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Enter the document number correctly0 or o in the passport? This mix-up can ruin your vacation at the last minute!
Anyone who enters the document number on their passport incorrectly can expect fatal consequences for their vacation.
DPA PA | Jörg Hüttenhölscher/Shotshop/picture alliance.
Boarding denied, entry stopped – because of a single sign!
Let's say you're standing at the airport, ready for your long-awaited dream vacation. Everything seems perfect until you suddenly notice a problem with your passport at the check-in counter: you confused the number “0” with the letter “O” – a small, inconspicuous mistake that can ruin your trip at the last minute! But how do you prevent this annoying mix-up?
0 or O in the passport? Why don't you enter the document number incorrectly?
Anyone who crosses European borders when traveling needs a passport to enter the country. There is a document number on it, also called a passport number, which you must provide when checking in at international airports as well as when applying for visas and entry permits – and although correct. Otherwise there could be fatal consequences.
Anyone who makes mistakes here will face problems with their longed-for vacation. “In a worst-case scenario, this error could result in denied boarding or entry“, says Iwona Husemann, travel law expert at the NRW Consumer Center in a press release.
A common problem when entering your passport number is confusing the number “0” (zero) with the letter “O”. Both often look very similar in the passport, which leads to incorrect information.
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Is that a zero? This is how you enter your passport number correctly!
Are you wondering whether the symbol in your passport is a zero or an O? You don't have to do that! Because no O is used in the passport number at all!
“The letter O is generally not included“, writes the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland. This rule was introduced, “to avoid meaningless words and to avoid confusion of letters“, says the ministry. For this reason, in addition to the O, the following letters are not used: A, B, D, E, I, Q, S and U.
Each passport has an individual number, which must be mentioned, among other things, when applying for a visa. But how do you distinguish between zero and O? (symbol image)
Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community: BMI
Important: The number “0” has also no longer been used in the passport number since November 1, 2021! This completely eliminates any mix-ups.
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Structure of the passport number – how many digits and which letters are included?
Basically, the passport number always has nine digits and consists of both numbers and letters. However, not the entire alphabet is used in the passport. Only the following letters are used in the document number: C, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, T, V, W, X, Y and Z.
In addition to these letters, the passport number always contains at least one number – between one and nine. The zero has no longer been used since November 2021. (jbü/ake)
Sources used: Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homelandconsumer advice center
