Can I travel on a passport in my old name?

Does changing my name cancel my passport?#

No. A deed poll or a marriage certificate changes your name, not your passport. HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff is that an old passport is cancelled when the office issues its replacement, so until you send it off with an application, the passport in your old name remains a valid passport.

GOV.UK sets out the two rules that matter. You'll need to get a new passport "to travel abroad or prove your identity" if you change your name, and "the name on your passport must match the one you use when you book your travel". So a trip booked in your old name can be made on the passport in your old name, and travelling in your new name waits for the new passport. For an adult that is a new 10-year passport with a different number; GOV.UK says time left on the old one is not added. The travel checker works out what applies to your trip in two or three questions.

Which name should I book my flight in?#

The name on the passport you will show at the airport.

• Your passport is still in your old name: book in your old name, even though your bank, your employer and everything else now use the new one.
• The new passport has arrived: book in your new name.
• You have applied and are waiting: GOV.UK's advice is not to book travel until you have a valid passport, not least because the new one will not have the same number as the old one.

If a trip is already booked in your new name and your passport is still in the old one, one of the two has to change before you fly: either the new passport arrives in time, or the airline changes the booking. For a wedding, a passport in your married name can be issued before the day, post-dated so that it can only be used from the ceremony: changing your name before the wedding.

Will my visas and ESTA still work?#

Travel permissions belong to a passport, so check each one before you apply for the new passport.

• Visas. GOV.UK warns that unexpired visas in your old passport may become invalid if you change your name, and says to ask the embassy or consulate of the country that issued them. HM Passport Office will not return an old passport uncancelled because it holds a visa; its guidance tells staff to send you to that country, and to ask whether you would rather withdraw your application.
• US ESTA. The official ESTA site says you need a new travel authorisation if you change your name or get a new passport, at US$40.27 an application. Travelling on a passport still in your old name, you apply in that name and give your new name as another name you are known by. ESTA's help pages add that you may travel with a ticket in your new name and a passport in your old name, but strongly recommend carrying a copy of the marriage certificate or other legal document that links the two. GOV.UK's rule is stricter, and booking to it avoids the question. A UK post-dated passport cannot be used to apply for an ESTA until the day of the wedding.
• ETIAS. The EU's travel authorisation for visitors who do not need a visa, UK nationals among them, has not started; the EU expects it in the last quarter of 2026. Each ETIAS will be linked to one passport. A passport changed to show a new name needs a new ETIAS, and you must travel with the passport you applied with or you will not be allowed to board.
• The EU's Entry/Exit System, fully running since 10 April 2026, needs nothing from you in advance: it records your passport details, fingerprints and a photo at the border. Its official pages say nothing about a change of name.
• The UK's ETA is for visitors; British and Irish passport holders do not need one. GOV.UK says it is linked to the passport used to apply, and changed details mean applying again.
• GHIC or UK EHIC. It is not linked to your passport. NHSBSA changes the name on it by email, with a copy of your evidence: changing the name on your GHIC.

Do I need to carry my deed poll or marriage certificate?#

The official sources mention it in two situations. ESTA's help pages, above, strongly recommend carrying the document that links your names when your ticket and passport show different ones. And GOV.UK's guidance on entering the UK says a parent whose surname differs from their child's may be asked at the border to prove the relationship, with the child's birth or adoption certificate and a marriage or divorce certificate. Travelling abroad with a child who has a different surname covers the permission letter and everything else to take.

What happens to my passport while I apply?#

It goes to HM Passport Office with your application and is cancelled when the new one is issued, so for those weeks you have no passport to travel on. GOV.UK says you'll usually get the new passport within 3 weeks, counted from when HM Passport Office receives your documents, and longer if it needs more information.

If that is too slow, the 1 week Fast Track service covers a change of name: £192 for an adult and £156.50 for a child, with an appointment as soon as the day after you apply and the passport delivered by courier a week after it. The 1 day Premium service is only for renewing an adult passport, and HM Passport Office's guidance says it does not take changes to personal details. Once you have applied, do not pay for an urgent service as well: GOV.UK says the passport will not come sooner, and each additional application costs a £34.50 admin fee.

How long a passport in a new name takes has the timings, and passport fees for a name change the prices.