain last like your slow connection.
5 Match Passport seva web portal server time on your computer with seconds for better result in getting a slot.

6. Log in to the site in Sharp 30 minutes before your slot timing.

7. Refresh site page time to time

8. Computer requirements

Use windows 7 or XP Don't install hi graphical software on the system ,it may slow down your system and and as well your internet speed too and close all your downloads and system updates otherwise they will eat all your bandwith. And  i suggest you use Crome browser as it is most fastest.

Points to book a Slot at the PSK.

First of all login 30 minutes prior to the time of slot given at the passport seva web Portal.
The faster internet speed you have the better and faster chances you book the Passport appointments.
Try attempting at multiple tabs i.e. try opening 2-4 tabs in your browser and login in all the tabs. This is because you can simultaneously have a number of attempts.
You might be probably aware that you have to enter captcha code while making slot booking. Keep entering the same several times so that you are not idle and this increases the activeness of your account so there is no chance of timed out.
During entering the captcha code, be aware of some alphabets like O (alphabet) and 0 (zero). These appear as simple mistakes but this will cost you much as because of this you will miss your passport appointment booking chance.
All the slots get booked within 20 min of the given time. For example, for the Bangalore center the usual timings are around 6 PM.
There will be many options like 9:30-10, 10-11,etc. try to select the last ones as many of the ones who are waiting for pasport appointments will select the first one in a hurry.
If in a hurry, even you select the first ones, you might probably get the message like ‘this slot is already booked’ after entering the captcha.
After you select a free time slot, you will once again be asked to enter the captcha code, be fast and at the same time correct in entering those codes.Keep in mind that always remains Caps on while entering captcha or will missed the slot.

These are the common things which are to be looked at. I am not sure that these will get you the passport appointment booking in the first attempt. But it will considerable increase your chances of getting the slot.

How to get passport appointment online?

Source: Manish Singh

Since 2012, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has changed the process of passport application and reissue. The application for issuance of fresh passport or reissue of expired/expiring passport has been made online. This has been done to streamline the whole process. Also Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been roped in to manage the online application system as well as to manage the data entry process. MEA and TCS have launched many passport kiosks also known as Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) where an Indian citizen can visit to submit his or her passport application. This is certainly a good news for Indian Passport applicants as it removes all middlemen and agents in the process. However, in order to visit the PSK, one has to book an appointment online (unless your are filling up a tatkal application in which case you can simply walk into the nearest PSK without appointment). The number of slots at any given PSK are limited and hence they get filled up really quickly as soon as they are open. Here are some of the tips that will help you get your appointment faster.

Make sure you have already created your account on the website http://passportindia.gov.in/

Either fill the application online or download the PDF form to be filled offline. Once the offline form is filled, you need to generate the upload file and upload the same from your account at passportindia website.

Verify all the details entered in the form and submit the form. Once submission is complete, you will now be able to create an appointment.

Click on “View Saves/Submitted Applications” link and the system will list down all the applications that you have created. At most you can create only 3 applications per account.

Select the appropriate application and below the application list, click “Manage Appointment” link. The link will only be enabled for forms that have been submitted. Partially filled forms will not have this link enabled.

On the next screen, the system will ask you to choose PSK nearest to your location and click on “Create Appointment”.

The system will ask you to fill in a CAPTCHA code to verify its a human being and not any automated bot trying to create appointments. The CAPTCHA code is alphanumeric and alphabets are also in capital.

Once you enter the CAPTCHA, click on “Show Available Slots”. Most likely you will see the following message displayed “Currently no appointment slots are available for the selected Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). Please try scheduling an appointment from DD/MM/YYYY, 3:00 PM onwards. Total number of appointments booked today : XXX“. The appointment timings for various passport offices are also published on the passport website.

Note down the date and time carefully. Also sync your computer/watch/mobile (whichever one you refer to) to the website’s clock. Website’s clock is displayed at top left corner of every page.

Visit the website on specified date at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time.

Follow steps 4 to 7 and reach the “Show Available Slots” page. Make sure to keep the CAPTCHA code filled in the form. Do not click on the link to see the slots yet. Wait until the time is exactly 3:00 PM (or whatever time was mentioned in the error message). Hit the “Show Available Slots” within seconds of clock hitting 3PM.

You will now see many slots open for one or more days. Do not think twice and simply choose a slot immediately. It is advisable to choose afternoon slots as many people don’t prefer it or 3PM to 4PM slots.

The system will ask you to enter another CAPTCHA and if the choosen slot is still available, you will receive an appointment confirmation number.

The system may become extremely slow during this period since there is heavy visitor traffic on the website. Make sure to access the website from a broadband or high speed Internet line (if possible, e.g. from office). Do not hit refresh/back buttons on the browser since you will only get one chance before slots get filled. If for some reason, your booking gets stuck on the final page, open another window without disturbing the stuck window and login into your account again and see if you have an appointment ID. Sometimes the system is too slow to respond and may have already booked your slot but unable to show you the appointment confirmation. In such cases opening the account in a new window can help verify if appointment went through.

If you are unsuccessful in your attempt, come back again at the date and time mentioned in the error message.

Do not try to make bookings for multiple accounts as only one account will be logged in from a single browser. If you have multiple bookings to be made, make sure to open them on different browsers (such as Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome etc) or use multiple computers.

Update (June 13, 2013): If media reports in TOI and other leading newspapers are to be believed then Passport authorities are rolling out two important changes in the application process.

Now the system will automatically give an appointment from available slots instead of users logging in at a specific time to book an appointment. Users will be allowed to change their appointment twice in an year.

Payment of Passport Fees will be made online and must be done along with the appointment in order to confirm the booking.

These changes will be rolled out slowly through the country.