Applying for an identity card due to name change after divorce

Your identity card is invalid after a name change. If you change your surname, for example after a divorce or the cancellation of a civil partnership, you must apply for a new ID card.

There is one exception: as long as you have a valid passport document, i.e. passport or temporary passport, with the new name, applying for an ID card with the new name is voluntary.

If your children are also affected by the change of surname, their identity cards and passports with the old name will also become invalid. For children under the age of 16, applying for a new ID card with the new name is voluntary.

You can submit the application to your local Citizens' Registration Office at your main place of residence.

All ID cards automatically have the online ID function. This function is generally activated on ID cards issued from July 2017. This allows you to identify yourself to authorities and companies for online services with a high level of trust as soon as you have set a six-digit PIN of your choice. You can use the online ID card after your 16th birthday.

When you apply for your ID card, the prints of your two index fingers are stored on the chip of the card. Children under the age of 6 are excluded from this regulation.

• § Section 9 of the Identity Card Act (PAuswG)

• old identity card or passport with the old name
• if available: valid passport with the new name
• Divorce certificate
• Certificate of name from the registry office
• Biometric digital passport photo: taken on site at the authority or by a registered domestic photo service provider, e.g. a photographer

From 1 May 2025, only digitally created biometric photographs will be accepted in the application process.
The photograph can be taken by external service providers (e.g. photographers) who make it available to the passport or ID card authority in a cloud for retrieval.
Alternatively, digital photographs can usually also be taken at the passport or ID card authority.
If necessary, find out before your appointment whether the photo can be taken at the authority.
Printed passport photos that you have brought with you can only be processed in exceptional cases.

• You have adopted a new surname after the divorce.

If you want to apply for a new ID card due to a change of name, proceed as follows:

• You make an appointment at your local citizens' office.
  • If you do not apply for your ID card at your main place of residence, you need an important reason and must pay a surcharge on the fee.
• You bring the necessary documents with you.
• You pay the fee.
• Your fingerprints will be taken on the spot to store them in the chip of the ID document.
• You will immediately receive a new one-time PIN. You can use this to make your online ID function ready for use when you apply for a new ID card, for example by setting a six-digit PIN of your choice at home. You decide yourself when you want to use this option.
• Your Citizens' Registration Office will inform you when you apply when you can collect your ID card.
  • Alternatively, in many cases you can have the ID document sent to your home address by post and handed over in person at the front door.

• Information on the ID card on a website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI)
• Questions and answers on the subject of "biometrics" and passport photos on the ID card portal
• Information on the loss or theft of an ID card on the ID card portal of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI)

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• Applying for an identity card due to name change after divorce in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

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