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Changing your passport

After a change of sex registration or a name change, an existing passport remains valid until its expiry date, but the document then no longer matches the BRP. You can apply for a new passport showing the updated details. This page describes the procedure and adds a few practical and legal remarks.

When can you apply for a new passport?

You can apply for a new passport once your details have been updated in the Personal Records Database (BRP). The municipality first processes the changed sex registration or name in the BRP; you then apply at the same municipality for a new travel document.

The application procedure

The procedure runs as a regular passport application:

• Make an appointment at Civil Affairs (Burgerzaken) at your municipality.
• Bring a recent passport photo that meets the requirements of the Dutch government.
• Submit your old travel document (unless expired or lost).
• Pay the fee. The amount varies per municipality and per document type.
• The document can be collected after about five working days or is delivered.

Sex entry in the passport

The Dutch passport records sex as M (male) or F (female). These fields follow ICAO standard 9303 for travel documents and are internationally uniform. Some countries also have an X entry, but the Netherlands does not. An X entry in a passport is moreover not always practical: a number of destinations do not accept X at border control and some airlines cannot match reservations.

Travelling with a document that differs from your appearance or biological sex

As long as your passport has not been replaced, you can travel with the old document. At border controls within the EU this is rarely a problem; outside it can lead to questions. There is also a principled side: in some security and identity checks (airports with body scanners, medical procedures abroad), biological sex is considered relevant. A passport that is legally correct but differs from the observed or biological sex can cause delay or further questioning. Enquire in advance with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the situation in your destination.

Urgent applications

For urgent cases you can apply for an emergency passport. Higher fees and a shorter processing time apply.

Critical note: identity, identification and security

A passport is not a statement of identity, but an identification document issued by the state by which persons are linked, at borders and in databases, to biometric and biological characteristics. The more legal sex registration is decoupled from biological sex, the greater the need for parallel markers for safety and health. In some countries, medical records and border controls therefore additionally use biological sex alongside legal gender. This is outside Dutch practice but is a relevant point for travellers.