Can I change the name on my child's passport?#
Not on the passport your child already has. GOV.UK says a child who has changed their name needs a new passport, and that a child's passport cannot be renewed once their name has changed. You apply for a new one, filled in with the name you want printed. HM Passport Office counts every change as a change of name: a new spelling, an added or dropped middle name, names in a different order, or a hyphen added or removed.
What do I need to send?#
| What | What counts |
|---|---|
| The old passport | It goes in with the application |
| Proof of the change | The deed poll, or a similar document about the change; GOV.UK's child passport guide says photocopies are not accepted, even certified ones |
| Proof the new name is used | One record from the last 12 months, such as a school report, a medical or health card, Child Benefit records or a letter from a government department |
| Consent | Written consent from everyone with parental responsibility |
| Photos | A digital photo online, or two new printed photos by post |
HM Passport Office's guidance says a consent letter must be dated and signed by hand, and posted rather than emailed, so that staff can check it is genuine. It accepts that both parents consent if both signed the deed poll, or if one signed it and the other applies for the passport. If you apply online, you are told which documents to send and where.
Whose consent does the passport office need?#
The consent of everyone who holds parental responsibility, for any change to the name of a child under 16, and up to 18 if a care order or other court order applies. Without that consent, or a court order allowing the change, its guidance tells staff to issue the passport in the child's original name, even if the new name is already used everywhere else.
A court order usually gives permission to change a name rather than changing it, so the passport office still wants the deed poll and proof the name is used, unless the order says the child is now known by the new name. It checks more closely when an order is a year or more old. Send any order about your child, including a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order, because some say that no one may cause the child to be known by another name without the court's consent. If the other parent will not agree, specific issue orders explains the court route.
How do I apply?#
Online the fee is £66.50. On paper it is £80: pick up a form at a Post Office branch with the Check and Send service, or ask the Passport Adviceline to post you one. Someone with parental responsibility signs, and a child aged 12 to 15 signs too. For a child under 12 applying online, someone confirms your child's identity online after you apply; on paper, you need a countersignatory if your child is 11 or under or cannot be recognised from the old photo. Your documents come back by normal post, or by secure delivery for £5 more.
Your passport application
Apply direct: on GOV.UK or at a Post Office
We make deed polls. We do not fill in, check or send passport applications, and you do not need anyone to. Apply direct with HM Passport Office, or through the Post Office, and do not use any other website or company.
Online, on GOV.UK
Apply, pay and upload your documents with HM Passport Office: £102 for an adult, £66.50 for a child. The 1 week Fast Track is applied for, paid for and booked there too, with the appointment at a passport office.
Change the name on your passport, GOV.UKIn a branch, at the Post Office
Selected branches offer Check & Send, for an extra fee: staff check your application and send it to HM Passport Office for you. Digital Check & Send takes your photo and applies online; with Paper Check & Send you use the paper form, £115.50 for an adult.
Passport Check & Send, Post OfficeNot through any other website, company or agent. Services that offer to fill in your form, check it or find you a Fast Track appointment charge extra for what GOV.UK and the Post Office do themselves, and HM Passport Office has warned about copycat websites that look official and charge a premium. If a web address does not end in gov.uk or postoffice.co.uk, do not give it your passport details or pay it.
How long does it take?#
HM Passport Office's usual time is 3 weeks or less, timed from the day it receives your documents, and longer if it needs more information or an interview. If that is too slow, the 1 week Fast Track service covers both a change of name and a child's passport, for £156.50. You book an appointment at a passport office, as early as the day after you apply and up to 3 weeks ahead, and the passport is delivered by courier a week after it. The 1 day Premium service only renews adult passports. Once you have applied, do not pay for an urgent service as well: GOV.UK says the passport will not come sooner, and each extra application costs a £34.50 admin fee. The passport timing tool works out the dates, and how long a passport in a new name takes has the detail.
Can my child travel while we wait?#
Not once the old passport has gone in with the application, and GOV.UK's advice is to book no travel until your child holds a valid passport. The new passport has a new number, and visas in the old one may stop being valid after a change of name, so check with the embassy that issued them.
Before you apply, book any trip in the name on the passport your child will travel on: GOV.UK's rule is that the name on a passport must match the name used to book travel. The travel checker and travelling on a passport in an old name go through bookings and visas. If your surname will differ from your child's, read travelling abroad with a child who has a different surname first.
My child is 16 or 17#
From 16, or within three weeks of it, your child applies for an adult passport, £102 online, through GOV.UK's adult route. If they changed their own name after turning 16, HM Passport Office needs no parental consent and accepts no objection from a parent, unless a court order applies. If a parent changed the name before they turned 16, the passport office still wants consent from everyone with parental responsibility, or the young person can make a new deed poll of their own: changing your name at 16 or 17.
Questions people ask
Can I change my child's surname on their passport without the father's consent?
Not if he holds parental responsibility. HM Passport Office then needs his written consent or a court order, and without either it issues the passport in the original name. If you are unsure whether you hold parental responsibility alone, its guidance says staff will ask you to confirm it in writing: changing a child's surname without the other parent's consent.
Do I need a deed poll if the birth certificate already shows the new name?
Not if the birth was re-registered in the new name: HM Passport Office accepts the new certificate without other evidence of the change. A Scottish birth certificate showing a change recorded by National Records of Scotland is accepted too. A first name added in the first 12 months in England or Wales is different: the passport office wants two records showing the name in use, and consent from everyone with parental responsibility.
My child has never had a passport. What do I send?
Apply for a first child passport in the new name. As well as the full birth certificate, GOV.UK asks for the deed poll, at least one record showing the new name in use, and a signed and dated letter from everyone with parental responsibility confirming the change and agreeing to the passport.
Is there a separate fee for changing the name?
No. You pay the normal fee for a new child passport, £66.50 online or £80 by paper form, and GOV.UK's fee table has no separate charge for a new name: passport fees for a name change.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
