If you need to change your legal name on your passport and you have had your passport for less than one year, you must complete an Application for U.S. Passport: Name Change, Data Correction and Limited Passport Book Replacement (Form DS-5504). You are required to provide an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate or a certified document issued by a federal or state court stating your name change. You will then mail the application form, the evidence to support your name change, your current passport and two new passport photos to the address stated on Form DS-5504. You are not required to visit a passport acceptance center or pay any fees.
If your passport was issued more than one year before your name change, you will need to renew your passport by completing an Application for U.S. Passport by Mail (Form DS-82). You must provide evidence of your legal name change such as a marriage certificate or documents from a federal or state court stating your name change. It must be an original or certified document. These documents, along with your current passport and two new passport photographs, should be mailed to the address on Form DS-82. There is, as of December 2010, a $110 renewal fee.
If your legal name has changed but you do not have documents to prove this, you must visit a passport acceptance facility. You must complete Form DS-11: Application for U.S. Passport. You must take your current passport, two new passport photos and a minimum of three public records proving the date and place of your birth. You must also show proof that you have used the new name exclusively for the past five years, such as tax records or military records. There is a $135 fee required, as of December 2010.
To legally change a minor's passport that was issued more than one year ago, you will have to apply using Form DS-11: Application for U.S. Passport in person at a passport acceptance facility. You will be required to submit certified documents supporting the child's name change such as an adoption decree. Two new passport photos and the current passport must also be submitted in addition to the $105 fee. There are various documents required depending on the special circumstances of the child, such as parental consent and proof of parentage. These requirements can be found on the U.S. Department of State's website.
