Global Entry makes international travel dramatically easier, but a married name change adds a step: your Global Entry record has to match your new passport. Because Global Entry verifies you against your U.S. passport, you update the passport first, then tell U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about the change. Here is exactly how, including the online option CBP added in 2025, from the MissNowMrs name change experts.
Step 1: Change Your Passport First
Global Entry is tied to your U.S. passport, so your passport has to show your married name before Global Entry can. File Form DS-11, or DS-82 if you qualify to renew by mail, to update it. Our step-by-step passport name change guide walks through the whole thing. Once your new passport arrives, move on to Step 2.
Step 2: Gather Your Documents
Have these ready before you file: your new U.S. passport in your married name, your old passport in your maiden name, and your certified marriage certificate. CBP wants to see the legal document behind the change, so the marriage certificate matters just as much as the new passport.
Step 3: Submit Your Name Change to CBP
Since February 2025 you can handle this two ways, online or in person. An enrollment-center visit is no longer universally required, although CBP may request additional evidence or an in-person visit in an individual case.
Option A: Online (fastest to start). Go straight to the Submit a CBP name-change request form and select:
- Topic: “Trusted Traveler Programs (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST)”
- Applicable Issue: “Change my name due to marriage/divorce/legal (attach applicable documentation)”
- TCC Program: “TTP: Global Entry” (choose NEXUS or SENTRI instead if that is your program)
- Enter your email, describe the marriage name change, and attach your new passport and marriage certificate.
CBP’s form lists an average email response of 3 to 5 business days, and the name change itself typically finishes processing in about 3 to 8 weeks.
Option B: In person. You can also update at a regular Global Entry Enrollment Center. Bring your Global Entry card, your new U.S. passport, and your certified marriage certificate. Walk-in hours vary and some centers are appointment-only, so call ahead to confirm they handle document updates and what to bring. One caution: Enrollment on Arrival is only for conditionally approved applicants completing an interview, not for member name changes.
Cost and your card. Updating your name in CBP’s system is free. A replacement Global Entry card showing your new name is optional and costs $25; ordering it deactivates your old card. A replacement card does not restart your membership, it keeps your existing expiration date, so you still renew when your current term ends.
Your Known Traveler Number (KTN) Stays the Same
Good news: your KTN / PASS ID does not change when you update your name, so there is no new number to memorize. Do update the name in your airline frequent-flyer profiles and on any upcoming reservations, though. TSA PreCheck (included with Global Entry) only appears on your boarding pass when the name on your ticket matches your Trusted Traveler profile and your KTN is attached, so a name mismatch can quietly drop PreCheck at check-in.
Traveling Soon? Handle It Early
For international travel we always advise erring on the side of caution. If your trip is more than a few weeks out, you have time. If it is less than about four weeks away, move quickly: expedite the passport at an in-person passport-agency appointment, and remember the Global Entry update can take 3 to 8 weeks online. Above all, the name on your ticket must match the name on the passport you travel with, so do not book or fly on a mismatch. For more, see the full name change checklist.
NEXUS or SENTRI Member?
Submit your name change under the program you are actually enrolled in: Global Entry members choose Global Entry, NEXUS members choose NEXUS, and SENTRI members choose SENTRI. You do not file a separate Global Entry request just because your NEXUS or SENTRI membership includes Global Entry benefits.