If Your Name Is Misspelled On Your Passport, Here's What You Should Do

Getting your passport is exciting, especially if it's your first one, because it's the initial step in preparing for an international adventure. Unfortunately, that excitement can quickly turn into confusion and stress if you open up the envelope to find that your name has been spelled incorrectly on the official document. Your passport is a powerful form of ID that confirms who you are — so what happens if it has the wrong name on it? Fortunately, if all you're doing is correcting a mistake, you just need to fill out a form, submit some extra info to the state department, and you can get a new passport with your name spelled correctly for free.

As strange as it might seem that something as basic as your name would come out wrong on your passport, these kinds of mistakes do happen from time to time. Because of this, whenever you get a new passport, it's a good idea to check all the information, including your birthday, gender, and name, is correct. It's much better to find out that your passport needs to be fixed before you arrive at the airport ready for your big trip.

If you're a seasoned traveler, you're probably familiar with the process of renewing your passport before it expires, but getting a new passport because your old one has an error on it is a little bit different. As long as your messed-up passport isn't expired, all you have to do is use the US Department of State's website to fill out form DS-5504, print your completed form, and mail it in. You'll also need to send them the incorrect passport and proof that they made a mistake. You can use a copy of another official document where your name is spelled right for that, like your birth certificate.

You'll also need to send in a recent, high-res color photograph for the State Department to use as your passport photo. As tempting as it might be, considering you're about to show this picture to people for the next ten years, don't use any filters while taking the photo or edit them afterward to make yourself look different. It can actually be a bad thing to look too nice in your passport photo, anyway, so consider this particular restriction a blessing in disguise.

You should definitely get your passport fixed if it arrives with your name misspelled. It's completely free to do, so there's no real downside to resubmitting your information to have a passport that has your actual name on it — but what if it won't arrive in time for you to go on your trip? Is it possible to travel using a passport that has your name misspelled until the new one arrives? You can definitely try, but, unfortunately, there's no guarantee you'll be able to get on a plane until it's corrected.

Unlike when your passport has your maiden name on it, you can't necessarily just use another ID to confirm your identity. If the error is minor, you might be able to get away with it at security, especially if you bring a secondary ID with you, but some airlines might not let you get on your flight. If you don't want to risk the possibility of missing your flight and not being able to get to your destination, you're better off trying to get it corrected in advance.