Passport name change: what it costs
The price of a new name on your passport depends on one date: how long ago the passport was issued, and when your name legally changed.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Name change within 1 year: what you pay
$0
Arrives between November 14, 2026 and December 26, 2026
| Application fee · DS-5504 | $0 |
|---|---|
| Check or money order to “U.S. Department of State” | $0 |
| Mail to the State Department | up to 2 weeks |
|---|---|
| Processing | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Mail back to you | up to 2 weeks |
| Last day to apply, routine, worst case | November 6, 2026 |
| Last day to apply, expedited, worst case | November 27, 2026 |
Arrives before your trip even with the slowest published times.
Official rule: routine service if you travel in 6 weeks or more.
How this was calculated
- Fees from the State Department chart “United States Passport Fees”, October 2026 edition, and 22 CFR 22.1 ($50 application + $80 security surcharge = $130 for an adult book).
- Times from the processing-time page updated October 5, 2026: routine 4 to 6 weeks, expedited 2 to 3 weeks, mail up to 2 weeks each way. The earliest date leaves mail out, the latest adds both legs.
- Not included: photos, the price of faster USPS mail to the State Department (set by the facility), and any private expediter fee.
Estimate from the State Department’s published fees and processing times. Mailing times vary and the Department decides each case. Independent site, not affiliated with the Department of State; we sell no expediting service. Method and sources
If both your passport was issued and your name legally changed less than one year ago, the State Department replaces the passport for free: you mail Form DS-5504 with the passport, an original or certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order, and one photo, and pay nothing unless you want expedited service, $60. If more than a year has passed since either date, the new name goes through a normal application. An eligible adult renews by mail on Form DS-82 with a certified copy of the name-change document, $130 for a book; online renewal is not possible because it excludes any change of personal information. If you are not eligible to renew, you apply in person on Form DS-11 at the first-time price. Without any legal document for the change, the DS-11 route applies with Form DS-60, an affidavit signed by two people who have known you under both names, and three public records showing you have used the new name for five years or more.
The one-year test
Form DS-5504 is free within its one-year window, as the State Department’s change and correct page states. Both clocks must be under a year: the issue date printed in the passport and the date of the marriage or court order. When the passport is younger than a year but the marriage is older, or the reverse, DS-5504 does not apply and the change is a paid application. The calculator’s “Name change within 1 year” choice covers the free case, $0, and shows $60 when you add expedited processing; for the paid cases, choose renewal by mail.
A data error is a different case
A misspelled name, a wrong date or place of birth, or a printing defect is corrected free on the same DS-5504 at any time while the passport is valid. Reported within a year of issue, the corrected passport gets a full 10 or 5 years; later, it keeps the expiration date of the faulty one. A new photo is free only for a printing error: if the photo printed correctly and you simply want a new one, you renew normally.
Proving the new name
Send an original or certified copy of the document, never a photocopy. The Department mails it back separately. If your current ID already shows the new name and you apply in person, the marriage section on page 2 of the DS-11 records the change.