Form DS-5504 — Passport correction or name change

What DS-5504 covers

DS-5504 handles two distinct situations: correcting an error on a recently issued passport, and documenting a legal name change within one year of the passport's issuance date. Both are processed by mail. Neither requires an in-person appearance.

Data and printing errors. If your new passport has an incorrect name spelling, wrong date of birth, wrong sex designation, or a printing defect (crooked text, discoloration, missing data on the biographical page), DS-5504 is the correct form. The State Department will correct the error at no charge as long as the passport is still valid.

Name changes within one year. If your name changed legally — through marriage, divorce, or a court order — and both the passport issuance date and the name change date fall within the last year, DS-5504 lets you update your passport without paying new passport fees.

DS-5504 does not apply to expired passports, to passports issued more than a year ago, or to situations where neither a data error nor a qualifying name change is involved. Those cases require DS-82 or DS-11.

Eligibility requirements

For a data or printing error correction:

• Your passport must still be valid (not expired)
• The error must be a factual inaccuracy or printing defect — not a preference change

For a name change:

• Your passport was issued within the last year
• Your name change also occurred within the last year
• You have an original or certified document proving the change — a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order issued within one year

Both conditions for the name change must be met: the passport and the name change document both need to fall within the one-year window. A passport issued 14 months ago does not qualify under DS-5504 even if the name change happened last month. In that case, review renewal eligibility — if you can renew by mail with DS-82, include the name change documentation with your renewal application.

What it costs

Filing DS-5504 within one year is free. No application fee. No execution fee.

Expedited processing is available for $60. Standard processing timeline for DS-5504 follows the same routine service schedule as other passport applications — 4–6 weeks from the State Department's receipt of your mailed application.

After one year, DS-5504 is no longer available for name changes. At that point, the path forward is a standard renewal (DS-82 if you qualify) or a new application (DS-11 if you do not). Full fees apply. The one-year window runs from the date printed on the passport — not from the date you noticed the issue.

How to file DS-5504

All DS-5504 submissions go by mail. There is no in-person filing option. Get the form at pptform.state.gov — the mailing address is printed on the form itself and varies by situation.

Include with your DS-5504:

• Your current passport (the one with the error or the one you are updating)
• One passport photo — 2×2 inches, color, taken within the last 6 months
• For data errors: evidence of the correct information. For a name spelling error, include your birth certificate showing the correct spelling. For a date of birth error, include your birth certificate.
• For name changes: an original or certified copy of the legal name change document. Certified copies are accepted — do not send a document you cannot afford to lose in the mail.

Track your mailed application at passportstatus.state.gov once it has been received and entered into the State Department's system. Your original passport and any supporting documents are returned separately by First Class Mail.

What DS-5504 does not cover

A few situations look like DS-5504 territory but are not:

• Address changes. Passports do not contain addresses. No form is needed to update your address — but if you have an application in progress, call 1-877-487-2778 to update the mailing address.
• Photo updates. If you simply want a newer photo, DS-5504 does not apply. If there is a printing defect on your photo, DS-5504 does apply.
• Sex designation changes. Updating the sex designation on your passport uses a different process. The State Department accepts self-certification through a form DS-11 application — a separate process from DS-5504. See travel.state.gov for current procedures.
• Significant biographical data errors on passports issued more than one year ago. These require a standard renewal or new application and cannot be corrected for free under DS-5504.