How to fill out ESTA as a married woman?

What are the rules for names?

• This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the New York Forum, the discussion board on my blog: if you’re a married woman, should you use your maiden name or married name on the ESTA form? It’s a real puzzle when filling out the ESTA, the travel authorization required before any trip to the United States.
• The confusion is even greater because the official ESTA website sets no clear rule. When you fill out the ESTA, the help section simply asks you to “enter your family name as it appears in your passport in the family name field.” To make matters worse, airlines don’t always give the same answer—it depends on which agent you speak with.
• So what should you put? While US authorities and airlines remain vague about maiden name versus married name, they do enforce one strict rule: your passport, airline ticket, and ESTA must all show the same name! You won’t be allowed to board the plane or enter the United States if your passport shows SMITH and your ESTA shows JONES.

Which name should you use? Married name or maiden name?

As I mentioned above, there’s only one rule that matters: the same name must appear on all three documents—ESTA, passport, and airline ticket. So how do you choose between maiden name and married name? Here are the two scenarios:

1/ When to use your maiden name on the ESTA

• If you haven’t yet bought your airline tickets and your passport shows Mrs. XXX married name YYY, I recommend filing your ESTA under your maiden name XXX. Why? Because that’s the first name that appears on your passport, and it’s the name shown on the machine-readable zone at the bottom of your passport, next to the chevrons.
• You should then enter the name YYY in the field “are you known by any other name.”
• IMPORTANT: your airline ticket must also be issued under the name XXX, or under both names XXX YYY.

2/ When to use your married name on the ESTA

• Your passport shows Mrs. XXX married name YYY and your airline tickets were issued under your married name YYY? In that case, I recommend filing your ESTA under your married name YYY.
• You can then enter your maiden name XXX in the field “are you known by any other name.” But this is not required at all. Using only your married name on all three documents is perfectly sufficient.
• The key is simply to make sure your married name appears on your ESTA, airline ticket, and passport. In this case, you don’t need to include your maiden name.