Learn Hardcore Russian: Для поездки требуется паспорт.

Поездки is in the genitive singular. The preposition для (“for”) always requires the genitive case, so поездка (nominative) becomes поездки (genitive) after для.

Why is паспорт in the nominative case rather than in the genitive?

In the impersonal construction with the verb требуется (“is required”), the thing that’s required stands in the nominative as if it were the subject. It is not governed by для, so паспорт remains in the nominative singular.

What part of speech is требуется, and how does this construction work?

Требуется is the 3rd-person singular form of the impersonal verb требоваться (“to be required”). There’s no explicit subject (“it”); instead, the verb describes the necessity of something (паспорт) and is often called a passive-impersonal construction.

Can I replace требуется with нужен? What’s the difference?

Yes. You can say Для поездки нужен паспорт. Both mean “A passport is needed for the trip.”

требуется is a bit more formal or bureaucratic.
нужен is more colloquial and direct.

Can the word order change? For example, is Паспорт требуется для поездки correct?

Absolutely. Russian has flexible word order.

Для поездки требуется паспорт focuses first on the trip.
Паспорт требуется для поездки shifts the emphasis to the passport.
Both sentences mean the same thing.

Why isn’t there an explicit “it” as a subject in the translation “A passport is required for the trip”?

Russian often drops impersonal subjects like English “it” in such constructions. The verb требуется itself conveys “it is required,” and паспорт in the nominative fills the role of what is required.

Could I use на instead of для, as in На поездку требуется паспорт?

You can hear на поездку + accusative, but it feels less standard for expressing “for the purpose of a trip.”

Для поездки is the preferred way to indicate “for (the purpose of) a trip.”
На поездку often stresses duration or destination rather than purpose.

How would I ask “Do I need a passport for a trip to Russia?” using a similar structure?

You can form a question by adding ли or switching word order:

Для поездки в Россию требуется ли паспорт? (formal)
Нужен ли мне паспорт для поездки в Россию? (more colloquial)