How to Change Your Name on an Australian Passport After Marriage
You do not have to update your Australian passport immediately after marriage.
If you change your family name because of marriage, you can either:
- apply for a passport in your new married name; or
- keep using your current passport in your former name until it expires.
Always book international travel in the exact name shown on the passport you will use.
Can you get a free replacement passport after marriage?
You can get a replacement passport with the application fee waived if:
- you changed your family name because of marriage or another change in marital status; and
- your current Australian passport expires more than two years from the date you apply.
The replacement passport will have the same expiry date as your current passport.
For example, if your current passport has four years remaining, the replacement passport in your married name will also expire in four years.
If your passport has less two years or less remaining, you will need to apply for a new passport and pay the full application fee. You may instead continue to use your existing passport until it expires, ensuring bookings are made in that same name.
What documents do you need?
To apply for a passport in your married name, you will need documents that connect your former name, married name and Australian citizenship.
If you married in Australia, this will generally include:
- your current Australian passport
- your Australian birth certificate or citizenship certificate
- an official marriage certificate issued by an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
- any other identity documents required by the passport application
- two compliant passport photographs.
The ceremonial marriage certificate signed on your wedding day is not the BDM certificate normally used for this application.
You must provide original documents when lodging your application.
What if you married overseas?
The Australian Passport Office may accept an overseas marriage certificate in some circumstances.
A foreign certificate can be used where you:
- were born overseas
- live overseas
- married overseas; and
- became an Australian citizen before the marriage.
The foreign marriage certificate must be legalised. If it is not in English, it must be translated in full by an approved translation service.
If you were born in Australia and married overseas, the Passport Office generally requires an Australian BDM change-of-name certificate before issuing a passport in your married name.
Check your circumstances with the Australian Passport Office before applying, as the evidence required depends on where you were born, where you live and where the marriage occurred.
Can you keep using your passport in your former name?
Yes!
If your family name changed because of marriage and did not complete a separate legal name change application, you may continue using your current passport in your former name.
All airline bookings and any visa or travel authority should match the name shown on your current passport.
You can still update other Australian records into your married name, including:
- your driver’s licence
- Medicare
- the ATO
- your bank accounts
- your superannuation
- your employer.
It is common to have a passport in a former name while other records are in a married name.
Do you have travel booked?
Complete any international travel that is booked in your former name before applying for a replacement passport. If your airline allows for a name change after the ticket has been issued, be very careful to check all fees and conditions carefully. You should allow enough time to apply for and receive your new passport, with some buffer time.
When you lodge a passport application in Australia, your current passport will generally be cancelled. You will no longer be able to use it for travel or identification.
The Australian Passport Office advises allowing at least six weeks for routine processing. Postage and delivery time are additional.
If you already have flights booked in your former name, the simplest approach is usually to:
- travel using your current passport
- ensure your ticket matches the passport
- apply for your new passport after returning.
Do not book travel in your married name until your passport in that name has been issued.
Should you keep identification in your former name?
When travelling on a passport in your former name, it can be helpful to carry:
- a copy of your official marriage certificate
- a payment card in the same name as your passport
- travel insurance documents that clearly identify you.
These documents may help if you need to explain why your other records use a different surname.
How to apply
Complete a new adult passport application through the Australian Passport Office.
You will need to:
- complete the application form
- obtain two compliant passport photographs
- gather your original identity and name-change documents
- lodge the application in person at a participating Australia Post outlet.
If you are living overseas, contact your nearest Australian embassy or consulate.
A replacement passport uses the same application process as a new adult passport, although the fee may be waived if you meet the marriage-related replacement criteria.
Need to update your name elsewhere?
Changing your passport is only one part of changing your name after marriage.
Most people also need to notify banks, government agencies, superannuation funds, insurers, utilities, employers and membership organisations. Newlyweds need to notify an average of 35 organsiations!
Easy Name Change helps Australian residents identify the organisations they need to notify and prepares personalised forms, letters and emails for each selected company.
Get your personalised Easy Name Change kit.
