Power of attorney on paper not be valid to collect passport, ID card

It will no longer be possible to use a power of attorney on paper to collect a passport or identity card at a collection point from January 1, 2026, said police in a press release on Thursday.

The use of a power of attorney on paper is being discontinued in the delivery of passports and identity cards because such documents are easy to forge.

The procedure for authorisations to collect identity card is more stringent because of EU regulations concerning the Citizen Certificate.

In the future, a document delivery containing a passport or identity card can only be given to the addressee, to the addressee’s legal guardian or to another person who was authorised in the application process to collect the delivery.

For a passport, a person to collect the delivery can be authorised in the online application process or in person at a police station.

For an identity card, a person to collect the delivery can be authorised only in person at a police station, not online.

Authorisation is granted in connection with the identification visit related to the application.

The change is made mainly due to peremptory EU legislation concerning the Citizen Certificate stored on the chip in the identity card.

However, passports and identity cards issued on or before 5 December 2025 can still be collected using a power of attorney on paper, but the accepting of power of attorney on paper at collection points will end completely on 31 December 2025.

Meanwhile, because of the IT system updates required by these changes, the online service platform of the police will be offline on 5 December 2025 from 16.00 to 20.00.