Which passport form do I need after a name change?
DS-5504 if your passport was issued less than a year ago and your name changed within a year of that; DS-82 if it was issued in the last 15 years and you were at least 16 when it was; DS-11 in every other case.
There is no single passport name-change form. Which of the three applies to you is decided by dates rather than by circumstances, which is why people get it wrong from a friend’s account of their own.
DS-5504 — the free one
For a passport that has only just been issued. Both conditions have to hold: it was issued less than a year ago, and your name changed within a year of that issue date. There is no application fee unless you ask for expedited service, and it goes by mail with your original or certified name-change document.
DS-82 — renewal by mail
For a passport issued in the last 15 years, undamaged, not lost or stolen, and issued when you were at least 16. That last condition is the one people miss. Renewal fees apply, and the certified name-change document goes in the envelope and comes back to you.
DS-11 — in person
The form when nothing else fits, and it is accepted in every case: first passports, applicants who were under 16 at issue, and anyone the other two rule out. It is filed in person at an acceptance facility and carries the execution fee on top of the application fee. Do not sign it in advance — you sign it in front of the authorized agent.
Our passport guide walks through what goes in each envelope, what comes back and what does not. Your kit does the choosing for you: the passport sheet names the form your dates put you on and links to the official PDF.
Whichever form applies, your current passport travels with the application. That is worth knowing before you book a trip rather than after.
Other questions people ask
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