I now use a different name to the one on my passport or birth certificate
If changing your name through proof of usage, we need 2 documents from 2 different sources which should date back at least two years from the date you make the passport application.
The Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on your Irish passport.
Proof of usage means that you are using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.
You should be able to supply items such as:
- Government correspondence
- Photo ID document
- Pay slips
- Utility bills
- Lease agreements
We do not accept:
- Photocopies
- Short-form birth certificates
- Laminated certificates
- Deed polls
It will take longer to process this application as it is a complex renewal.
I want to change my name from English to Irish or from Irish to English
The Passport Service normally requires that you have been using your name for 2 years before we can change your passport name.
If you wish to change your name from Irish to English, or English to Irish, you have two options:
- Show that you have been using this name for two years.
or
- Show you have been using this name for 6 months and we will note your birth certificate version of your name on your new passport.
Proof of usage means that you are using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.
You should be able to supply items such as:
- Photo ID document
- Pay slips
- Government correspondence
- Utility bills
- Lease agreements
We do not accept:
- Photocopies
- Short-form birth certificates
- Laminated certificates
- Deed polls
My gender has now been recognised
I wish to renew my Irish Passport
Passport Online is the fastest way to apply for your passport.
If you are resident in Ireland, please submit your original documents. These will be returned to you.
- Original Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) as issued by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
- Current Irish Passport. This will be cancelled and returned to you.
If you are resident in Northern Ireland, or overseas, please submit:
- A statutory declaration, stating that the applicant has a settled and solemn intention of living in the new gender for the rest of their life and understands the consequences of the application, together with two documents showing usage of the new name over two years.
- Your current Irish passport. This will be cancelled and returned to you.
If changing your name through proof of usage, we need 2 documents from 2 different sources which should date back at least two years from the date you make the passport application.
The Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on your Irish passport. Proof of usage means that you are using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.
You should be able to supply items such as:
- Photo ID document.
- Pay slips.
- Government correspondence.
- Utility bills.
- Lease agreements
We do not accept:
- Photocopies.
- Short-form birth certificates.
- Laminated certificates.
- Deed polls
I am applying for my first Irish passport
Passport Online is the fastest way to apply for your passport.
If you are resident in Ireland, please submit the following original documents. These will be returned to you.
- Identity verification form.
- Original Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) as issued by the Department of Social Protection.
- Original Civil Birth certificate as re-issued after gender recognition.
- Original Civil marriage certificate if applying for a passport in your married name.
- Proof of address such as Government correspondence such as a letter from the Department of Social Protection or the Revenue Commissioners. If you do not have these, original utility bills, or bank statements can be considered.
- Proof of name such as Government correspondence such as a letter from the Department of Social Protection or the Revenue Commissioners
- Photographic identification
- The Public Services Card is the most efficient way for you to verify your identify. This ensures that your application can be processed quickly. We only need a photocopy of your PSC card. We need a photocopy of the back and front of the card.
- If you do not have a Public Services Card, you must submit an original Government-issued photographic identification. This could be an original passport from another country or a certified copy of your driver’s licence (certified by a solicitor or notary public).
- If you do not have any suitable documents, you will have to arrange an interview with staff at our Passport Office in Dublin or Cork. Contact us to arrange this.
If you are resident in Northern Ireland or overseas, please submit your original documents. These will be returned to you.
- Identity verification form.
- Full original civil birth certificate (version that includes the name(s) of the parent(s)).
- Original Civil marriage or Civil Partnership certificate (if applying for a passport in your married name).
- Proof of address such as original utility bills, or bank statements (we accept internet printouts that are stamped by issuing authority) or Government correspondence such as letter from the NHS, Social Welfare or HM Revenue and Customs.
- A statutory declaration, stating that the applicant has a settled and solemn intention of living in the new gender for the rest of his or her life and understands the consequences of the application, together with two documents showing usage of the new name over two years.
- Photographic identificationYou must submit an original Government issued photographic identification. This could be an original passport from another country or a certified copy of your driver’s licence (certified by a solicitor or notary public) or
- A certified copy of your driver's licence (certified by a solicitor or notary public).
- If changing your name through proof of usage, we need 2 documents from 2 different sources which should date back at least two years from the date you make the passport application. The Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on your Irish passport.
Proof of usage means that you are using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.
You should be able to supply items such as:
- Photo ID document
- Pay slips
- Government correspondence
- Utility bills.
- Lease agreements
We do not accept:
- Photocopies.
- Short-form birth certificates
- Laminated certificates
- Deed polls
I have gotten married or divorced and wish to change my name
If you want to change the name on your passport to your married name, you must submit your original civil marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.
If your previous passport was issued in your married name and you want your new passport issued in your birth surname you must submit:
- Your original birth certificate.
- Your original civil marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.
- Your separation agreement, your judicial separation court order, or your divorce decree. This must be certified by a solicitor or by the court.
If you do not have the documents listed above, we will require proof of usage.
It will take longer to process this application as it is a complex renewal.
I want an observation from my previous passport on my new passport
A passport will generally issue in the name of the applicant as it appears on their birth certificate. Where an applicant has changed their name (for example, following marriage or civil partnership or proof of usage) and wishes to apply for a passport in their new name, they may still wish for their birth certificate name to be noted on their passport. In cases such as these, the birth certificate name can put as an observation on page 3 of the passport book.
If you wish to record your birth certificate name as an observation on your new passport book, and it has not been recorded as an observation on a previous passport book, you must include your original full civil birth certificate with your application.
If you want, we can include your previous passport number as an observation.
It is no longer possible to have an observation of “Also known as”, even if you had this on your previous passport. We no longer put your previous passport name as an observation on a passport.
In the vast majority of cases it is not necessary to include an observation on your passport. It is not possible to have observations noted on passport cards.