Ukrainian citizens who lose or severely damage their identity documents face fines of up to 51 hryvnias at passport offices across Ukraine.
While government authorities have temporarily suspended financial penalties for overdue photographs and expired papers under martial law, passport offices continue to penalise individuals who misplace their credentials or ruin them beyond repair.
Ukrainian legislation establishes administrative liability for anyone who lets a passport expire, damages it, or loses it entirely. For a first offence, passport officials typically issue an informal verbal warning, but citizens who fail to rectify the matter must pay an administrative penalty ranging between 17 and 51 hryvnias.
In practice, migration authorities are not currently imposing fines for expired identity documents because wartime legislation protects affected citizens. Under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1202, any passport that expired or lacked an updated photograph after 24 January 2022 remains legally valid throughout the full duration of martial law and for an additional month after it ends.
Rules for booklet passports and biometric ID cards
Two distinct types of national identity documents currently circulate alongside each other across the country. Citizens carry either the traditional paper booklet passport or a modern plastic ID card equipped with electronic biometric data chips.
Paper booklet passports have no formal expiration date and are considered permanent documents that cannot expire. However, booklet holders must replace their photograph twice during their lives, first upon reaching age 25 and again at age 45. Failing to paste in the required new portrait within one month of the birthday renders the booklet invalid under standard peacetime rules.
Holders of plastic ID cards operate under a different timetable. Biometric documents issued to teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 remain valid for four years, adult cards require replacement every 10 years, and cards issued to individuals aged 65 or older are permanent.
The State Migration Service of Ukraine is the central executive agency charged with managing migration policy, citizenship records, and official identity documents. The Ukrainian government introduced plastic biometric cards in 2016 to modernize civil records and phase out legacy blue paper booklets, which had served as the country's primary internal identity paper since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Replacement fees and processing times in 2026
Anyone who loses a paper booklet or damages it severely can no longer receive an identical paper replacement. The State Migration Service confirmed that all lost, invalid, or damaged booklets are now replaced exclusively with biometric ID cards.
First-time applicants receive their initial biometric card free of charge upon reaching the age of 14. For all subsequent applications, replacements, and routine renewals, citizens must pay official administrative processing fees.
Replacing an identity document in 2026 costs 618 hryvnias for standard processing within 20 working days. Citizens who require an expedited turnaround can obtain a replacement within seven working days for 988 hryvnias.
Citizens can submit applications at territorial divisions of the State Migration Service or at dedicated passport service centres. Migration officials noted that operational strains under wartime conditions mean that actual document delivery times may take longer than the statutory working-day estimates.
