To change your last name on a passport, you mail or hand in a paper application with a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order proving the name change, along with your current passport, a new photo, and any applicable fee. Which form you use — and whether you can do it by mail at all — depends on how long ago your current passport was issued and whether you still have it.
Pick the Right Form
Three forms cover every name-change scenario, and picking the wrong one means your application comes back unprocessed.
Form DS-5504 is for passports issued less than a year ago when the name change also happened within that year. It goes in the mail, and there is no application fee. This is the route most newlyweds use when they got a passport shortly before the wedding.
Form DS-82 is the mail-in renewal form. You can use it only if you were at least 16 when your current passport was issued, it was issued less than 15 years ago, it is undamaged, it has not been reported lost or stolen, and you can submit it with your application. Your name change has to be backed by a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.
Form DS-11 is required if you cannot meet the DS-82 conditions. That includes a lost, stolen, or damaged passport, a passport issued when you were under 16, one issued more than 15 years ago, or a name change you cannot document with a legal record. DS-11 has to be submitted in person at a passport acceptance facility.
The DS-82 checklist is where most people slip. A “no” to any one of those requirements pushes you to DS-11 and an in-person appointment.
Documents You Have to Send
Every application needs an original or certified copy of the document that proves your name change. The State Department accepts marriage certificates, divorce decrees that specifically restore a former name, and court orders for any other name change. Photocopies and notarized copies do not count. The document must carry the raised seal or official stamp of the issuing authority. If you don’t have one, request a certified copy from the vital records office or court that handled the marriage, divorce, or name change. Your document comes back after processing, in a separate mailing from the new passport.
Your most recent passport goes in with the application too. For DS-5504 and DS-82 you mail it. For DS-11 you bring it to the appointment. The old book is canceled and returned to you.
Photo Requirements
You need one color photo taken within the last six months, 2 by 2 inches, on a plain white or off-white background. Your head should measure between 1 inch and 1⅜ inches from chin to crown. Face the camera directly with a neutral expression or natural smile and both eyes open. Take off eyeglasses before the shot unless you medically cannot, in which case include a signed note from your doctor.
If You Never Formalized the Name Change
People who have simply used a different name for years, without a marriage, divorce, or court order behind it, still have a route. Apply in person with Form DS-11 and also complete Form DS-60, an affidavit regarding a name change. Two people who have known you by both names must sign it, and you have to submit three certified or original public records showing you have used the new name for at least five years.
How to Submit and What It Costs
DS-5504 and DS-82 are mailed. Use a trackable service since you are shipping original legal documents and your current passport in one envelope. Mailing instructions and the correct address are printed on each form. Follow the signature instructions on the form itself.
DS-11 has to be filed in person at an authorized passport acceptance facility, which is usually a post office, county clerk’s office, or public library that offers passport services. Bring the completed DS-11 printed single-sided, your current passport if you have it, your name change document, a valid photo ID with a photocopy of the front and back, a photocopy of your citizenship evidence, and your passport photo. Do not sign the form ahead of time. An acceptance agent has to witness the signature.
Fees depend on the form:
- DS-5504: no application fee for routine processing. Expedited service adds $60.
- DS-82: $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card only, plus $60 for expedited processing if you want it.
- DS-11: $130 application fee for a passport book plus a $35 execution fee at the facility, for a total of $165. A card alone costs $65 plus the $35 execution fee. Expedited service adds $60.
Application fees are paid by check or money order to the U.S. Department of State. The $35 execution fee goes directly to the acceptance facility and may be payable by different methods depending on the location. Applying for a book and a card together saves $35 compared to applying separately.
One boundary worth knowing: the State Department’s online renewal system does not accept name changes. If you are changing your name, you have to use one of the paper forms above.
Traveling Before Your New Passport Arrives
If a trip is coming up while your application is still in progress, you are not grounded. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows American citizens who change their name through marriage, divorce, or court order to travel internationally on a valid passport in their prior name. Carry documentation showing the progression, such as a marriage certificate, along with the old-name passport.
The airport is where this gets tricky. TSA requires the name on your airline reservation to exactly match the name on the ID you present. If you are flying on your old-name passport, book the ticket in that name. Buying a ticket in your new married name while holding a passport in your maiden name is what causes problems at the checkpoint.
Processing Times and Deliveries
As of early 2026, routine processing takes four to six weeks and expedited processing takes two to three weeks. Those windows cover processing only. Add up to two weeks of mailing in each direction if you are planning around a trip. You can check status through the Department of State’s online tool once your application has been received and entered into the system.
Your new passport book comes by a trackable delivery service. Your old passport and your name change document each come back in separate mailings by First Class Mail, which can arrive up to two weeks after the new passport. Nothing has gone wrong if the three pieces show up on three different days.
Emergency and Urgent Passport Appointments
If you need to travel internationally within the next 14 days and your name change is not done, you can request an appointment at a regional Passport Agency for urgent travel service. Bring proof of the trip, such as a flight itinerary.
A separate, faster category covers true emergencies. If an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is in hospice care, or has a life-threatening illness or injury, you can request a life-or-death emergency appointment. For this purpose the State Department defines immediate family narrowly: parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, sibling, or grandparent. Aunts, uncles, and cousins do not qualify.
Update Social Security Too
The Social Security Administration requires you to report a legal name change and get an updated card. The State Department does not explicitly require you to update Social Security before applying, but your Social Security number is verified during passport processing, so updating with SSA first reduces the chance of a mismatch flagging your file. Replacement cards are free. Bring proof of identity and your name change document to a local Social Security office or send them by mail.