This pages applies only to people born outside Australia. 

Marriage

If you were married outside Australia (including the United States), you will need to have your foreign marriage certificate legalised with an apostille or authentication. Once you have obtained this, you can apply for a passport in your new name using the PC8 Overseas application form. 

If you were married in Australia, you must present your official marriage certificate from the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) in the state where you were married. This is not the ceremonial certificate you receive on the day of the ceremony. You must apply to the RBDM to receive your official marriage certificate.  A RBDM certificate does not need to be legalised.  Once you have obtained this, you can apply for a passport in your new name using the PC8 Overseas application form.

Please note that marriage certificates can be used to change your last name only.  If you wish to make changes to your given names, please refer to the section below on Divorce and other name changes. 

Divorce and other name changes

If you are changing your name as a result of divorce or other reasons, you may choose any of the names listed in the table below.  If you do not have one of these documents in your desired name, you will need either:

  • a new Australian citizenship certificate in your new name; or
  • a new foreign name change document evidencing your new name which has been legalised.  For some clients, the easiest foreign name change document to obtain is a US court order that changes your name.  The court order must be legalised.

Once you have obtained an approved name change document, you can apply for a passport in your new name using the PC8 Overseas application form.

Gratis name change

If you have more than two years validity remaining on your current passport, you can replace it free of charge if you are changing your name due to:

  • marriage
  • divorce
  • entering into or ceasing to be in a registered or de facto relationship
  • the death of a spouse of partner
  • transitioning to a new gender

The passport showing your new name will be issued with the same expiry date as the passport being replaced. You will need to provide evidence of your change in status - eg. marriage certificate, divorce decree, etc. You will still need to pay the courier fee to have your new passport sent to you if you do not intend to collect it in person from your lodging office.

Alternatively, you can pay the full application fee to have a new 10 year passport issued in your new name.

If you are changing your name for other reasons, you can choose to have a replacement passport issued (fee applies) or a new 10 year passport (full application fee applies).

Approved name change documents

Choose from the following names to appear in your passport 

 Notes
The name exactly as it appears on your most recent Australian passport that was valid for two years or more, if that passport was issued after 20 August 1986. This applies only if you have not subsequently changed your name with an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) or the Australian Department of Home Affairs (i.e. on a citizenship certificate). It is ok if you have had an emergency/temporary passport issued after your most recent regular passport that had a validity of two years or less.                                               
The name that appears on a valid certificate issued by an Australian RBDM - for example, a RBDM marriage certificate, a RBDM change of name certificate, or a RBDM registered relationship certificate. The name on the certificate must not have been replaced by a different name registered with a RBDM.                                                                                      
The name exactly as it appears on a citizenship certificate issued by the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Please also provide documents that show the link between the name on your birth certificate and the name on your citizenship certificate.  If these documents are not in English, you must also provide an approved translation.
The name on a foreign name change document - eg. official foreign marriage certificate, foreign court order, or a foreign name change certificate. Any foreign name change document must be legalised. Please note that we can only accept a foreign name change document if the name change event (eg. the marriage) occurred AFTER the date you became an Australian citizen.  If your document is not in English, you must also provide an approved translation.
In limited circumstances, an Australian deed poll document can be accepted for name change purposes. To see if this applies to you, please contact your lodging office. A Deed Poll document registered in South Australia is not acceptable.