Our experience when our son applied for his urgent passport was,
He just spoke to the woman at the counter, explaining why he wanted an urgent passport, and she was very accommodating.
However, it’s best to have proof of travel, if that’s a requirement.
More importantly, make certain that the people who are your guarantors and references are available to take a call from the passport office.
In the case of urgent passports, they call ALL and ask questions about you to ascertain that you know the person well.
In our son’s case, they were t able to get through to one of them, so, when he went to pick the passport up, they asked him if he knew of anyone else...and he scrambled for another contact, whom they then called.
He was asked to return an hour later.
They were very nice and helpful, but they absolutely call all your guarantors and references.