Passport/Name Change Question

If you change your name right away, send off for your passport as soon as you get a copy of your marriage license so you can have it back before your honeymoon. If you don't want to risk it, wait to change your name until you come back from your honeymoon. You can have your passport replaced free of charge within the first year of getting it of you are changing your name due to marriage.

^^^ That... And also when does your passport expire? I know they won't let you travel it you are within 6 months of the expiration date.

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I don't have a passport yet, but my FH was saying tonight that we should both get on that task...and I brought up the name change thing. I just don't know how long it takes usually to get a passport.

If you have all your ducks in a row, you absolutely have enough time to change your passport. If you know yourself and know you'll drag your feet on the process, it may be best to wait.

I would wait until you change your name, THEN apply for a passport. Because I believe you are supposed to legally change your name within a set amount of days anyways (30-90 days?) Like someone else said, if you go through the process of changing your name fairly quickly after the wedding then you should be ok. Passports typically take like 4-6 weeks, if I remember correctly, However, the last time my FH applied for one, he had his within 2-3 weeks.

After. Your tickets and passport need to match. You can change your name on your passport within a year of issuance for free, so you can get it now, then change your name on it in January.

Or you can go ahead and change your name legally but don't change your passport until after the travel is done. That's what I did (not on purpose, but it worked out)

You can book your tickets in whatever your passport name is in. I legally changed my name, but my passport doesn't expire for another 8 years. i'll carry my marriage certificate with me just in case.

I will be changing my name right after getting married and then getting my passport changed right away because we also have plans to go to Canada later this year with my family. I was reading online and it shouldn't take too long. As long as you get the process started pretty quick after changing your name, I think you will be fine!

I just got my passport for our honeymoon and they said if i come back within like a month or 2 of my name change, i can get a new passport for free with the new last name!

I applied for my passport when traveling to Canada. It's supposed to take anywhere from 4-6 weeks for processing but only two weeks before it was in my hand.

If absolutely necessary, you can have it done priority and expedited. So if you don't have your passport yet and you're not going out of the country until four months after your wedding date, I say just wait.

@Brittany it might vary by state but I could change my name within a year for free (you can change your name any time you want you'd just have to pay for it after a year).

I would wait but that's just me. I wouldn't want the worry hanging over my head.

I'm pretty sure you can rush the passport for extra money and they say 4-6 weeks but I think j had mine in like 3

Just a warning. I just had mine renewed and my FH got a brand new one. His took longer about six weeks. The passport agency is warning people not to wait because next year is the year almost everyone's expires. So they will have back log.

My passport was due for renewal this January. I sent it in and it took about 3 weeks. We get married in May. I was going to hold off on the renewal until after we got married because we are going to USVIs (no passport needed) but sort of wanted to charter a boat to BVIs (passport needed) . So I thought "you're being cheap" went ahead and did it. I didn't want to pay for two in one year.

Good news:

In my research-you can do a name change for free within the first year of issuance!!

@JSmith2U- "You can have your passport replaced free of charge within the first year of getting it of you are changing your name due to marriage." I didn't know that. Is it broadcasted on the website or this something you call to ask.?

I ask only because I am getting married in January 2017 and my current passport expires end of December. We aren't honeymooning until 8 months or so after the wedding so I've been back and forth on whether or not to change my name after the wedding and get a new passport (basically paying for it twice within 6 months) But according to what you are saying, if its within the same year and because of a name change, I can get my passport changed without paying for the fees again???

Good news...if you change your name due to marriage within one year of renewing or getting your passport they will replace it with your new name for free! so i suggest getting it now so you have it either way. And once you get everything changed with the social security office then update your passport.

@Future Mrs P yes. I called them and cheeked the website since i needed a new passport for our honeymoon.

@SaraLep, So did you not get a new passport w/ your new name and will just carry your marriage certificate around in addition to your passport?

I'm in a similar boat and would love to not need to pay for a new one. Mine expires in 2022 but everything I've heard (haven't looked into it yet) made it seem like a name change means a new passport.

Name change DOES mean a new passport but if you renewed it or got it and you get married and change your name within a year they will replace it for free.

Staci, it doesn't vary form state to state because passports are federally issued documents. It's the same for everyone

I got a passport in 2013 when I was going to Aruba. I was divorced but still had my married name. In December 2014 I went to court and got my maiden name back. We're going to Ireland one week after the wedding, so I needed to update my passport into my maiden name, which required getting a new passport since it was over a year. I had to do the paperwork that you would do for a renewal, and the whole process was a lot quicker than the initial application.

ETA: @FutureMrsP: don't let your passport expire! If you do, you have to start all over as if you never had one before. It's much easier and faster to renew it.

After the honeymoon, I'll have to send it in to get my new married name, but it will be free this time due to it being less than a year. All of this has been confirmed with the passport office.