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Can I travel on my old passport?

Usually, yes: a change of name does not cancel a passport. What matters is the name you book in. Answer two or three questions to see what to book, and what to check first for a wedding, a visa or a trip to the United States.

Checked against GOV.UK Updated

A drawing of a small suitcase with an open passport and a paper aeroplane beside it

A change of name does not cancel your passport: HM Passport Office cancels it when it issues the new one. Book in the name on the passport you will travel with. A new name or a new passport means a new US ESTA. Can I travel on a passport in my old name? has the detail.

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.

Why the old passport still works

A deed poll or a marriage certificate changes your name, not your passport. HM Passport Office cancels an old passport when it issues the replacement, so until you send it off with an application, the passport in your old name is still valid. That is why the name on the booking matters more than the name on your bank card: the airline and the border check the booking against the passport, and nothing else.

Visas, ESTA and ETIAS

  • Visas belong to the passport they are in. GOV.UK warns that unexpired visas in your old passport may become invalid if you change your name, so ask the country that issued them.
  • A US ESTA has to be applied for again after a change of name or a new passport, the official ESTA site says.
  • ETIAS, the EU's travel authorisation, has not started; the EU expects it in the last quarter of 2026. Each one will be linked to one passport.

Can I travel on a passport in my old name? covers each in full, and when will my new passport arrive? puts dates on the new passport.

Questions people ask

Can I travel with a passport in my maiden name?

Yes, if the booking is in your maiden name too. Marriage and a change of name do not cancel a passport, and GOV.UK's rule is that the name on your passport must match the name you book in.

Which name should I book my flight in?

The name on the passport you will travel with. While your passport is in your old name, book in your old name; once the new passport arrives, book in your new name. GOV.UK advises not booking travel until you have a valid passport.

Do I need a new ESTA after changing my name?

Yes. The official ESTA site says you need a new travel authorisation if you change your name or get a new passport. While your passport is still in your old name, you apply in that name and give your new name as another name you are known by.

Can I get a passport in my married name before the wedding?

Yes, up to three months before the ceremony. HM Passport Office post-dates it, so it cannot be used until the day, and your current passport is cancelled when you apply. Changing your name before the wedding

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