Everything About The Passport Name Change You Have To Know
If you’ve had your name changed because of a court order or if you’re a woman who has recently been married, then you will need to have a passport name change. What is a U.S. passport name change? This is basically just a procedure you need to go through to have the name in your passport changed from your former to your new one. You have several options of going about this, which will depend on the date when your passport was issued, and the presence of legal documents that prove your name change. We’ll talk about them more in this article.
Before anything else, you need to check when your passport was issued. The reason for this is that people whose passports we issued within one year follow a different procedure from those whose passports are more than a year old. To check when your passport was issued, all you need to do is look for it in your passport which is indicated along with your personal information.
If your passport was issued within one year, then you will be required to submit the following documents: your current and valid passport, two recent color passport photos, and the legal document that shows your change of name. This will either be your marriage contract or a court order. What you will submit naturally depends on what’s applicable to you. Along with these requirements, you’ll also need to accomplish Form DS-5504. This is the form you fill in when applying for a passport name change.
This type of application does not come with a fee. You, however, have the option of having the process expedited. An expedited option comes with a corresponding fee. This is a non-issue of course if you want your passport processed in just two to three weeks compared to the regular four to six-week processing period.
Now let’s talk about the other option you have. If your passport was issued more than a year ago, here are the things you need to submit: your current and valid passport, two recent color passport photos, the legal document that shows your change of name (again, your marriage contract or a court order). You will notice that these are basically the same documents required in the first option.
The only difference in this option is that you’ll fill in a different form, DS-82. This form allows you to apply for a passport name change through the mail. Aside from that, there’s a corresponding fee for this type of application.
There are times when those applying for a passport name change don’t have the legal documents to prove it. If you’re in a similar situation, you’ll need to submit a different set of requirements: your current and valid passport, two recent color passport photos, the completed Form DS-11, and pay the applicable fees. In place of the legal document normally required, you will need to submit three public records with your date and place of birth and that indicates the exclusive use of your new name for at least five years. You will then have to submit these requirements in person once you accomplish them.
When applying for a passport name change, just make sure you are aware of the considerations you need such as the date when your pasport was issued, and the legal documents that show your name has changed.
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