In the 1922 passport there is pasted a registration-fee stamp, which began to be issued in 1883.
In 1719, in connection with the introduction of the poll tax and conscription duty, travel certificates were introduced. In 1724, rules were established for peasants leaving their villages, and feeding and transit letters were introduced; they described the height, face, and distinguishing marks of the person released. The first were issued to peasants going from villages to earn wages within their own districts, as well as to landlords and stewards. The second were issued to persons traveling to other districts. The movement of the population was supervised by local administrative bodies and the police. Peasants found without documents were subjected to corporal punishment and sent back to their owners.
From 1763, the passport gained significance as a means of collecting passport fees. Passport fees were introduced in 1763: for one-year and shorter-term passports—10 kopeks; for two-year—50 kopeks; for three-year—1 ruble. At the beginning of the 19th century, for townspeople and peasants, passport fees for a one-year passport were already 6 rubles, and for 5 years—70 rubles in assignation rubles. In 1825 and 1894, passport fees were significantly reduced; in 1894 they were also introduced for privileged estates; in 1897 they were finally abolished.
From 1803, instead of feeding and transit letters, printed passports were introduced for merchants, townspeople, and peasants, valid only within Russia.
From 1809, address offices were established in Saint Petersburg as part of the city police. All persons working for hire in the capitals were required to register at the address office and obtain an address ticket there. When changing jobs or place of residence, as well as upon expiration of the ticket, registration was required; moreover, the ticket was not issued without a favorable reference from the previous place of work. Persons suspected of being unreliable could be expelled from the city by the police.
In 1837, the Address Office was reorganized into the Address Expedition, and an address desk was opened under it, "to provide everyone and anyone who wishes with the necessary information about the place of residence of a person staying in the capital." A similar address desk appeared in Moscow as well, but only in 1861, "following the example of Saint Petersburg."
From the 1830s until the end of the 19th century, the main law defining the rights and duties of the police in enforcing the passport regime in the empire was the "Charter on Passports and Fugitives." The main rule of the Charter (Art. 1) stated that no one may leave their place of permanent residence without a legally established permit or passport. The law required all persons to present passports when moving from one губерния to another at checkpoints established in cities, and upon arrival— to the police. Nobles not in state service could have no passports; for them, the document was the charter of noble status. For peasants and townspeople, three categories of passports were established, issued depending on how far the person traveled from their primary place of residence and the term of validity (up to a maximum of 3 years).
The passport book was compiled by district police officers; for peasants—in volost administrations. It recorded travel certificates, travel sheets, passports, residence permits, and others. It contained the following information: surname, given name, patronymic, rank/status, age, religion, marital status—the composition of the family. Other variants of passport books are also found, listing data such as: house number, surname, given name, patronymic, rank/status, where the person arrived from, when the passport was issued, in whose house they live, a permit for trade or craft, when and where they departed. They are kept in regional archives: in the collections of district police officers and volost administrations.
The system of issuing passports changed; common to it were short validity periods.
From 1883, householders were required to notify the police of all arrivals and departures in all cities, posads, and small towns, submitting their passports to the police for registration.