New passport issue due to change of name in the event of divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership

If your surname has changed (e.g. due to marriage or divorce), you must apply for a new travel document immediately.

If your surname has changed (e.g. due to marriage or divorce), your previous passport with the previous name has an incorrect entry and has therefore become invalid. If you still need a passport, you must apply for a new document immediately.

Please note! You are obliged to present the invalid passport to the passport authority immediately, as a rule it will then be confiscated.

If you are engaged to be married, you can apply for your new passport or identity card with a certificate from the registry office as soon as you register the marriage, so that it is ready on the day of the marriage. After the marriage, you can collect your passport by presenting your marriage certificate.

The passport is issued by the passport office of the municipal or city administration where you live. For important reasons, you can also apply for the document in another municipality. This passport authority will then first obtain authorization from the authority actually responsible for you to issue the passport. If this authorization is granted, the passport can be issued, but this will double the fees.

You can also apply for passports and temporary passports at German diplomatic missions abroad.

Passport authority of the municipal or city administration

• old passport or other proof that you are a German citizen
• in case of marriage: marriage certificate
• in case of divorce: notarized copyift of the divorce decree
• a current photo in the prescribed size and quality
  • From May 1, 2025, only digitally available biometric photographs will be used for new official documents. The photographs will either be taken at the authorities or by photographers. This means that citizens can no longer bring their own photographs with them.

Please note: It is recommended that you bring a personalcertificate (e.g. marriage or birth certificate) with the application. In this way, any problems that may arise, particularly with regard to the spelling and order in which first names and surnames are entered in the passport, can be clarified immediately. This may also be the case, for example, if there have been changes to your details since the last issue or when applying for the first time after moving to the city or municipality. If in doubt, you should check the website of the city or municipality or call them to find out which documents you need to bring with you before applying.

You must not have any grounds for refusal, for example

• Failure to fulfill a statutory maintenance obligation
• Endangering the internal or external security of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Assumption that you wish to avoid prosecution, execution of a sentence or a statutory maintenance obligation by leaving the country

A passport can also be withdrawn for the same reasons.

• A passport is only issued on application, which you must submit in person.
• In addition to the photograph, fingerprints are also stored on the electronic chip in the passport. For this reason, fingerprints in the form of a flat impression of your left and right index finger will be taken when you apply for a passport.
  • Note: If an index finger is missing, the quality of the fingerprint is insufficient or the fingertip is damaged, the flat print of either the thumb, middle finger or ring finger will be taken instead. Fingerprints will only not be taken if they cannot be taken for medical reasons of a more than temporary nature.
• You can be represented at the collection. The representative must present a power of attorney from you and identify himself/herself with his/her identity document (usually identity card or passport).
• You may keep an old passport that has become invalid, for example as a souvenir. However, the passport authority must indicate the invalidity of the passport by stamping or punching a hole in it.

Notification of and application for a new passport at the competent authority: immediately

This applies if you still need a passport (because you do not have an identity card, for example).

If you are under 24 years old:

• Passport: 37,50 Euro
• Express passport: 69.50 euros

From the age of 24:

• Passport: 70.00 euros
• Express passport: 102.00 euros

The passport has 32 pages. You can also apply for a passport with 48 pages. In this case, you will have to pay a surcharge of 22.00 euros.

The fee (without surcharges) is doubled if

• the passport has to be issued outside official office hours or
• the application is not submitted to the local passport authority (municipality of the main residence).

If you apply for a passport at a German embassy or consular mission, for example if you lose your passport, you will have to pay a surcharge of 31.00 euros or 44.00 euros for a temporary passport.

In some cities and municipalities, the fee may be waived if you can prove that you are in need. For example, recipients of social welfare or unemployment benefit II can have the fee waived if they bring the relevant grant notification with them as proof.

The decision to waive the fee is made on a case-by-case basis and is the responsibility of the relevant authority. Please ask your passport authority whether and under what conditions a fee waiver is possible.

Express passport and temporary passport

If the regular processing time of 2 to 6 weeks is too long for your travel plans and you need your passport sooner, your passport office can also issue your passport using the express procedure, provided it has the necessary technical equipment. Passports produced using the express procedure take 3 to 4 working days to process. If the application is received by the Bundesdruckerei by 12 noon, the express passports will be delivered to the relevant authority within 2 working days (excluding public holidays and weekends).

A temporary passport will only be issued if the passport cannot be delivered to you in time before you intend to use it for the first time, even using the express procedure. You will receive this immediately when you apply, so you do not have to wait for it.