Error in passport: what to do and how to fix it in 2021

The procedure for replacing a passport of a Russian citizen in the event of entering inaccurate, incomplete or erroneous information into it is determined by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated December 28, 2006 N 1105 “On approval of the Administrative Regulations of the Federal Migration Service for the provision of public services for issuance, replacement and execution state function for recording passports of citizens of the Russian Federation, identifying the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Russian Federation"

Today, there are two main reasons that can lead to the entry of erroneous information into the passport. The sequence of actions of a citizen to replace a passport containing an error directly depends on the cause of the error.

The error in the passport arose due to the fault of the officials responsible for issuing the passport, as well as for entering information into it. Such an error can be expressed in the incorrect spelling of the surname, in incorrectly entered information about the registration (divorce) of marriage, information about children, about registration at the place of residence, etc. In this case, the error, as a rule, is clearly a “typo” made by an official.
Also included in this category of errors are cases in which the passport, due to the fault of responsible officials, has traces of mechanical damage: carelessly laminated, torn, the information entered is unreadable or difficult to discern.
The main criterion for such errors is the obvious fault of the official responsible for issuing the passport or for entering information into it. Such errors in the current legislation are called “technical defects”. In this case, the procedure for replacing a passport has a number of significant features that make life much easier for the citizen changing his passport.
An error in the passport or its damage was not the fault of the responsible officials. This category also includes cases in which the official who issued the passport entered information into it in accordance with the current legislation, but with the condition that the error was transferred from a previously issued passport, the owner of which, through his own fault, did not notice the previously entered inaccurate information. In this case, the error was simply “transferred” from the old passport to the new one through no fault of the official who issued it.

Also included in this category are errors resulting from the transfer of information from other documents containing errors.

To better understand the criteria for separating errors entered into a passport, let’s give an example that is a clear demonstration of a case where there is a technical defect, that is, there is no obvious fault of the FMS employee.

The current regulations do not require the applicant to provide his birth certificate when replacing a passport. All information entered into the passport is transferred by the FMS employee from the passport being replaced to the newly issued one on completely legal grounds. For example, the correct place of birth is indicated on the birth certificate, but the place of birth is indicated in error in the passport submitted for replacement. That is, earlier, when issuing the first passport, a FMS employee made an error, which for one reason or another was not detected by the owner of the passport. In this case, the responsible official made the entry in the passport on a legal basis. But there is a mistake. In such a situation, the passport must be replaced “due to the discovery of errors or inaccuracies in the data entered into it,” and not due to a technical defect.

The current Regulations do not clearly define the concept of “technical defect”, which many today’s FMS employees willingly take advantage of, forcing a citizen who has applied for a passport replacement due to a technical defect to go through the entire process of replacing the passport, as if it were the fault of the responsible official was absent. If you find yourself in a similar situation, and the guilt of the FMIS employee is obvious, we strongly recommend that you go to the end and demand an immediate replacement of your passport without paying a state fee, as well as without going through all the mandatory procedures. It is worth demanding this, even if enough time has passed from the moment the passport was issued until the error was discovered.

As we have already noted, the procedure for the passport owner’s actions largely depends on the reason for the appearance of erroneous or inaccurate data in the passport.

Passport

A passport is the main document of identification and confirmation of citizenship of a particular country. The Russian document is a small burgundy booklet that contains basic information about the owner: last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, and others. In addition to the required personal data, additional information can also be entered into the passport, for example, about blood type or taxpayer identification number (hereinafter referred to as TIN).

Reasons for inaccuracies

Officials who deal with ID cards are also people who tend to make mistakes even in such important documents. The human factor is the main reason for inaccuracies in passports. The main consequence of this is a technical defect, that is, the identification of an error made through the fault of the employee who issued the main identity card for a citizen of the Russian Federation. Yes, due to some typo in the form of an incorrectly written last name, first name, patronymic, date or place of birth, the document is invalidated, which is the basis for replacing the passport.

The category of technical defects also includes:

inaccurate lamination of pages;
incorrect information about children;
errors in the passport, namely the date or place of registration;
traces of mechanical violations of the integrity of pages;
unclear information that is difficult to read.

Here, too, the fault of the official who issued the document with non-compliance with the standard is observed. The process of replacing a document for citizens who have discovered errors in their passports made through the fault of a specialist will not entail difficulties or financial expenses.

Errors: what are they?

Obtaining a passport is a responsible matter and, alas, not very fast. Waiting is certainly tiring, but show miracles of endurance and prudence. When you go into the office of a specialist who will give you a burgundy booklet, do not rush to sign for receipt of the document. Take a little time and carefully check the data: all information must be reliable, otherwise the document will be considered void.

Invalidity implies that the citizen will not be able to perform any legal action until he brings the passport into proper form by contacting the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation), in other words, until he replaces it. As for the appearance and content of the document, corrections, crossing out, or even more so, covering up are unacceptable.

However, to the credit of government officials, a situation where a passport was issued with corrections is practically impossible, but typos or obvious errors, unfortunately, do occur. This is why it is so important not to neglect the advice on checking the information entered, because the passport is issued for a fairly long period and will have to be used quite often. And the sooner the inaccuracy is discovered, the better.

The fact is that any, even the most insignificant, typo in a passport entails unpleasant consequences. The presence of even one wrong letter in your first name, last name or patronymic, or a number in your date of birth - and from a legal point of view, you are no longer you. The same applies to information about the place of birth, and there is no need to talk about cases where the wrong gender is indicated.

Mistakes made through the fault of a government agency specialist

It is unlikely that there will be a person who will calmly react to the need to once again go through the process of re-issuing any document. And when you have to replace your passport due to an error caused by an employee, this is doubly unpleasant. After all, the citizen himself did everything as expected: he conscientiously prepared the documents, spent time submitting and waiting for them, and finally showed up at the appointed time to receive the completed passport. And here is such a “surprise” - there is something to lose your peace of mind from.

Many people encounter this situation for the first time and do not know what to do if there is an error in their passport. However, I would like to warn emotional citizens against rash actions: refrain from rudeness, insults, and even more so from assessing the intellectual abilities of government employees. People are not robots, and, no matter how trite it may sound, no one is immune from mistakes. In addition, the specialist will not be able to issue a corrected form instantly - he does not have such powers, and the deadlines for issuing a passport were invented for a reason.

In any case, you cannot avoid applying again if, for example, you made a mistake in your middle name, first name or last name in your passport. However, you can express your dissatisfaction in a written complaint by sending it to the head of the department of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Not through the fault of a government agency specialist

There are also the opposite situations: employees of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation enter into the passport the information that is reflected in the application, and then it turns out that the information is incorrect. You can’t write a complaint here; you only have yourself to blame. After all, before accepting the application form and documents for issuing a passport, the civil servant must and repeatedly asks the citizen to check every letter, number and date. If this advice was not followed and documents were submitted with erroneous data, you will have to re-apply for a passport replacement.

Replacement procedure

The actions and set of documents depend on the place where the passport was issued, the culprit for entering incorrect data and the timing of detection of errors.

Where to contact

After identifying an inaccuracy, you must not delay and immediately contact any Federal Migration Service of Russia by filling out an application according to the established form. Replacement in case of technical defects is carried out only in the department in which this document was issued.

Since 02/01/2017, the MFC has added powers to collect applications, documents and issue passports. However, testing and manufacturing, as before, will be carried out by a unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

When the culprit is the owner, or errors are found, you can contact any nearest branch in your area:

Temporary registration;
Residence;
Actual location.

The presence of the person who needs to replace the ID card will be required. If, for good reason, this condition cannot be met, then the official duties of the responsible employees include traveling to the place of residence. The passport holder or close relatives must write a free-form application requesting this service.

If there is no technical defect in the passport, it is possible to report errors by contacting the online public services service. The account must be verified on the portal. There you will need to fill out an application electronically. After registration, a day and time will be assigned for a visit to a specialist to confirm his identity.

Required documents

Cost of the procedure

At the moment, you need to pay 300 rubles, excluding penalties, if any are presented by the department’s employees.

From 01/01/2017, a 30% discount is provided on the government services portal. To do this, you need to submit an application in the online service, wait until the department posts a receipt, and pay using a non-cash payment method:

From a mobile phone (only from a Federal operator number);
From a bank card (Visa, MasterCard, Mir);
From Webmoney (electronic wallet).

Discounts on state fees are available only to individuals.

The current regulations do not have a clear distinction in such a concept as “technical defect”. A citizen may be asked to go through the entire passport replacement process. This is illegal, and a person has the right to refuse to pay the state fee and demand a new identity card be issued.

Terms of re-registration

The amount of time it takes employees to prepare the document depends on the cause of the error and the location of the application.

The order of the MFS of Russia dated October 15, 2012 No. 320 (clause 106) states that if a technical defect is identified, or erroneous entries and marks are made at the time of receipt, the citizen is required to make a new document without paying a state fee and re-collecting the necessary documents. Often 2 hours from the moment the photo was provided is enough.

But due to some reasons, department employees may refuse a quick replacement and begin processing based on the current regulations. It says that the passport must be prepared within 10 days from the date of receipt of the package of documents (when applying at the place of registration).

If the previous passport was issued by another department, or the citizen applied not at his place of registration, then re-issuance will take 30 calendar days after registration of the application.

This is due to the time spent on:

Confirmation of information;
Sending additional requests;
Exchange of information between government agencies.

Employees immediately inform you of the preliminary date of readiness of the identity card when submitting your application:

The MFC will invite you via SMS notification or send a message to the specified mail (email address);
The State Services website is informed in your personal account on the portal;
The FMS, 15 days after the due date, if the passport is requested, will send a registered letter with notification.

In emergency cases, when a document is required urgently, it is worth trying to politely explain the current situation to the territorial office. It is often possible to reduce the recovery time to 5 days.

Where to go

All actions for issuing or replacing passports are carried out by the territorial body of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

There are several ways to contact the department with an application to replace your passport:

report to the nearest unit of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation;
contact the multifunctional center for state and municipal services (hereinafter referred to as the MFC);
use what is commonly called the portal (site) of State Services.

What documents will be required

The lists of documents for obtaining a primary passport and in case of replacing it are not the same.

The second list cannot be called large either, but it has its own characteristics.

So, to replace your passport you need to submit to the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation:

statement;
existing passport;
two photographs 35x45 mm;
a document that confirms the reason for the replacement - such as birth certificates, marriage/divorce certificates, name change, etc.

Please note that in both cases it is necessary to provide photographs.

What is the price

Obtaining a passport (both initial and subsequent) is a paid service, for the provision of which a state fee is charged:

for issuing a passport, including if errors are detected in it, - 300 rubles;
for issuing a passport to replace a lost one or one that has become unusable – 1,500 rubles.

The state fee is paid before submitting an application for the provision of public services. However, if the passport must be replaced due to the fact that inaccuracies or errors were discovered due to the fault of an official, the state fee is not paid.

Previously, the payment receipt was provided to the department of the Main Department of Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation along with other documents; this requirement has now been canceled in accordance with paragraph 2 of part 1 of Article 7 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2010.

Where can a passport be replaced due to an error?

You can obtain a new identity card in one of the options provided by law:

territorial division of the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia;
Multifunctional Center;
portal of public services.

Important! If a passport replacement is required due to an employee error, then the application must be directed strictly to the department that is responsible for providing the invalid ID.

Re-registration deadline

The deadline for obtaining a passport (both in the case of initial application and when replacing) is determined by law. It may vary depending on where exactly the application is submitted: at the place of permanent registration of the citizen or at the place of his actual residence.

The procedure includes receiving documents, checking information, sending various requests, receiving answers to them, and filling out the form itself. Of course, there is the aforementioned service delivery period, but practice often differs from theory, especially if not only people, but also software are involved in the process.

Now let's return to the main topic of the article - re-issuing a passport due to an error. The production time for a new document will be standard - 10 days from the date of receipt of the application and its attachments. If documents were submitted through the MFC, two to three days are usually added for the delivery of the finished passport from the Main Department of Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation to the MFC. But we are interested in something else: within what period should a passport be submitted if inaccuracies are detected, that is, how much time is allocated for submitting an application?

Regardless of the reasons for the replacement, you must submit an application and submit an incorrectly executed document within 30 days from the date of the occurrence of the relevant event (in our case, the discovery of an error).

In what cases is replacement not required?

The legislation provides for moments when re-registration is not required.

Responsibility

A document containing erroneous information is considered invalid and, of course, cannot be used. True, there will definitely be those who are categorically not satisfied with the prospect of re-issuing a passport. Some don't even try to get a normal document. However, sooner or later this will backfire: for using an invalid passport there is an administrative fine (for Moscow and St. Petersburg - from 3 to 5 thousand rubles, for all other regions - from 2 to 3 thousand rubles).

When issuing a passport, employees of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs must warn that the citizen must keep it carefully, however, there are often cases when the main civil document for some reason becomes unusable.

How to proceed

The place of interaction depends on the nature of the error made when drawing up the document:

If it is technical , the owner is recommended to visit the migration control office responsible for the initial issuance.
They go to the FMS department or at their actual place of residence when the problem is related to the work of a specific employee . Only the owner himself decides what to do, if admitted, what to do.

In this case, only personal visits help. The owner has the right to demand that FMS employees travel to a specific address only if there are good reasons for this option. Refusal will be illegal; such schemes are provided for by job responsibilities.

To call an official at the place of residence, the owner of the document draws up a written application. It is formed by the applicant or one of the close relatives. Clause 107 of the FMS regulations confirms this procedure, including in case of inaccuracies in the place of birth.

ATTENTION! The online service of Public Services can also be used when applying. In case of technical defects, only personal appeals are needed; other solutions will not help.