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When will my new passport arrive?

Tell us where you are with your deed poll and which passport service you will use, and see each step with a date, and whether a trip is safe to book.

Checked against GOV.UK Updated

We do not help with passport applications. Apply direct, on GOV.UK or at a Post Office, never through another website. How to apply direct

A drawing of a passport beside a round clock

From signing your deed poll: about two weeks for a document in your new name, then three weeks for a standard passport application, or a week after the appointment by 1 week Fast Track. Apply direct, on GOV.UK or at a Post Office, never through another website. How long a passport in a new name takes explains each step.

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.UK

In 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 Office

Not 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.

The steps, and why they take the time they do

  1. Your deed poll. Your name changes the day you sign it. Ours is drafted, checked and posted the same working day; when will my deed poll arrive? works out the day.
  2. A document in the new name. HM Passport Office asks for one document showing you already use the new name, usually a bank statement, a payslip or a letter from HMRC or your council. Getting one typically takes the first fortnight: who to tell, and in what order puts those organisations first.
  3. The application, made direct. You apply on GOV.UK, or at a Post Office with Check & Send, never through another website. GOV.UK says you will usually get it within three weeks, and HM Passport Office tells you within three weeks if it needs more information. The 1 week Fast Track service covers a change of name: the earliest appointment is the day after you apply, and the passport is delivered by courier a week after it.
  4. Your deed poll comes back separately, once the passport has been printed.

Travelling in the meantime

GOV.UK says the name on your passport must match the name you book in, and not to book travel until you have a valid passport. If a trip is already booked in your old name, keep the old passport until you are back and apply afterwards: travelling on your old passport goes through it. If you apply and then need it sooner, GOV.UK says not to pay for an urgent service on top, because it will not arrive sooner.

Getting married?

A passport in your new married name can be issued up to three months before the ceremony, post-dated so it cannot be used until afterwards, on a form signed by the person conducting it. Some countries will not issue visas for a post-dated passport. Changing your name before the wedding explains how.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to change the name on a passport?

GOV.UK says you will usually get it within three weeks, and longer if HM Passport Office needs more information. Before you apply you need your deed poll and one document that shows you already use the new name, which usually takes about a fortnight to arrive. So from signing the deed, allow about five weeks.

Can I use the 1 week Fast Track service for a change of name?

Yes. The earliest appointment is the day after you apply, and the passport is delivered by courier a week after the appointment: £192 for an adult, £156.50 for a child. The 1 day Premium service does not cover a change of name.

Can you help me apply for my new passport?

No. We make deed polls, and we do not fill in, check or send passport applications. You do not need anyone to: apply direct with HM Passport Office on GOV.UK, or at a Post Office that offers Check and Send. Do not use any other website or company to apply.

Do I need an agent to book a 1 week Fast Track appointment?

No. GOV.UK's own online service is where you apply, pay and book the appointment, which is at a passport office. Do not pay a website or agent to book one for you.

Can I travel with a passport in my old name?

Yes, if your ticket is in the same name. GOV.UK says the name on your passport must match the name you book in. If a trip is booked in your old name, keep your old passport until you are back and apply afterwards: travelling on your old passport.

Can I get my new passport before my wedding?

Yes. A passport in your new married name can be issued up to three months before the ceremony, post-dated so it cannot be used until afterwards: changing your name before the wedding.

Do I get my deed poll back?

Yes. The original deed poll goes with the application and is posted back separately once the passport has been printed, so allow for it being away for the whole time.

Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.