Today’s the day! Your new passport has finally arrived, and you’re ready to start planning the trip of a lifetime. As you’re admiring your new passport, you soon realize that there’s a mistake – your name is misspelled! Now what?
If your passport arrives with a mistake or you make a mistake on your passport form, your first instinct may be to panic. But there’s no need to worry! You can correct the mistakes on your passport and be able to book a trip in no time.
If you find a mistake on your passport form or passport, you will need to fill out this passport correction application form. Once you’ve carefully filled out the form and submitted it, your application will be processed. The best part is that you can get your mistake fixed at no cost to you a majority of the time.
If you submit your passport correction application with no mistakes and all the right documentation and information is included, standard processing times can take up to 18 weeks, and expedited processing time can take up to 10 weeks. You can use this form to correct most passport mistakes, including passport name corrections.
Please note that you will need to pay a $60 fee for the expedited processing option.
If you need to urgently correct your passport within a matter of days, you should
schedule an appointment at a regional passport facility. You will need to call and make an appointment and then visit the passport facility in person. In most cases, you will need to submit proof of travel within 14 days for this option. If you’re looking to make an appointment, we suggest calling as soon as possible, so you have the best chance of getting an appointment in time.
It doesn’t matter when you notice the mistake on your passport, as long as your passport is still valid, you can request a passport correction. If your passport was issued more than 90 days ago, you will need to submit a new passport photo.
One important thing to note is that once you sign your passport, you’re attesting that the information on your passport is correct. If you sign your passport and then travel with it, the passport agency will make you pay for a new passport rather than fixing it for free.
Nope! You’ll need to turn in your incorrect passport to obtain your new passport.
If you have any questions about obtaining a new passport or getting your passport renewed, please contact us. We’d be happy to help answer any questions you may have and get the process started. As always, no matter where you’re traveling in the world, stay safe, stay healthy, and enjoy your trip!
Rob Lee is co-founder of Swift Passport and Visa Services. Originally from Michigan, Rob is a Yoga Teacher- YTT200, an avid fisherman, SCUBA diver who enjoys adventure travel.
i have applied for fresh passport but i have wrongly updated birth place due to this my police verification not clear.
please suggest me for next process
Greetings… If this is a newly issued passport, you can contact the issuing authority to have this corrected. If it is a U.S. Passport, you can contact the US Passport Agency at travel.state.gov or calling 1-877-487-2778. They can instruct you on the fastest way to get your passport corrected.
MadisonI just applied for my passport and realiyafter the passport was sent in my fathers birthday was incorrect on my birth certificate. I wrote the correct birthday on my application and I’m worried this will cause a problem with my approval. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do or should it not be a problem?
Hi Madison… If you are applying for a US Passport, there should be no issues if your father’s date of birth is incorrect. They can typically look past minor mixups such as this. Hope this helps!
Randy VanLaarRob, We are flying to Mexico in 3 months and my wife and daughter went down to get their passports, while looking through the check book i realized that she had paid way less than i had. come to find out the lady where she went had told her that the card would work for a trip to Mexico. but if what i am reading on the internet is correct they need a booklet not the card. is this correct and if so how do i get the booklet now that her birth certificate is gone? Thanks, Randy
Hi Randy, the card is good for land or sea travel to Mexico, the Passport Book is required if you are flying to Mexico. What were the price difference? That would help determine what your wife and daughter applied for.
Robert WilharmI applied electronically for a visa for a friend to travel to Australia from Georgia, USA. I misspelled his name and the agency said there is nothing that can be done to correct it. Is this true?
If you applied for an Australia ETA visa, if the name is off by a letter or two it shouldn’t pose any issues. The more important information is the passport number and expiration date, as long as that is correct, the visa should be good.
BobbieI just received my updated passport and my middle name is spelled Sean instead of Jean. I only have a little over 2 weeks before I leave for Costa Rica. Should I be concerned?
We would recommend getting the document updated. What city, state are you in? DWARKA PRASAD KUMAWATi have applied for fresh passport but i have wrongly updated My Mother Name due to this my police verification not clear.
please suggest me for next process
We are a third party, private company, so we are unable to provide updates of this type. I would recommend contacting the agency in which you applied.
I just recieved my wife’s passport and her middle name was left off. We leave for Dominican Republic in February. Do you recommend sending it in for correction, and add the middle name? Thanks
Great question… most likely the middle name was left out because it wasn’t entered into the application. OR, if she had a previous passport, the middle name wasn’t in that passport and they issued the passport based on the old one. There should be no issue with traveling without the middle name in the passport.
If you were to send it in, the Passport Agency would most likely charge you for a completely new passport as the above scenarios are generally why a middle name is left out of the passport.
My sister sent in her passport to get corrected beginning of November and we still don’t have it! We are traveling on December 26th, what can we do?
Have you tried contacting the National Passport Hotline? 1-877-487-2778
If you don’t have any progress there, I would recommend showing up at the closest US Passport Agency to you. Check out the US Department of State website to locate the closest facility to you.
Hope this helps get you on the right path!
I’m preparing for a trip to Europe and wanted to apply for global entry. I got my passport a year ago for a cruise but only used the card and never signed the book. I noticed while filling out the Global Entry app that they got my Place of Birth wrong. It is a common mistake as it is just across the State Line and shares and shares a like name. For example, St. Louis and East St. Louis. What do I do? I want to get the app approved and schedule an appointment for the in person interview that will require travel just to do.
Hello… where are you seeing that your place of birth is incorrect? US Passports typically mention the country you were born in and not a city or state.
Philip WangGood Day. Can I correct a printing error and renew at the same time? Current passport expires in 1 year.
If it is a minor correction, such as misspelling, renewing the passport should take care of the mistake. If it is a major correction, such as wrong name or date of birth, they may require you to apply for a new passport.
Gerilyn L.My sons’ passports arrived, but the pictures are switched. (My town hall sent this in for me – not sure who did the error, although on the application my sons’ hair color and eye color, etc are all there – and they look nothing alike, and to my knowledge correct pictures were attached to their application.) I need the passports in less than 3 weeks corrected. What do I do?
Unfortunately, this seems to be a somewhat common occurrence. The best thing to do is take the passports and birth certificates back to the town Hall with NEW photos. They can instruct you how to fix the issue. Also, bring in proof of travel to show the passport agency the urgency of the correction. Best of luck!
Whitney Davismy passport came with the wrong birthday, and i called the 1877 number and the nice lady said that correction expedite who be free. i hope thats true bc i mailed it to the expedite po box… if its wrong will they mail it back or send it to the correct po box.
KristinWhen sending the renewal passport application for my son, I mistakenly sent my passport book. When I realized the error, we completed a new application for my son, who is 26yrs. Will sending a new application complicate things? And when should I expect my passport book back?
If you sent the application in directly to the US Passport Agency, you would want to contact the national passport hotline 1-877-487-2778. They would be able to direct to you in the appropriate direction.
We just received my wife’s passport renewal in the mail and noticed the passport office entered the wrong last name. She had a name change since we just got married, marriage certificate and application had the correct name on it. We are flying to Canada in less than 2 weeks. We already paid to have the original passport expedited, will we have to pay again to expedite for their mistake? If so, how is that right / what recourse can we take?
If your passport has a misprint and you need it fixed in 3 weeks or less you can go to a National Passport Agency to get the passport replaced. Ideally, you want to make an appointment to come in. You can make an appointment online in a few minutes, or you also have the option of calling the National Passport Information Center 24/7 at 1-877-487-2778 (1-888-874-7793 TDD/TTY). If you do not have an appointment, and just show up at a Passport Agency, they will likely get your passport replaced the day you are there, but that ultimately depends on whether or not they have the manpower to handle a request on a same day basis on that given day.
I renewed my passport , today only I got my renewal passport,there is one mistake vill- po it’s my old passport ,renewal passport vill -op I did mistake in my application form, officers followed by my application address,not old passport address ,what I do,I’m in foreign country ,
The best option would be to get the mistake corrected… fastest way to do so is at a regional Passport Agency. Here’s a list of where they are located: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies.html
My daughters name is Swayzie and they spelled her name on us passport as SWAYZLE. We leave next week…. is this going to be a problem? If so how should we proceed?
I leave in 4 days to the Philippines from WI. I JUST noticed my new passport has my birthday off by two days… July 8 instead of 6. Many comments I read online say to fix after my trip? Help!!
We see this scenario many times where people are able to travel internationally with a birthdate mistake. One thing to take note of- when you check into your flight and enter the passport information, be sure to add the birthdate as it appears in the passport and you should be good to go. Safe travels!
hi,
i applied first US passport with my daughter at same day, i have received the passport by mail but my daughter’s is still under processing, is it possible or not?
thanks danny
Hello… each passport application is processed separately. Often times one family member’s passport arrives before the other.
I just received my passport in the mail this week. My passport includes the wrong place of birth. it says Oregon, USA but I was actually not born in that state. I leave for England in a few weeks and I am unsure whether I will be able to submit the change of error application to the National Passpoer Informarion Center and get the place of birth fixed prior to when I am supposed to leave. Will I be able to leave the country and return with the current passport that I have (and change it once I return home) or should I try to get it fixed prior to leaving? Thank you.
I paid to get my daughter a passport. The lady at the passport office sent of the wrong birth certificate. I received a letter in the mail stating to send in the correct birth certificate. I mailed the correct birth certificate next day. Paid for one day shipping. It’s been a month since the correct birth certificate was mailed in and I still have not received it yet. I contacted the passport office and they said that it was still being processed. I explained to them that my daughter and I planning to leave the country in three weeks. They told me that I could pay to have it expedited. I feel like I should not have to pay extra due to an error done by the passport office. It is the passport office responsibility to verify all correct documents before sending off. What can be done about this and how can I get it resolved?
I live in Switzerland and went to the US consulate in Geneva to renew my passport. I just received the new one in the mail and my last name is misspelled. I need to travel internationally for work in three weeks (and need a visa for the trip). Is there anything I can do? Thank you
You have a couple of options, depending how misspelled your name is. If it’s really off or you have time to go, I’d go to the Embassy and they should be able to correct it well before your trip. going back to the Embassy is not an option and the misspelling is something simple, you could travel with it as is and correct when you have time.
sukhman preetI want to correct spelling name of my mother on my passport then the passport number will get change or not?
