Change the Name on Your Passport

The Identity and Passport Service is probably the most important record holder to notify of your name change.

Since the name on your passport should always match your legal name, it is important to amend your passport when you change your name. This is necessary no matter the circumstances of name change.

When you apply to change your name on your passport, your current one will be cancelled. You will be issued with a new standard ten year passport. Your new passport is credited with up to 9 months of extra time towards expiration date from your previous passport.

Passport Update Following Your Change of Name by Deed Poll

Applying for a Passport in a Different Name to That on Your Birth Certificate

How to Apply to Amend Your Passport

Changing Your Name on Your Passport Following a Marriage

Changing Your Name on Your Passport Following a Civil Partnership

Passport Name Change Following Your Divorce

Changing Your name on Your Passport Following a Separation

Changing Your Name and Gender Marker on Your Passport Following Gender Transitioning

Passport Name Change Following Your Change of Name by Deed Poll

When applying for your passport following your name change by Deed Poll, your Deed Poll document is documentary evidence. A photocopy of your Deed Poll will not be sufficient. It is essential to enclose your original Deed Poll document or a legal copy.

Applying for a Passport in a Different Name to What Is on Your Birth Certificate

If you are applying for your first passport, enclose a copy of your Deed Poll with the application. This provides documentary evidence to show that you have changed the name on your birth certificate to your current one. 

It may be that your name was changed as a child, but you have no documentary evidence of this change. What is important is that when you fill in the Deed Poll application form, you notify us of your birth name in the relevant box. This ensures that the correct name change is shown on your Deed Poll. Therefore, it will be accepted by the Passport Office.

How to Apply to Amend Your Passport

You can apply to amend your passport in a number of ways. These are described below:

• Collect an application form from a high street partner of the Passport Office. This includes selected Post Office branches and WorldChoice travel agents.
• Fill in the application form request online and the Passport Service will send you a form in the post.
• Make an online application. This allows you to fill in the form and send it online. You will then be posted the printout. You need to sign this and return it with your photographs and the necessary documents.
• Call the 24-hour Passport Advice line on 0300 222 0000 and have the form posted to you.

How to complete it

The form comes with full instructions, whether you fill in the paper version or complete it online. You should follow these carefully as any errors will delay your application.

Signing your form

Only you need to sign your form to apply for a new passport. Applications for post-dated passports for 16 or 17-year-olds that are to be married or enter into a civil partnership do not need to be supported by the written permission of a person with parental responsibility.

Please note: Your form should be signed at section 9 with your new name, even if you are waiting to get married.

Visas on your former passport

When you apply to amend your passport your current passport is cancelled and you are issued with a new one. This can mean that visas in your current passport become invalid. Please check with the issuing authorities whether an unexpired visa in a cancelled passport can still be used. If not, you will have to reapply for the visas in question.

Changing Your Name on Your Passport Following a Marriage

It is common practise for a woman to change her name upon marriage. If a woman decides to take her husband’s surname, the marriage certificate provides the necessary documentary evidence to the Passport Office that she has changed her name. It is only if a woman wishes to be known by another name, for example, a hyphenated (double barrelled) name, for example, one that incorporates both hers and her husbands surname, that she may need to execute a change of name by Deed Poll. This will ensure that there are no problems or delays in changing all her documents and records into her new name.
 

There is so much to think about when you get married that amending your passport can easily be forgotten. However, some countries may refuse you entry if your passport has not been amended, even if you carry your marriage certificate with you. You can check this with your travel agent or at the country’s consulate, but it is usually best to change your passport in advance.

The Passport Office can arrange this for you any time up to three months before the ceremony, although you’ll be unable to use your passport until the actual day of your marriage.

Changing Your Name on Your Passport Following a Civil Partnership

The ‘Civil Partnership Act’ came into force on 5 December 2005. The Act allows for adults of the same sex to enter into a legally binding civil partnership. Couples who form a civil partnership will have a new legal status, that of ‘civil partner’. The Identity & Passport Service (IPS) will accept civil partnership certificates as documentary evidence of a change of name.

Under British nationality law, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 does not confer automatic nationality status to either of the partners.  Only those who have the status of British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British national (overseas), British overseas citizen, British subject, or British protected person are eligible for a British passport.

The Passport Office requires proof of your name change in the form of your civil partnership certificate. There is so much to think about when you get enter a civil partnership that amending your passport can easily be forgotten. However, some countries may refuse you entry if your passport has not been amended, even if you carry your civil partnership certificate. You can check this with your travel agent or at the country’s consulate, but it is usually best to change your passport in advance.

The Passport Office can arrange this for you any time up to three months before the ceremony, although you’ll be unable to use your passport until the actual day of your civil partnership.

Changing the Name on Your Passport Following a Divorce

You may decide to revert to your name before marriage/civil partnership following a divorce/dissolution of your civil partnership. If this is the case, then when you apply for a passport in your former name you will need to enclose your original Deed Poll or decree absolute certificate/civil partnership dissolution certificate.

Changing Your Name on Your Passport Following a Separation

If you wish to change your name upon separation will you need to apply for a Deed Poll in order to have the name on your passport altered. You can then apply for a new passport enclosing your Deed Poll as the documentary evidence of the change of name.

Changing Your Name and Gender Marker on Your Passport Following Gender Transitioning

Transgender and Transsexual people can change the names and gender markers on their passports to reflect their preferred names and gender by applying for a Deed Poll. You need not have had interventions to transition such as hormones and surgery, or even a Gender Recognition Certificate, but you will be required to present an official document from your doctor confirming that your gender change is likely to be permanent. Currently, UK Law officially recognizes only 2 gender options: male and female, which unfortunately excludes non-binary or genderqueer identities from being recorded on official documents like passports. There is also currently no option to remove gender markers from passports.