Which Option Fits Your Situation
| Your situation | Recommended option |
|---|---|
| Need it today, city centre | Timpson at Union Square (£12.99). Walk in, no appointment needed. |
| Cheapest option with digital code | Max Spielmann booth at Tesco Extra Bridge of Don (£6-8). |
| Paper application, need it checked | Post Office Check and Send at WH Smith, St Nicholas Centre (£15.95). |
| At the airport before a flight | Photo-Me booth at Aberdeen Airport terminal (£10-12). |
| Baby or infant photo | Timpson Union Square (staffed, experienced with infants). Not a booth. |
| Already have a digital file, need prints | Boots CEWE kiosk at Union Square or St Nicholas Centre (from 27p per sheet). |
| Prefer not to travel at all | PassportApp online (£9.99). IDPC code delivered instantly. Prints to your door. |
Timpson: Union Square
- Timpson – Union Square::
- Unit 12, Union Square Shopping Centre, Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5RG
- Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9am-8pm, Sunday 10am-6pm. Hours follow Union Square mall hours. Confirm via Timpson store finder before visiting.
- Price: £12.99 for prints and IDPC digital code. Driving licence £12.99. Visa photos £14.99.
Staff take the photo using a Fuji camera against a compliant background. You receive printed photos and a printed IDPC code slip. Free unlimited retakes until you are satisfied. Baby and infant photos available. Call ahead for very young babies.
Parking: Union Square has a multi-storey car park directly connected to the centre. Entrances from Guild Street and Market Street. The car park is managed by ABP (Aberdeen Harbour) and charges apply. First 30 minutes is free; thereafter approximately £2 per hour. Union Square is also served by First Bus routes and is approximately 5 minutes on foot from Aberdeen Railway Station.
Best for: anyone in the city centre wanting a staffed service with a compliance guarantee and same-session prints and code.
Max Spielmann: Tesco Extra, Bridge of Don
- Max Spielmann – Tesco Extra, Bridge of Don::
- Wellington Road, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, AB23 8JL
- Opening hours: The booth operates during Tesco Extra store hours, typically Monday to Saturday 6am-midnight, Sunday 8am-8pm. Avoid Saturday mornings and weekday evenings (5-7pm) when queues form.
- Price: £6-£8 for the self-service booth (prints and IDPC code). £12.99 for staffed Max Spielmann shop service if available at this location. Confirm locally.
Self-service booth. Select your document type, follow on-screen instructions, photos are printed and an IDPC code is issued. No staff involvement. Two or four printed photos.
Parking: Large free customer car park directly outside the store, no time limit. Accessible parking bays are near the main entrance. Approximately 2 miles north of Aberdeen city centre on the A90 – turn onto Wellington Road. First Bus routes 1 and 2 serve Bridge of Don from Union Street in the city centre, with stops near the Tesco.
Best for: the cheapest compliant passport photo with an IDPC code in Aberdeen. Best for straightforward adult photos. Not suitable for infants or those needing staff assistance.
Post Office Check and Send: St Nicholas Centre (WH Smith)
- Post Office – WH Smith, St Nicholas Centre::
- St Nicholas Centre, Aberdeen, AB10 1HW
- Opening hours: broadly follows WH Smith trading hours, Monday to Saturday approximately 8:30am-5:30pm, Sunday approximately 10am-4pm. Post Office counter hours may differ – confirm on 0845 611 2970 or via the Post Office branch finder.
- Price: £15.95 for the Check and Send service, in addition to the passport application fee (£88.50 for standard online renewals; higher for paper applications).
Staff check your passport application, photographs, and supporting documents against HMPO requirements and post the completed application by secure tracked mail. This is for paper applications only, not for online renewals. A self-service Photo-Me booth may be available in the WH Smith store – confirm when calling.
Parking: the St Nicholas Centre is in the heart of Aberdeen city centre. Nearest multi-storey car parks are the NCP at Bon Accord Centre on George Street (approximately 250 metres, charges apply) and the Trinity Centre car park on Union Street. Aberdeen city centre is a Controlled Parking Zone. Approximately 10 minutes on foot from Aberdeen Railway Station.
Best for: paper passport applications where you want staff to check the full document package before posting. Not for online renewals.
Photo-Me Booth: Aberdeen Railway Station
- Photo-Me – Aberdeen Railway Station::
- Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5DH
- Opening hours: the station is open from approximately 5am to midnight; booths typically operate during station opening hours and sometimes longer.
- Price: £10-£12 on newer IDPC-capable machines. Confirm the booth issues a digital code before use – older machines produce prints only.
Self-service Photo-Me booth. Prints and, on newer machines, an IDPC digital code. Follow on-screen instructions. No staff involvement.
Parking: a short-stay car park is directly adjacent to the station entrance on Guild Street (approximately £3 for up to 30 minutes). NCP and Aberdeen City Council car parks are within 5 minutes' walk. Union Square car park on Guild Street is approximately 200 metres and offers longer stay at better rates.
Best for: anyone already at or passing through Aberdeen Railway Station. Convenient if catching a train. Available outside typical retail hours.
Photo-Me Booth: Aberdeen Airport
- Photo-Me – Aberdeen International Airport::
- Dyce, Aberdeen, AB21 7DU (main terminal building)
- Opening hours: the terminal is open from approximately 3:30am to midnight, depending on flight schedule. The booth operates within terminal opening hours.
- Price: £10-£12.
Self-service Photo-Me booth. Prints and IDPC code on newer machines.
Parking: a short-stay car park sits directly in front of the terminal – drop-off is free for up to 10 minutes, thereafter approximately £5 for up to 30 minutes. A mid-stay and long-stay car park is a short walk away with lower rates for stays over an hour. From Aberdeen city centre the airport is approximately 7 miles northwest via the A96; First Bus service 10 runs from Union Street to the airport terminal.
Best for: passengers who realise they need a passport photo before travelling, or those returning from a trip who need to renew their passport. Always use the photo for the correct application route – do not use a booth photo taken abroad in non-UK spec.
Boots: Union Square and St Nicholas Centre
- Boots – Union Square::
- Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5RG
- Boots – St Nicholas Centre::
- Union Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1AA
Boots removed all its own-branded passport photo booths in July 2024. Neither Aberdeen Boots branch currently operates a Boots-branded photo service. However, both large Boots stores have CEWE Photostation kiosks where you can print a 4x6 inch template from a digital file you bring yourself, from approximately 27p per sheet (two 35x45mm passport photos). Upload your compliant digital file, select 4x6 print, choose "actual size", and pay at the kiosk.
Parking: Union Square Boots – Union Square car park as described above. St Nicholas Centre Boots – NCP Bon Accord Centre or Trinity Centre car parks.
Best for: anyone who already has a compliant digital passport photo and needs the cheapest possible printed copies.
The Online Option: Skip the Trip Entirely
For online passport renewals, you do not need to visit any provider in Aberdeen. PassportApp produces a HMPO-compliant digital photo and IDPC code from home in minutes.
Online is the right choice for most Aberdeen applicants renewing an adult passport. An in-person visit to a provider in Aberdeen makes more sense if: you need same-day prints for a paper application, you need a baby or infant photo taken by experienced staff, or you have already had an online photo rejected and want a staffed expert to check before resubmitting.
Get your photo: UK passport photo.
Nearest Passport Office to Aberdeen
There is no HM Passport Office customer-facing centre in Aberdeen. The two nearest HMPO regional offices are:
- Glasgow Passport Office::
- 5 Festival Square, Glasgow, G2 3GX
- Approximately 145 miles southwest of Aberdeen (around 2 hours 30 minutes by car via A90/M90/M8, or by ScotRail from Aberdeen Railway Station to Glasgow Central)
- Edinburgh Passport Office::
- Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD
- Approximately 120 miles south of Aberdeen (around 2 hours 15 minutes by car via A90/M90, or approximately 2 hours 30 minutes by ScotRail to Edinburgh Waverley)
Aberdeen-Specific Notes
Offshore workers and visa document requirements
Aberdeen's oil and gas industry means a significant number of residents hold work permits, Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visas, or require documentation for offshore access. If you need a photo for a UKVI visa application rather than a passport, the specifications differ slightly: a plain light-coloured background including white is accepted for visa photos (unlike passport photos which require cream or light grey). PassportApp handles both formats. See UK visa photo requirements.
Students in Aberdeen
Aberdeen has a significant student population across the University of Aberdeen (King's College and Foresterhill campuses), Robert Gordon University (Garthdee), and Aberdeen College. Student-specific photo ID needs include Student ID (arranged by the university, no external photo needed), CitizenCard or PASS cards for age verification, and railcards. A passport-style photo covers CitizenCard, railcard, and the National Entitlement Card (Scotland's concessionary travel card) from a single session. See UK ID photo requirements.
Getting to Aberdeen city centre providers
All city centre providers (Timpson at Union Square, Post Office at WH Smith in St Nicholas Centre, Boots at St Nicholas Centre and Union Square) are within walking distance of each other. From Aberdeen Railway Station: Union Square is directly connected to the station, and St Nicholas Centre is approximately 10 minutes' walk north along Union Street. From Aberdeen Bus Station on Guild Street: 5 minutes' walk from Union Square. First Bus services 1, 2, 3, 17, 19 and 23 all stop on Union Street within walking distance of all city centre providers. Park and Ride is available at Bridge of Don (route 1/1A), Kingswells (route 218), and Dyce (airport service), useful for visitors avoiding city centre parking charges.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In Aberdeen city centre: Timpson at Union Square shopping centre (£12.99, staffed, includes IDPC code); Post Office Check and Send at WH Smith in the St Nicholas Centre (£15.95, for paper applications); and Photo-Me booths at Aberdeen Railway Station on Guild Street (£10-12, self-service). For the cheapest option with a code, the Max Spielmann booth at Tesco Extra Bridge of Don is approximately 2 miles north of the city centre.
Yes. Aberdeen International Airport (Aberdeen Airport, Dyce, AB21 7DU) has a Photo-Me self-service passport photo booth in the terminal. Cost is approximately £10-12. The airport is approximately 7 miles northwest of Aberdeen city centre. From the city, take the A96 or use the number 10 First Bus service from Union Street. There is a short-stay car park directly outside the terminal entrance.
The cheapest in-person option with a digital code is the Max Spielmann self-service booth at Tesco Extra Bridge of Don at £6-8. Online, PassportApp costs £9.99 with human expert check and IDPC code delivered instantly. If you already have a compliant digital file, print a 4x6 template at a photo kiosk for approximately 27p per sheet.
There is no HM Passport Office in Aberdeen. The nearest HMPO office is in Glasgow (5 Festival Square, Glasgow, G2 3GX) or Edinburgh (Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD). For urgent passport processing, contact the HMPO Adviceline on 0300 222 0000 to book an appointment at a regional passport office. Most Aberdeen applicants process renewals online or by post.
Yes. The Post Office at WH Smith in the St Nicholas Centre, Aberdeen offers the Check and Send service (£15.95), where staff check your passport application and photographs and send the application to HMPO for you. This is for paper applications only. A self-service Photo-Me booth may also be available at selected Aberdeen Post Office branches. Call your local branch before visiting to confirm the service is available.
Boots removed all its own-branded passport photo booths in July 2024. Aberdeen Boots stores at Union Square and St Nicholas Centre no longer offer a Boots photography service. Both branches have CEWE Photostation kiosks where you can print a compliant digital file from approximately 27p per 4x6 sheet.
Union Square has a multi-storey car park connected to the shopping centre, accessible from Guild Street and Market Street. First 30 minutes free, then approximately £2 per hour. Aberdeen Railway Station is approximately 200 metres from Union Square. First Bus routes serving Guild Street stop at Union Square.
Yes. Timpson at Union Square (£12.99) is the best option for infant passport photos. Staff are trained for baby photography and will take multiple attempts. Call ahead if bringing a newborn. Self-service booths at Tesco Extra, the railway station, and the airport are not suitable for infants. The flat-lay home method (baby on a white or cream sheet, photographed from above) is also reliable and free with PassportApp.
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