A name change means a new passport. Here is what HM Passport Office accepts as proof, what it costs, how long it takes and what to do about a ticket in your old name.
You cannot amend a UK passport. A change of name means a full new application (£102 online, £115.50 on paper), and HM Passport Office wants two things: proof the name changed, such as a deed poll or marriage certificate, and one document showing you already use the new name.
People change the name on their passport after a marriage or a divorce, to match their gender, or simply because they want a different name. Whatever the reason, the passport side works the same way: this guide covers what HM Passport Office accepts, what it costs, how long it takes and where people trip up.
If your name change is by choice rather than by marriage or divorce, you will need a deed poll first. The adult deed poll application takes about five minutes and costs £22.50.
There is no way to amend the name in an existing passport. HM Passport Office issues a new one and cancels the old one. You pay the full fee, the new passport runs for 10 years from the day it is issued, and any time left on the old one is lost.
You do not need a countersignature for a name change. Fill in the application in the name you want printed on the passport, and sign it in that name.
An adult passport costs £102 online. You upload a digital photo, pay by card, and are told where to post your supporting documents. A paper application costs £115.50; the form comes from a Post Office that offers Check and Send, or from the Passport Adviceline.
Check and Send is the Post Office's checking service, £16 on top of either fee. It is about avoiding a rejection, not speed: staff confirm the form, photos and fee are right before it goes off.
HM Passport Office says you will usually get your passport within three weeks of receiving your documents. If you cannot wait, the 1 week Fast Track service accepts name changes: £192 for an adult, £156.50 for a child, with an appointment at a passport office and courier delivery a week later. The 1 day Premium service is only for straight renewals.
Do not book travel until the new passport is in your hand; it will have a different number.
Details checked on gov.uk in September 2026:
gov.uk also has a web chat and an enquiry form, answered within 72 hours.
Apply before 3pm and your deed poll is prepared today.
Every application needs the old passport, a photo and two kinds of paperwork:
The second part is the one people miss. HM Passport Office wants to see the name in real use, which it calls using it "for all official purposes". So update your bank, employer or council first, then apply with a document from one of them.
A deed poll is a signed statement that you have given up your old name, taken a new one, and will use it from the date on the document. You need one if:
You do not need one if you are taking a spouse's or civil partner's surname, or going back to your previous surname after a divorce with the full set of documents.
HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff says an unenrolled deed poll must be accepted as long as it is signed in the old and new name, signed by at least one witness, signed in ink rather than electronically, and dated. Ours are signed in front of two independent adult witnesses, which covers that comfortably. The same guidance says an enrolled deed poll still needs evidence the name is in use, so enrolling at the Royal Courts of Justice adds nothing here.
Sign the deed poll as soon as it arrives, because it must be signed, witnessed and dated before you send it. Then update one of these and apply with that document. Evidence issued within the last 12 months:
A driving licence can be older than 12 months, as long as it was issued after the deed poll. If you hold a second nationality, change that passport first, because the names on both must match.
The adult deed poll is £22.50, prepared the same day if we receive the application before 3pm on a working day, and posted First Class within two working days. If you also want the completed forms and letters for HM Passport Office, the DVLA, HMRC and the rest, the Name Change Kit at £59.95 includes them. The deed poll guide covers the witnesses and the signing.
Your marriage or civil partnership certificate is the proof. Send it with the application and the passport is issued in your new surname, including a double barrelled one. No deed poll is needed. Our guide to changing your name after marriage covers the other organisations.
You can also apply up to three months before the ceremony. The new passport is post dated, so it cannot be used until the day of the ceremony, and your old passport is cancelled. Send the "passports for newly weds and civil partners" form, signed by the minister or registrar conducting the ceremony. Some countries will not issue a visa on a post dated passport, so check if the honeymoon needs one.
A lost certificate, where a deed poll is quicker than ordering a replacement. A wedding abroad with a certificate that is not in English, where it saves the translation. Or a surname that is not simply your spouse's, such as a merged one.
To go back to your previous surname, HM Passport Office asks for four things:
The final order (the decree absolute before April 2022) is not on that list, because it does not show the link between your two names. If gathering all four is a chore, a deed poll does the same job with less paperwork. See our guide to changing your name after divorce.
Send one of the following with the application:
With the doctor's letter, a name change also needs proof of the change (a deed poll) and one document showing the new name in use.
Normally no. The exception is when you tell HM Passport Office that you still use your previous surname as well, for example professionally after marrying. Then a note on the observations page reads "The holder is also known as" followed by the other name. If you have moved to the new name completely, nothing about the old one appears.
A child under 16 needs a new passport in the new name, just like an adult: £66.50 online or £80 on paper, valid for five years, applied for by someone with parental responsibility. HM Passport Office asks for:
The consent rule is firm: if both parents have parental responsibility, both must agree, whether or not they live together. Children aged 12 to 15 also sign the form.
For a child of 15 or under, a parent or carer applies for the child deed poll, also £22.50. From 16, a young person makes their own deed poll and applies for an adult passport. The child deed poll guide covers consent in more detail.
gov.uk says the name on your passport must match the name you booked under. So if a trip is already booked in your old name, travel on your old passport and apply for the new one when you are back. Do not send the old passport in before the trip, because it is cancelled once the new one is issued. If you want the new passport before you fly, ask the airline to change the booking first.
It has to be a new passport. You make a full application, pay the full fee, and receive a passport with a new number and a fresh 10 years.
Usually within three weeks of HM Passport Office receiving your documents, or a week after your appointment on Fast Track. Allow time before that to sign the deed poll and update one organisation, because you need that document in the envelope.
No. HM Passport Office instructs its staff to accept an unenrolled deed poll that is signed in both names, witnessed, signed in ink and dated, and its guidance says an enrolled one still needs the same evidence of use. UK Deed Poll is not a government agency, and the deed polls we prepare are unenrolled.
You still need a new one if you want it in the new name, and the remaining years are not carried over. Nothing forces you to replace it early: the old passport stays valid in your old name until it expires. But you will then hold identification in two names, which is awkward whenever a booking or a bank wants them to match. Most people change the passport soon after the deed poll and the driving licence.
Adult deed poll £22.50. Apply in five minutes, prepared today before 3pm.
Online deed poll applications for adults and children across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Questions? support@ukdeedpoll.org