Change the Name on Your Passport

A passport name change applies when your name changed after the passport was issued, by marriage, divorce, or a court order. You must hold the certified document that records the change. The passport itself must be in your possession, undamaged beyond normal wear, and never reported lost or stolen. When the passport was issued less than one year ago and the name changed within that year, it is reissued in the new name with a fresh validity period. When more than a year has passed, the name is updated through a renewal, provided the passport was issued at age 16 or older and within the last 15 years. A passport that fails those renewal conditions is replaced through a new passport application, with the name change document included.

The evidence is a certified copy of the marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order that shows the former name and the new one. A certified copy carries the seal of the issuing office and the signature of the official or judge who issued it, and most county clerks and registrars issue one on request. Photocopies, scans, and photographs of the document are not accepted, and the original or certified copy is returned to you after your application is complete. The current passport is included with the application as well, along with one recent color photo taken within the last six months. A new photo is required even when the only change is the name.

You begin by answering a few questions about when the passport was issued, when your name changed, and which document records the change. From those answers our system determines which application applies, so you complete only one and do not have to interpret the one-year rule yourself. You then provide your personal details, the details of your current passport, and the new name exactly as it appears on the certified document. Our team prechecks the answers for completeness and consistency, including that the new name matches the document and that the dates support the application chosen. Once your application has been processed, your completed documents and instructions for the remaining steps are available in your account.

The distinction matters because the two situations rely on different evidence. A name change concerns a name that was printed correctly at issue and later changed through a legal event; the proof is the certified document that records that event. A correction concerns a name that was printed wrong on the day the passport was issued, and the proof is the record the passport should have matched, such as a birth certificate. If you married after the passport was issued, your situation is a name change even when the passport is only weeks old. Until the reissued passport arrives, the current one remains valid in the former name. Bookings in the new name should wait until the new passport is in hand.