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Please be advised that this page has moved and this content is no longer being updated. Up-to-date information is now available at Ireland.ie/dfa/passports/documentary-requirements.

Check if you need to send us additional documents

Application type: I need to change the information on my child's passport

My child now uses a different name to the one on their passport of birth certificate

If you have re-registered your child’s birth, you should submit this new birth certificate.

If the birth has not been re-registered, then you are changing the child’s name through proof of usage. We need 2 documents from 2 different sources which should date back at least two years from the date you make the passport application. You must also submit the original birth certificate. The Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on an Irish passport.

Proof of usage means that your child is using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.

You should be able to supply items such as:

  • School correspondence
  • Letter from a medical doctor
  • Certified copy of the child’s medical card
  • Government correspondence.

We do not accept:

  • Photocopies.
  • Short-form birth certificates.
  • Laminated certificates.
  • Deed polls

I want to change my child's name from English to Irish or from Irish to English

The Passport Service normally requires that your child has been using their name for 2 years or a re-registered birth certificate before we can change their passport name.

If you wish to change your child's name from Irish to English, or English to Irish, you have two options

              Show that your child has been using this name for two years

              Or

Show that your child has been using this name for 6 months and we will note the birth certificate version of their name on their new passport

For proof of usage, we need 2 documents from 2 different sources which should date back at least two years each from the date you make the passport application. You must also submit the original birth certificate. The Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on an Irish passport.

Proof of usage means that your child is using this name in everyday life. We need your original documents but we will return these to you.

You should be able to supply items such as:

  • School correspondence
  • Letter from a medical doctor
  • Certified copy of the child’s medical card
  • Government correspondence.

We do not accept:

  • Photocopies.
  • Short-form birth certificates.
  • Laminated certificates.
  • Deed polls

My gender identity has now been recognised

Check if you are entitled to a Gender Recognition Certificate issued by the Department of Social Protection.

I want an observation on my child's passport of their name on their birth certificate or previous passport number or name

A passport will generally issue in the name of the applicant as it appears on their birth certificate. Where your child has changed their name and you wish to apply for a passport in their new name, you may still wish for their birth certificate name to be noted on their passport. In cases such as these, the birth certificate name can put as an observation on page 3 of the passport book.

If you wish to record your child’s birth certificate name as an observation on your new passport book, and it has not been recorded as an observation on a previous passport book, you must include your original birth certificate with your application.

If you want, we can include your child’s previous passport number as an observation.

It is no longer possible to have an observation of “Also known as”, even if you had this on your child’s previous passport. We no longer put your child’s previous passport name as an observation on a passport.

In the vast majority of cases it is not necessary to include an observation on your child’s passport. It is not possible to have observations noted on passport cards.