Update Your Passport, SIN, and Birth Certificate After Divorce in BC

Update Your SIN Record First

Your Social Insurance Number doesn't change after a divorce, but the name attached to it in Service Canada's records needs to match your current legal name. If you've reverted to your birth name or changed your name, update your SIN record before applying for a new passport as part of the federal identity-update sequence.

Visit any Service Canada Centre in person with:

• Your Certificate of Divorce (or Divorce Order with the court stamp)
• Your marriage certificate (the government-issued vital statistics version, not a ceremonial document)
• Your birth certificate
• One piece of current government-issued photo ID

There's no fee and no form to fill out. The agent updates the record on the spot. Service Canada no longer issues physical SIN cards — you'll receive a confirmation letter instead. Keep it with your other identity documents.

Apply for a New Passport

If you're changing your name on your passport, you'll need to apply for a new one — Passport Canada doesn't amend existing passports for name changes. This is a full new application, not a renewal.

What you'll need:

• Completed passport application form (PPTC 153 for adults)
• Two recent passport photos meeting Canadian specifications
• Your current passport (it will be cancelled and returned to you)
• Certificate of Divorce or Divorce Order
• Marriage certificate
• Birth certificate (Canadian-born applicants) or citizenship certificate
• One guarantor who has known you for at least two years and holds a valid Canadian passport

Fees and processing:

• 10-year adult passport: $135 plus photos
• Processing time: 10 business days in person at a Passport Canada office, or 20 business days by mail
• Express service (next business day): additional $110 at participating offices
• Urgent service (same day for travel within 24 hours): additional $175

If you're keeping your married name, you don't need a new passport until your current one expires. But if you've reverted to your birth name and your passport still shows your married name, you'll face questions at border crossings where your passport name doesn't match your boarding pass or other ID.

Update Your BC Birth Certificate

If you went through a formal legal name change with BC Vital Statistics (the $137 application under the Name Act, not the free surname assumption process), your BC birth record is automatically updated. You don't need to do anything extra — Vital Statistics amends the record as part of processing your name change application.

If you assumed your birth name after divorce (the free path that doesn't require a formal application), your birth certificate doesn't change because it already shows your birth name. You use your "linking documents" — birth certificate, marriage certificate, and divorce certificate — together to prove the chain of identity when dealing with agencies.

When you actually need a new birth certificate copy:

• Your original is lost, damaged, or was surrendered during a legal name change application
• You need an updated certificate showing your legal name change (only relevant if you went through the formal Vital Statistics process)

Ordering a replacement costs $27 from BC Vital Statistics, with a processing time of about 5 business days.

The Right Sequence Matters

These federal updates fit into a larger identity document sequence that starts at the provincial level. If you're also changing your name:

1. Health Insurance BC (HIBC) — update your MSP record first (free, online or by phone)
2. ICBC — update your driver's licence and BC Services Card ($17 replacement fee) — ICBC requires the HIBC confirmation letter before processing
3. Service Canada — update your SIN record (free, in person)
4. Passport Canada — apply for a new passport ($135 plus photos)

Attempting these out of order — especially going to ICBC before HIBC — results in your application being rejected and having to rebook an appointment.

The BC After-Divorce Checklist maps every identity document update into this exact sequence, including the linking documents each agency requires and the fees at each step.

See more British Columbia guides →