Applying for a (British) passport
To update your passport to be in your new name, you’ll need to apply for a new passport (in your new name). You’ll need to pay the standard passport application fee.
Applying for a passport in your new name
To apply for a passport in your new name you'll need to send to HM Passport Office (along with your application form, photos, and any other supporting documents) the following things —
Change of name evidence
- original deed poll (or marriage certificate, statutory declaration, etc.)
- (for child applications) if anyone else has parental responsibility for your child — a signed and dated letter of consent from each person with parental responsibility or, in Scotland only, a letter confirming you have consulted with each person (and your child)
Use of name evidence
If you’ve changed your name by deed poll (change of name deed), you’ll also need to send one of the following documents, already showing your new name —
- tax record (e.g. letter from HMRC or other tax authority)
- employment record (e.g. payslip or official letter from employer)
- educational record (e.g. school report)
- letter from central, regional, or local government department (e.g. council tax bill)
- driving licence (U.K. or overseas)
- national identity card (or equivalent)
- visa or residence permit
- medical / health card
- voting card
- baptismal / confirmation certificate
- bank statement (U.K. applications only)
This is to show that you mean to use your new name “for all purposes”, and thus is a genuine change of name.
(You don’t need to send use of name evidence if you’re just using your marriage / civil partnership certificate as proof of your change of name, or if you’re transgender and you’ve got a Gender Recognition Certificate in your new name.)
Documents must be dated within the last 3 months, and for visas and residency permits, must still be within their validity.
This means that you must update at least one other document or record to be in your new name before applying for your passport (in your new name).
If your passport is still valid
If your passport is still valid, you’ll need to apply for a new (10-year) passport nonetheless, in order to update it with your new name. Unlike your driving licence, you cannot simply update the one you’ve got, and you’ll need to pay the normal renewal fee (£ 82.50 for adults, £ 53.50 for children under 16 (if you apply online).)
(HM Passport Office won’t “carry over” any remaining time left on your old passport to your new passport. They stopped doing this in 2018.)
However there is no law requiring you to hold a passport, and — unlike your driving licence — there is no law law requiring you to update (or surrender) it merely because your name has changed. If you change your name, your passport will stay a valid travel document until it expires.
How to apply for your passport
If you live in the U.K., you can apply online , or pick up a postal application form from your local post office .
If you live abroad, follow the process for applying outside the U.K.
It should take around 6 weeks to get your first U.K. adult passport, but sometimes it can take longer.
All other application types (for example, renewing a passport or getting a child passport) should take 3 weeks. It can take longer if more information is needed or your application hasn’t been filled out correctly.
There are also ways of getting a passport urgently (or an emergency travel document , if you’re outside the U.K.).
Passport application forms and guidance
This page contains some public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0