To get a passport in your new name, you’ll need to show us documents that prove your Australian citizenship and your identity. You'll also need to show documents that link your new name to your old name. Which documents you need will depend on why you changed your name.
Changing your name because of a change in marital status
If you’ve changed your name because of a change in your marital status, and you want a new passport, there are 2 kinds of documents you'll need.
- Mandatory documents that link your new name to the name on your Australian birth or Australian citizenship certificate – without one of these documents, we can’t issue a passport in your new name.
- Additional documents that show you might be eligible to have the application fee for your replacement passport waived.
1. Mandatory documents that link your names
If you’ve taken your spouse or partner’s family name, or added it to your own family name, you can generally link these names by showing us your Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate with your previous name.
You'll also need to show us either a:
- marriage certificate issued by an Australian RBDM
- registered relationship certificate
- name change certificate issued by an Australian RBDM.
If you have an amended Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate showing your family name change, we won't need a separate marriage, registered relationship or name change certificate.
There are certain circumstances where we'll always need a name change certificate. This applies to any of the following:
- you've changed your given name(s)
- you've entered or left a de facto relationship
- you were born in Australia and married or entered into a registered relationship overseas
- you formally registered a name change in Australia after you married or entered a registered relationship, and you’re now reverting to a name you previously used.
We'll accept foreign certificates only if you can’t get an Australian equivalent because you were:
- born overseas
- live overseas
- married or entered into the relationship overseas.
You must have become an Australian citizen before you entered the marriage or relationship. Foreign certificates must also be legalised. Any documents not in English need to be translated in full by an approved translation service. For more information, see Interpreting and translation.
2. Additional documents to waive the replacement passport application fee
You may be eligible to have the application fee for your replacement passport waived if you:
- changed your family name due to a change in marital status
- hold a current Australian passport that expires more than 2 years from now.
You must also meet the other criteria to have your application fee waived. See Replacement passport.
You'll need to prove that your name change relates to your marital status by showing us:
- a marriage or registered relationship certificate
- evidence of a finalised divorce – a divorce order or a certificate of divorce
- a revocation of registered relationship certificate
- evidence of the death of your spouse or partner – a death certificate, a coroner’s report, a medical certificate, a cremation certificate, or an Australian birth certificate that records the death.
If you've changed your family name due to entering or leaving a de facto relationship, you must show us:
- a name change certificate issued by an Australian RBDM
- a completed B-11 form explaining the circumstances of the relationship
- evidence of the relationship, such as property or lease documents in both names, or evidence of the ending of the relationship, such as the death certificate of your partner.
You’re not eligible to have your replacement passport application fee waived if you’ve only changed your given name(s) and not your family name.
We accept foreign certificates in support of a fee waiver. For this purpose, they don’t have to be legalised. Any documents that aren’t in English need to be translated in full by an approved translation service.
If you don't have one of the documents listed above, you'll need to apply for a new passport and pay the full application fee.
Changing your name because of a change in gender
If you’ve changed any part of your name because of a gender transition, you need to show us a name change certificate issued by an Australian RBDM, unless either:
- your new name is already reflected in a re-issued Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate
- you were born and live overseas, the name change happened overseas, and you don't meet the residency requirements to register your new name in Australia.
If the change of name document doesn’t also show your preferred gender, then you also have to provide documents that establish that you’ve transitioned your gender.
We'll only accept a foreign name change certificate if you were born and live overseas, the name change happened overseas, and you don't meet the residency requirements to register your new name in Australia.
The name change must have happened after you became an Australian citizen. The foreign name change certificate must be legalised. If it’s not in English, it must be translated in full by an approved translation service.
If you have a current Australian passport that expires more than 2 years from now, and you meet all other criteria, you may be eligible to have your replacement passport application fee waived.
Changing your name because of personal preference
If you’ve changed your name because of personal preference, you’ll need to show us a name change certificate issued by an Australian RBDM, unless either:
- your new name is already reflected in a re-issued Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate
- you were born and live overseas, the name change happened overseas, and you don't meet the residency requirements to register the name in Australia.
We’ll only accept a foreign name change certificate if you were born and live overseas, and the name change happened overseas. The name change must have happened after you became an Australian citizen. The foreign name change certificate must be legalised. If it’s not in English, it must be translated in full by an approved translation service.
If you have a current Australian passport, you can choose to get a replacement passport, but you'll need to pay the relevant fee. You also have to show us your current passport.