Having Your Passport Reissued

Passports are a widely acceptable method of proving your identity and therefore it is essential that the name on your passport matches your legal name at all times. Whether you have changed your name by Deed Poll or by any other method (marriage, civil partnership, etc) you will need to have your passport reissued in your new name and to do that you must apply for a new 10 year passport from the Identity and Passport Service. Once they have issued your new passport in your new name, the Identity and Passport Service will cancel your old one and therefore it will be unusable.

If your current passport contains as unexpired visa, it may become invalid upon the cancellation of your passport. You should check with the issuing authority whether the visa will still be usable once your passport has been cancelled. If it will still be valid, you should ask the Identity and Passport Service to return your cancelled passport to you but if it will be invalid, you will need to reapply to the issuing authority for a new visa.

Changing the name on your passport following your change of name by Deed Poll

f you have changed your legal name by Deed Poll you need to apply to the Identity and Passport Service for a new 10 year passport. When completing the application forms for your new passport, you must enter your new name in the "Surname" and "First names" box and your old name in the box labelled "Maiden or all previous names". You must send your Deed Poll along with the application forms, your birth certificate and any other identity documents that are required.

Changing the surname on your passport following your marriage or civil partnership

If you have changed your legal name following your marriage or civil partnership you need to apply to the Identity and Passport Service for a new 10 year passport. When completing the applications forms for your new passport, you must enter your married name in the "Surname" and "First names" box and your maiden name in the box labelled "Maiden or all previous names". You must send your marriage or civil partnership certificate along with the application forms, your birth certificate and any other identity documents that are required.

The Identity and Passport Service will accept your marriage or civil partnership certificate to double-barrel your surname with the surname of your partner. This is not the case for many non-governmental organisations and private companies and therefore you may still need to apply for a Deed Poll to provide those organisations with documentary evidence that you have double-barrelled your surname with your partner.

Changing the name on your passport following your divorce or dissolution of your civil partnership

If you wish to revert back to the surname you had before your marriage or civil partnership, you need to apply to the Identity and Passport Service for a new 10 year passport. When completing the application forms for your new passport, you must enter your old name (the one you had before marriage or civil partnership) in the "Surname" and "First names" box and your married name in the box labelled "Maiden or all previous names". You must send your decree absolute or civil partnership dissolution certificate along with the application forms, your birth certificate and any other identity documents that are required. A signed statement confirming that you are using your former name for all purposes should also be provided.

Please note, if you wish to revert to your maiden name before you receive your decree absolute or civil partnership dissolution certificate, a Deed Poll will be required.