Renewing Passport Name Question

Following this m!

I believe it would be the date you went to the SSA, as your name is not legally changed until that day.

Hi Samantha, I believe they mean the date you actually changed your name and the place is the location of the Social Security Office you completed your paperwork at. Also, I agree to leave out your middle name. I have one but I NEVER use it. I don't even fully know it. I got it wrong on my twins birth certificates. Opps.

Good luck and remember you shouldn't have to pay for a new passport. You get 1 year from the time you actually changed your name to get your passport changed without fees.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense but I don’t remember the exact date. Hmm I wonder if I can call and figure that out.

View Quoted Comment Thanks! Do you think the date that’s on my new ss card works? I don’t remember the exact date I went to the ss office and applied for it but there is a date on my new card. Hmmm

View Quoted Comment

The first part of this is correct - the date you legally changed your name with the SSA and the location of that office.

However, I do believe you will need to pay the regular renewal fee UNLESS the passport you currently have was issued less than a year ago, which does not sound like it is the case. You do not get fees waived if your current passport is more than one year old.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/change-correct.html

If you changed your name when you got married, it would be a copy of the official marriage license with your name before and after. That's the document that matters. Everything else is being changed because of that document. You may end up having to send an official copy of your license with your passport documentation. I've had do this too, plus my proof of who I am using my naturalization certificate. The good news is that the people who work in the passport issuing part of our government actually do a very good job and they will send you back all your official documents. BUT MAKE SURE you send it certified mail, with a confirmation of receiving. Always send stuff certified mail when dealing with bureaucracy.

View Quoted Comment You only don’t have to pay if your change your name within a year of your passport being issued. My passport expires in May, but I get married in November. I renewed my passport in January so that I can continue to travel between May and November. As long as I change my name/update my passport by January 2020 I don’t have to pay. If I wait to change my passport and do it February 2020, I would have to pay the fee again.

View Quoted Comment Yes you’re correct. I got my passport in 2013 so I know I will have to pay the renewal fee. Thanks!

View Quoted Comment This is why I’m confused. On my marriage certificate it’s my maiden name. I got married April 28. I then went on my honeymoon right after and whatnot so I didn’t go to the SS office to get my official name change until like mid-May. The date on my new SS card says May 24 but I’m guessing that was after it was processed and everything. So do I use the wedding date even though my name wasn’t actually changed yet? Thanks for your help!

Oh man I hadn’t given that any thought— I also haven’t changed my passport yet due to trips scheduled in my maiden name. I have no idea when I applied for my new SSN card.

THAT said, the necessary documentation that the passport office requires is a copy of the marriage certificate as your name change document — given that the marriage certificate is that requested documentation, I understood it to mean that that would be the date of name change

Okay. If you have your maiden name on your marriage license then go by the date you changed your SS.