Foster Parents Child changing his name on his passport and other legal identification and documents.

Question:  My husband and I are foster parents to our son Jack. He is 15 years old and is changing his name on his passport. We applied for his passport a few months ago under his legal name at that time. We just completed the adoption process and would like to go about changing his name on his passport. Also, on other legal identification and documents. We only have a court order that states the name change. We do not have to change his name on his birth certificate yet. How can I go about changing his name on his passport? What documents will I need since I do not have the birth certificate yet?

Answer:  Congratulations on the approval of your adoption! For this situation, you will need all the requirements for a child’s passport as usual. You will have to appear in person with form DS-11 as your son is under 15 years of age. Also, you will have to provide the following documents in order to attain a passport for your adopted child:

• A certified copy of your sign adoption order
• A certified copy of the adopted child’s original birth certificate.
• A copy of the signed adoption agreement (applicable to California only)

Since you do not have the birth certificate as of yet with the name change, you can create a petition with the court clerk in order for them to grant permission to access the copies from the adoption file. You will have to get into contact with the court where the adoption was approved.

It is encouraged that you mail your documents in a Tyvek envelope to help protect the contents. Also, you should purchase insurance when mailing these documents as well as a tracking number to ensure the delivery of your documents.

Also, if will need to obtain the passport faster than the usual 4-6 weeks, you can apply for an expedited passport service. There is an extra fee for using this expedited service but you will receive your passport in 2-3 weeks.