How to Make a Change of Address on a Passport

Unless your passport application is in the approval process, you don’t need to officially change your address. There’s a space in your passport book where you can enter your address and then make any changes that may occur over the course of the passport’s life. You may choose to advise the State Department if you change your address, but it’s not required.

Look for the page in your passport labeled “Personal Data and Emergency Contact.” It should be page 4, immediately after the page with your photo and basic information. You may have left the page blank when you got your passport. If this is the case, fill out your current address in pencil so you can change it later if necessary. There’s also a field for your contact information and another for a foreign address, if you know where you’ll be staying when you’re abroad. If you did fill out the information on that page when you got your passport, erase or cross through the old address and add the new one.

The State Department makes it easy to change the mailing address they have on file for you, but this won’t result in the issuance of a new passport. It simply means that the State Department will have your current address. Call 877-487-2778. Passport holders who use a TDY can call 888-874-7793.

If your name has changed, and if it’s been less than one year since you got your passport, submit a completed Form DS-5504 with your current passport, your name change document and a passport photo. You won’t need to pay the fees again. If it’s been more than a year since your passport was issued, submit Form DS-82, your passport, name change document, a photo and the $110 fee for a passport renewal. If you don’t have a name change document, you must appear in person with your proof of citizenship and ID showing your new name.

Applicants who have undergone or are undergoing a gender designation change must submit the usual documentation along with a Form DS-11 as well as a current photo ID, a current passport photo and medical certification. If you’re transitioning, you’ll be granted a two-year passport. If you’ve completed your transition, you’ll receive a standard 10-year passport. The fees are the same as for a first-time application.

To change incorrect data or fix printing errors made by the passport agency when you applied, fill out a Form DS-5504 and submit it by mail with your passport, a passport photo and proof of the error such as a birth certificate showing the correct spelling of your name or date of birth. There is no fee to have corrections made.

If you simply don’t like the photo you chose for your passport, you’ll need to re-apply and pay the standard fees. If the photo is bad because of a printing error on the part of the passport agency, use Form DS-5504 to reapply. No fees are charged.