Can I Get a Passport With a Different Name on Birth Certificate?

Yes, you can get a U.S. passport when the name on your birth certificate is different from the name you use now. The State Department expects this and handles it as a normal application, as long as you include an original or certified copy of the document that legally bridges the two names. Which application form you file, and how much it costs, depends on whether you already hold a passport and how recently the name changed.

The Document That Bridges the Two Names

This is the heart of the application. You need an original or a certified copy of the legal document that changed your name. A photocopy will not be accepted, and a notarized copy of the original does not qualify either. The document has to carry an official seal or stamp from the issuing authority.¹

Three documents cover almost every applicant:

A marriage certificate. This is the certified record the state issued after the marriage was recorded, not the marriage license you signed before the ceremony. Those are two different documents.
A divorce decree, but only if it specifically states the name change. Not every decree does. Read yours before you rely on it.
A court order granting a legal name change, including an adoption decree that established a new name.

If you need a certified copy, contact the vital records office in the county or state where the marriage, divorce, or court order was recorded. Certified copies generally run between $10 and $30 depending on the jurisdiction.

The State Department returns your original documents in a separate mailing from the new passport. Sending them by a trackable USPS method is worth the small added cost.

Which Form You File

Three forms cover the possibilities, and picking the right one matters because using the wrong form delays everything.

Use Form DS-11 if you have never had a U.S. passport, if your last passport was issued when you were under 16, or if your most recent passport does not qualify for renewal by mail. DS-11 is filed in person at a passport acceptance facility such as a post office, county clerk’s office, or designated library. You bring your citizenship evidence (typically the birth certificate), your name-change document, a valid photo ID with a photocopy, one passport photo, and payment.²

Use Form DS-82 to renew by mail if your most recent passport was issued within the last 15 years, was issued when you were 16 or older, is undamaged, and has not been reported lost or stolen. This is the right form when more than a year has passed since your name changed or since your last passport was issued.³

Use Form DS-5504 if you already have a passport and your name changed less than one year after that passport was issued. There is no application fee for DS-5504. You mail the form, your current passport, the name-change document, and a new photo. The only cost is $60 if you want expedited processing.¹

Online renewal is not an option when you are changing your name. The State Department excludes applicants updating personal information such as a name or gender marker from its online renewal system.⁴

If You Never Got a Court Order or Marriage Certificate

Some people have used a different name for years without ever going through a court or marrying into it. There is a path for this, but it requires more paperwork. You file Form DS-60, an Affidavit Regarding a Change of Name, and apply in person with Form DS-11.¹

Two people who have known you by both your old and new names have to complete the affidavit. You also submit three original or certified public records showing you have used your current name for at least five years. Tax returns, bank statements, and utility bills spanning that period are the usual sources. If a third public record is not available, one of the two affidavit signers can substitute for it.

Five years is a firm threshold, and the evidence burden is real. If your name change is more recent than that, going through a court to get a formal name-change order is usually faster and simpler than trying to build a DS-60 package.

Watch the Name on Your Photo ID

When you apply in person with Form DS-11, you present a valid photo ID: a driver’s license, a previous U.S. passport (even expired), a Certificate of Naturalization, a government employee ID, a military ID, or a current foreign passport. Bring a photocopy of the one you use. Digital or mobile driver’s licenses are not accepted; you have to present a physical card. A learner’s permit, non-driver ID, or temporary license may prompt the agent to ask for a second form of identification.⁵

Here is where a name change can trip up an otherwise clean application. If your photo ID still shows your old name and your name changed more than a year ago, the State Department may hold your application until you can produce an ID in your current name. Updating your driver’s license before you apply for the passport avoids the delay.

Naturalized Citizens

If you became a U.S. citizen through naturalization and your name has changed since your Certificate of Naturalization was issued, you have two options. Submit the certificate along with your name-change document when applying for the passport, or first update the certificate through USCIS by filing Form N-565.⁶

2026 Fees and Processing Times

For adults filing Form DS-11 in person, the passport book costs $130 in application fees plus a $35 execution fee paid to the acceptance facility, for a total of $165. The passport card alone runs $65 ($30 plus the $35 execution fee). A book-and-card combination is $195 ($160 plus $35).⁷

Renewals by mail with DS-82 skip the execution fee. An adult passport book renewal is $130, a card is $30, and a book-and-card combination is $160.⁷

Form DS-5504 carries no application fee at all. The only optional cost is $60 for expedited processing.¹

Processing times in early 2026 run 4 to 6 weeks for routine service and 2 to 3 weeks for expedited. Those windows do not include mailing time in either direction, so add another week or two on each end. Expedited service adds $60 on top of whatever application fees apply.⁸

1
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport Online
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U.S. Department of State. Get Photo ID for a U.S. Passport
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USCIS. Application for Replacement of Naturalization/Citizenship Document
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Travel: United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities
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Travel.State.Gov. Processing Times for U.S. Passports