Have you changed your name?
Key points
- If your name has changed and you need a new passport issued in that name, you must present
- a completed full application form (not a renewal)
- original documents to support your identity and citizenship
- original documents supporting and/or connecting your new name with that on your previous passport or your name at birth or acquisition of Australian citizenship
- You may be eligible for a free replacement passport in your new name, provided your current passport has at least two years validity remaining, and your name change occurred for one of the following reasons:
- altered marital, registered relationship or de facto status
- the death of your spouse/partner
- gender transition.
The name in your passport must match the name on your birth certificate, Australian citizenship certificate or your most recently issued Australian passport (provided this was issued after 20 August 1986 with at least two years validity), unless you have changed that name through an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) or the Department of Home Affairs.
You must show proof of any new name(s), including spelling changes, when you apply for a new passport.
If you hold a passport with at least two years validity remaining, and you change your family name to reflect your new relationship status, or any of your names following gender transition, you can apply for a replacement passport in your new name to be issued free of charge. The replacement passport will have the same expiry date as your original passport. You may need to provide additional documentation in order for the fee to be waived.
The table below lists different name change circumstances and the documentation required.
| If you were born in Australia or are living in Australia and you: | You must present: |
|---|---|
| marry or enter a registered relationship in Australia and wish to assume your partner’s family name or add it to your own |
|
|
Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| marry or enter a registered relationship overseas and wish to assume your partner’s family name or add it to your own |
|
|
Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| enter or revoke a de facto relationship and decide to change your family name to match or include your partner’s family name |
|
|
Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| revert to a former family name after divorce or the revocation of a registered relationship |
|
| Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| revert to a former family name after the death of your spouse or partner |
|
|
Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| change any of your names because of gender transition |
|
| Plus, for free replacement passport |
|
| change any of your names for reasons of personal preference |
|
| Not eligible for free replacement passport |
| If you were born and live overseas: | |
|---|---|
| If you were born and live overseas and can demonstrate that you do not meet Australian RBDM residency requirements to register a name change, you may use the name in a foreign name change, marriage or registered relationship certificate*, provided this was issued after you obtained Australian citizenship, and has been properly legalised or apostilled by the issuing government. If such document/s are not written in English, you must also provide a full English translation prepared by an approved translation service. |
*Foreign name change, marriage or registered relationship certificates are not acceptable evidence of name change/s if you were born in or live in Australia – see table above.
If you need to have a foreign document legalised or apostilled by the issuing government, see a list of foreign diplomatic missions and consulates in Australia.
Brochure - Have you changed your name (535.1 KB)