How to Change the Name on a Nigerian Passport

You have a new name. A marriage, a divorce, a court-ordered name change. Your existing passport is correct for who you were when it was issued; you simply need it to reflect who you are now. This is different from a name mismatch on the application, where the form holds a typo or the NIN drifted from the certificate. There, you were correcting an error. Here, you are propagating a real change.

The order of operations matters more than the individual steps. You cannot simply walk into a passport office with a new name and ask for an updated booklet. NIS verifies the new name against your live NIN, and if the NIN still shows the old name, the file stalls immediately at NIN Verification. The right sequence is: trigger event → court affidavit and newspaper notice → NIMC update → passport re-issue.

The supporting documents differ by what triggered the name change. Pick the route that matches your case before gathering paperwork.

1. 1
   Obtain the primary trigger documentMarriage certificate, divorce decree, or court name change order. This is the document you cite at every later step.
2. 2
   Swear an affidavit of name change at a Nigerian High CourtThe affidavit states your old name, your new name, the reason, and the effective date. Cost is typically a few thousand naira at the court registry.
3. 3
   Publish the change in a national newspaperA standard change-of-name notice in a Nigerian daily (Punch, Guardian, ThisDay, Vanguard, etc.). The publication is referenced in your supporting bundle.
4. 4
   Update your NIN at NIMCUse the self-service portal at selfservicemodification.nimc.gov.ng. Pay the ₦2,000 per-field modification fee. Upload the affidavit, newspaper page, and marriage certificate or court order. New NIN slip issued within a few working days.
5. 5
   Apply for a passport re-issue on immigration.gov.ngChoose 'Re-issue' and select the change-of-data reason. Submit the new name on the form (matching the updated NIN), and upload the affidavit, marriage certificate or court order, newspaper publication, and current passport data page.
6. 6
   Attend the biometric appointmentBring originals of every document plus your existing passport. The officer captures fresh biometrics where required and processes the re-issue.
7. 7
   Collect the new passport21-day NIS Service Level Agreement after enrolment. The old passport is cancelled at collection; you receive the new booklet with the new name.

NIS asks for the standard re-issue documents, plus the name-change evidence specific to your trigger.

The NIS fee for a name-change re-issue is the standard re-issue rate. Since the NIS fee review of 1 September 2025:

• Inside Nigeria — ₦100,000 for the 32-page 5-year, ₦200,000 for the 64-page 10-year. No separately published name-change surcharge.
• Diaspora applicants pay the NIS USD anchor of $150 (32-page 5-year) or $230 (64-page 10-year), plus the mission's administrative fee. The exact mission booklet rate is set locally; verify on your consulate's published schedule.

Add the cost of the supporting documents you need to gather: court affidavit (a few thousand naira), newspaper publication (₦3,000 to ₦5,000 depending on outlet), and the ₦2,000 NIMC name correction fee. None of these are part of the NIS quote; budget for them separately.

The 21-day NIS Service Level Agreement for re-issue starts on the day of biometric enrolment. Realistic end-to-end timing from "I just got married" to "new passport in hand" is four to six weeks, mostly driven by gathering the trigger documents and waiting for the NIMC slip.

Diaspora applicants submit through their nearest Nigerian high commission, embassy, or consulate. The Nigeria High Commission in London is explicit that a deed poll from a UK or other foreign jurisdiction is not, on its own, sufficient evidence for the Nigerian passport re-issue. The name change must be declared in a Nigerian court with an affidavit, and the marriage certificate or court order must be either Nigerian-issued or attested by a Nigerian mission.

The mission then forwards the re-issue to NIS for processing. Most diaspora missions also require:

• A residence permit or other proof of legal status in the host country.
• A return courier envelope, pre-paid, for collection (USPS Express Mail at US consulates, Royal Mail special delivery at NHC London, DHL or UPS at the Embassy of Nigeria in Sweden).
• The mission's local administrative fee on top of the NIS USD anchor passport fee.

A name change does not stop at the passport. Once the new booklet is in hand, update the rest of your documents to match. Common items, with the order that usually works best:

1. Bank accounts (BVN-linked) — see BVN name correction.
2. Driver's licence — see change of name on driver's licence.
3. Voter card at INEC.
4. Tax records (TIN) — see how to get a TIN for the modification route.
5. School and professional records, where applicable.
6. International visas in the old passport may need updating through the issuing embassy; check each one.

Keeping the old (cancelled) passport with valid visas inside it is normal practice; most border officers accept it alongside the new passport for entries that were stamped under the old name.