Guidance

Peru: Knowledge Base profile

Published 12 September 2025

About: Peru

This document contains useful information about Peru which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 8 September 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This guidance has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Peru: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Peru.

Names in Peru consist of:

• 1 forename
• 2 surnames consisting of:
  • father’s (paternal) surname; and,
  • mother’s (paternal) surname

For example, if the father’s name is Alfonso SUAREZ ALVA and the mother’s name is Laura ABRULU PEREZ, the child’s surname will be SUAREZ ABRULU.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Peru.

Following a marriage in Peru, a woman cannot remove any part of her maiden surname but can add her husband’s surname to it using the word ‘de’.  For example, if Maria Gracia GUITIERREZ PEREZ marries Fred HEART she can take the name Maria Gracia GUITIERREZ PEREZ de HEART. It is not compulsory for the woman to add their married name to their Peru passport.

Change of name deeds or affidavits must be sworn before a local notary public in Peru. This must be officially translated and apostilled at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When the change of name is accepted a new Peru passport can be issued in the new name.

Peru: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Peru.

Dual nationality is recognised in Peru.

Peru: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Peru.

Legitimacy

From 14 November 1984 Peru does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means from this date, all children are born legitimate whether their parents are married or not.

Parental responsibility

Both parents hold parental responsibility for their child in Peru.

If the parents’ divorce, they must agree on parental responsibility. If the parents cannot decide, a judge will make this decision.

Peru: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Peru.

Adoption is legal in Peru.

Peru: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Peru.

Surrogacy is not recognised in Peru.

Peru: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Peru.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Peru.

Peru: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Peru.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are not recognised in Peru.

Civil marriages are legally recognised in Peru.

Religious and customary marriages are allowed in Peru but must be registered in a central register to be legally recognised.

Peru: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Peru.

All births, marriages and deaths in Peru are registered in a central register with the Registro Necional de Identificacion y Estado Civil (RENIEC).

Peru issues digital documents, as well as physical documents. For HM Passport Office purposes, physical documents must be provided.

Birth certificates

All births must be registered in Peru. There is no time scale for a birth to be registered.

Birth certificates are issued following the registration of all births in Peru.

The RENIEC issue one type of birth certificate. Some remote areas of the country may issue a birth certificate in a slightly different format.

If an error is identified on a Peru birth certificate, the original certificate will have a marginal note added to explain the error.

Marriage certificates

Civil marriages are registered with the RENIEC when the marriage takes place and a certificate is issued.

Death certificates

All deaths in Peru should be registered within 24 hours.

Death certificates are issued when the death is registered.

Identity documents

Peru introduced a biometric passport on 8 July 2016 which is valid for:

• 5 years for a person aged 12 years or over
• 3 years for children under 12

Before 8 July 2016 when a Peru passport expired, it could be renewed as the same passport document. The term ‘Revalidación’ on a Peru passport means renewal. To renew a passport in this way:

• a new personal page was added to the last page with new expiry date (if renewed in Peru)
• a stamp was added to one of the passport pages showing the new expiry date, stating the passport has been renewed at a Peru Embassy (if renewed outside of Peru)
• the customer would keep the same passport number