When applying for a machine-readable passport, a birth certificate or, if applicable, a marriage certificate (for surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, gender) must be submitted and the following data must be provided: Eye color and height. In addition, a biometric photo must be submitted. In order for biometric facial recognition to work, the passport photos must meet different requirements than before. Passport photos that do not meet these requirements can no longer be accepted by the BürgerCenter when applying for a passport. This also applies to children's passports, which since November 1, 2005 must also all be produced with a corresponding passport photo. The age of the child is irrelevant. The Bundesdruckerei's photo sample table can also be viewed on the Internet.
From November 1, 2007, two fingerprints must also be provided.

The machine-readable zone contains the serial number, nationality, date of birth and the person's first name and surname, as well as the period of validity and abbreviations for the passport type, country, check digits and any spaces. In addition to the biometric image, fingerprints will be stored in the passport from 01.11.2007. An e-passport costs 37.50 euros for people who have not yet reached the age of 24 and 60.00 euros from the age of 24.

The introduction of e-passports implements the EU Regulation on "Standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States", which has been directly applicable and binding European law since January 18, 2005. A further international background is the so-called "Visa Waiver Program" (VWP) of the USA, according to which visa-free entry into the USA will in future only be permitted to citizens of countries participating in the program. Countries participating in the VWP must be able to issue passports with digital photos. However, the "old" passports without digital photos or fingerprints from these countries will also continue to be accepted, provided they are machine-readable passports, which was already the case with German passports before November 1, 2005. Since October 26, 2004, entry into the USA has only been visa-free for tourists if they are in possession of a machine-readable passport, according to the Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony.

The German passport is considered to be one of the most forgery-proof passports in the world. Since 01.03.2017, German passports have become even more forgery-proof. The new passport has been equipped with new, modern security features.