What to Do If Your Name Is Spelled Wrong on Your Passport

If your name is misspelled on your passport because the State Department printed it wrong, you can get a corrected passport at no charge by mailing in Form DS-5504 with your current passport, one passport photo, and a document showing the correct spelling. The correction is free as long as your passport is still valid and the error is the government’s, not yours.¹

Is It a Printing Error or a Name Change?

The answer decides which form you file, whether you pay, and how quickly you can move. A printing or data error is something the State Department got wrong: a misspelled name, missing biographical information, or crooked or discolored printing. That fix uses Form DS-5504 and costs nothing while your passport is still valid.¹

If the “misspelling” is actually your old name showing up after a marriage, divorce, or court-ordered change, that’s a different track. You can still use DS-5504 at no cost if your passport was issued within the past year and your name changed within that same year. Past that window, you have to renew with Form DS-82 by mail or apply in person with Form DS-11, and both carry fees.¹

Most people looking at a wrong spelling are dealing with a printing error. The rest of this article walks through that fix.

What to Send With Form DS-5504

Download Form DS-5504 from the State Department website and complete it on a computer before printing. Handwritten forms are generally not accepted.¹

Your package needs four things:

The completed, printed, and signed DS-5504.
Your current passport book — the original, not a photocopy.
One recent 2×2 inch color passport photo with a white background.
An original or certified copy of a document that shows the correct spelling of your name, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or court order.

Every detail on your form has to match the supporting document you send. If your birth certificate and driver’s license spell your middle name differently, the State Department will go with the citizenship evidence, which is usually the birth certificate. There is no fee to correct a printing or data error.²

How Long the Correction Takes

Routine processing runs 4 to 6 weeks from the day the State Department receives your package. Expedited service costs $60 and cuts that to 2 to 3 weeks. You can also pay $22.05 for 1 to 3 day delivery of the finished passport back to you.²³

Those clocks start when your envelope arrives in a processing facility, not when you mail it. Mailing time can add up to two weeks in each direction, so routine service realistically takes 8 to 10 weeks door to door, and expedited around 6 to 7.⁴

Mailing and Tracking

Send the package to the address printed on Form DS-5504. Use a trackable shipping method like USPS Priority Mail. Your original passport is inside that envelope, and replacing a lost passport is far more work than correcting one.

After you mail it, you can check status through the State Department’s online passport status system. It can take up to two weeks after mailing before your application shows as “In Process.”⁵ If you included an email address on the form, you’ll get automatic updates; otherwise you can look yourself up with your last name, date of birth, and application details.⁶

If You’re Traveling Soon

Finding the error two days before an international flight is not the same problem as finding it six months out. The mail-in DS-5504 route won’t rescue you if you’re leaving within the next few weeks, even with expedited service and fast delivery added on.

For international travel inside 14 days, you can try for an appointment at a passport agency or center. If you’ve already mailed a DS-5504, call the State Department at 1-877-487-2778 to see whether the application can be redirected or handled in person. Appointments are not guaranteed.⁷ Between 14 and 28 days out, an in-person appointment may still be available if you need a foreign visa. Further out than that, apply with expedited service and 1-3 day delivery and call if your window tightens.

You may also need to travel while the passport is out for correction. U.S. citizens can travel internationally on a passport in the misspelled or prior name if they carry proof of the correct name, such as a birth certificate or marriage certificate.⁸ That rule covers returning to the United States. Foreign entry rules are set by each country, so check the destination’s requirements before you rely on it.

For domestic flights, a one-letter typo on an otherwise matching passport is usually sorted out at the TSA checkpoint. Usually is not always, and it isn’t a reason to keep using a wrong passport long-term.

When the Corrected Passport Arrives

Your reissued passport will have a new passport number. That’s standard for any reprint, including corrections. Check the biographical page the moment it arrives — full name, date of birth, place of birth, expiration date — and if anything is still wrong, contact the State Department right away instead of waiting for your next trip. Your supporting documents come back separately from the passport, sometimes a week or two apart.

Because the number changed, update it wherever it’s stored: airline frequent flyer accounts, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck profiles, and any pending visa applications. If you already have international flights booked under the old number, call the airline to update the record.

Foreign Visas in the Old Passport

If you have a valid foreign visa stamped in the passport that had the error, you often don’t lose it. From the U.S. side, you can enter the United States with a valid visa in an expired or old passport alongside your current passport, as long as the visa is undamaged and both books are from the same country.⁹ Each foreign country sets its own rule for whether it will accept a visa in a previous passport, so check with the destination’s embassy or consulate before you travel. Some countries require the visa to be transferred, which takes additional time.

Past the One-Year Window After a Name Change

If the reason your passport shows the wrong name is a legal name change more than a year old, Form DS-5504 is not an option. You’ll renew by mail with Form DS-82 if you’re eligible, or apply in person with Form DS-11 if you’re not. For adults age 16 and older, the passport book fee is $130, with an added $35 acceptance facility fee for in-person DS-11 applications.² You’ll need to send or bring the original or certified copy of the court order, marriage certificate, or divorce decree that made the change legal.

Children Under 16

A misspelled name on a child’s passport caused by a printing or data error uses the same free DS-5504 process. A name change for a child past the one-year window is different from the adult route: children under 16 can’t renew by mail, so the child has to appear in person and you file Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility or agency.¹⁰ The child’s passport book fee is $100 plus the $35 acceptance facility fee.²

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U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct Your Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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U.S. Department of State. Renew Your Passport by Mail
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U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
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U.S. Department of State. Checking Your Passport Application Status
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Application Status
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U.S. Department of State. How to Get My U.S. Passport Fast
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. US Citizens/Lawful Permanent Residents Name Does Not Match Documents
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U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions – Visa Information
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U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions About Passport Services