Apply for a new identity card due to change of name on marriage

Your ID card is invalid after a name change. If your surname has changed, for example following a marriage or the establishment of a civil partnership, you must apply for a new ID card. The same applies to your children if their names also change when you get married. If the children are under the age of 16, applying for a new ID card is voluntary and only depends on the extent to which an ID document is required for travelling across borders.

There is one exception: as long as you have a valid passport document, i.e. a passport or temporary passport, with the new name, you do not need to apply for a new ID card.

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

If you need your new ID card immediately after marriage with a change of name or after establishing a civil partnership with a change of name, for example for a trip abroad, you can apply for your ID card with the new name at the earliest 8 weeks before the planned date of marriage or establishment of a civil partnership.

All ID cards have electronic proof of identity (online ID card). The online ID function is automatically activated on all ID cards issued from July 2017 for people over the age of 16. If you have set a six-digit PIN of your choice, you can use it to identify yourself to authorities and companies when using online services with a high level of trust. You may 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.