Passports are more comprehensive today than they ever were before and many are unsure about the process because of changes that have been recently made. The government is working to keep the borders more secure. New regulations and added costs have made some people wary of the process and unsure about applying for a passport or applying for simple changes, such as a passport name change. These changes are actually quite simple to make and most of them can be made free of charge.

It is quite straightforward in most cases to apply for changes to your passport and it is normally also quite affordable. Most of the common changes that people need to apply for do not even require a fee and only a short form is required to process the change. There are fees that are imposed for certain changes and to have these changes done in a speedy fashion there is also a small fee.

The first change that people need is a correction because the passport was actually issued with incorrect information on it. This change can be made at any time as long as the passport is valid. It is free to make this change. The form that should be used is the DS-5504. This can be found at any passport office or downloaded online. It is simple to send the form back out through the mail or just drop it right back off at the post office.

One of the most common changes that is made to passports every day is a name change. When a marriage or divorce takes place after the passport is issued, the passport holder must apply for a name change. If expedited service is not needed then there is no charge for this change. The DS-5504 form is the form that must be used if the change is being made less than 365 days after passport issuance. This is the form that is used for changes to a passport due to a printing error and can be found at a post office or on the Internet. This form can be mailed or returned to the post office.

If it has been more than one year since your passport was issued and you need a name change, there will be a small fee for the service. Expedited service will add $60 to this fee. The DS-82 form will be required for this sort of passport name change. You can fill this form out at the post office and pay the fees there or you can fill out the form and mail it with the fee included.

If additional Vista pages must be added there is no fee and this can be done anytime as long as the passport is valid. If expedited service is needed, a fee will be assessed by the passport agency. This is normally a small fee of only $60.

It costs about $120 to apply for and have a passport issued today. A passport can be processes quickly if the $60 fee for expedited service is paid. Another $60 may be added if the applicant cannot prove citizenship and the government must verify citizenship. These are relatively small fees, but they can add up if many unique services are needed.

Most changes to pass port are free of charge and can also be processed quickly if needed for a small fee. Making changes to your passport does not have to cause unneeded complications. Although it has become a bit more complicated to acquire a American passport name change, it is still relatively easy to make changes to one.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!