Quick Canadian Passport Application Guide

This is a shortened/condensed version of my more in-depth & longer Canadian Passport guide, which has received over 60 000 reads since May 2007. By using this guide, I got my new passport (not renewal) in hand within 7 days without paying anything extra, and spent 30 minutes in a passport office that had a 2 hour lineup to get to a counter. 

...and this was when every newspaper was reporting all of the backups/delays at Passport Canada because of the new US requirements. 

This guide is for ADULTS looking to get a new passport, or renew their old one quickly with less hassles.

All links of this page will open in a new-window, so you can just close them when you're done to get back to the guide. 

The best way to do this is with EPass, where the Canadian Passport Office lets you pre-fill most of the application online, and then you can print off the form, sign it, guarantor it, and they just scan the barcode at the Passport Canada Office. 

EPass is not available for children's passport applications. 

When you use this method and personally present it to the office, Passport Canada lets you bypass the entire lineup, which can save you hours. Basically, when you enter the office, you go through the pre-screen line, show them that you have the barcoded forms, and they give you a "next-call" ticket. You save their time, they'll save yours. 

I've heard sporadic reports that some Passport Canada Offices also let you skip the line with the Simplified Renewal Procedure Forms as well, but the Epass method can be used for both new applications or renewals.

10 Steps for Getting Your New Canadian Passport Quickly

1. Get your passport photos taken at some point by a "professional photographer" before going to your guarantor
2. Create an Epass here. The software can be finicky, feel free to try other browsers or even other computers.
3. Fill out the on-line form (ie: on your computer at home). You can save your work and continue at any time or from another location if you like. 
4. Print it (see here if you have printing problems). You might need to change printer settings, or use your Epass to login at another computer to print off your saved form. Many people have had printing problems, I myself had to go over to my neighbour's house. 
5. Sign it, if you mess it up, just print off another ;)
6. Bring the signed form and your photos to your guarantor to sign them. It isn't a bad idea to bring two copies of the form over in case they don't do the signature properly.
7. Find a Passport Canada office. I have maps & hours for the following locations: Toronto (North York), Toronto (Downtown), Mississauga, Windsor, London, Saskatoon, Vancouver & Surrey. Otherwise, look up the address at Passport Canada's site and use Google maps so you know exactly where to go (and possibly park). Print off the maps if you're not familiar with the area. 
8. Bring all of your stuff to a Passport Canada office, show the barcode to the pre-screener and get the line-skip. They do accept Interac, Mastercard and Visa, and if you're bringing cash, it's not a bad idea to bring exact change ($87 is the base cost for an adult passport)
9. Save your Passport Canada receipt, you'll need it if you want to track your passport application later on.
10. Wait. They say that they come by "registered mail", and by that they mean Xpresspost with Signature required in a very non-descript envelope from Gatineau Quebec. 

You can go to a receiving agent (like some Canada Post offices), or even mail in the EPass form, but it probably won't get processed any faster (or not by much anyway). The real time savings here is being able to bring your form at 2:30PM on a busy Friday at the Mississauga Passport Office, and getting out by 3:00PM, while others were told that they might not see anyone until Monday.

The rush/urgent/express services are still available when using EPass if you have proof of the need for them when you go to the office.