Name change process

This blog article was helpful https://welcometothewilliams.com/how-to-change-your-last-name-after-marriage/?frame-nonce=99f19d8aac&preview=true&iframe=true&revision=3&calypso_token=b36c3372-caa9-4ca2-8bf5-1892b371cc7a

I also read somewhere that if you update your passport within a year of marriage it is free. I would look into that.

When I went to the Social Security office, they gave me a form that says I changed my name. I also got my replacement card in the mail a week after I went to the office (although I'm sure it can take longer). For the passport, there is a specific form online, which can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/change-correct.html


If you got a new passport within the year, the name change is free. If it has been more than a year, you have to pay the new passport fee. For either process, you need new pictures and to submit your old passport and a document supporting the name change (such as a copy of your wedding certificate).

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My state’s dmv website says you just need the confirmation paper you get at the SSA office not the actual card. I have to renew my passport and change my name at the same time. I’ll need the form that’s online, new photo, $110 fee, old passport, marriage certificate.

Mine didnt take that long. If I remember correctly I had my new card within a week. I think the guy told me to give it like 48 hours for name to update in the system before heading to the DMV but I opted to wait until I had the card in hand to avoid any issues.

I was told you needed your social security card before going to the DMV, but when I went to the DMV they didn’t want to see my social security card... they just asked for my old drivers license and my marriage license. I’m in NJ

I went to the dmv the next day! They give you a print out with your new name and they just say to wait 24 hours for it to process in the system!

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Do check your own state's rules. With the new Real ID requirements, states have started requiring ID they didn't before. In Maryland, for example, to get a driver's license that is Real ID, you have to have the following:

• * Proof of age and identity, such as an original U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport
• * A Social Security Card, W-2 form (not more than 18 months old), or SSA-1099 form (not more than 18 months old)
• * Two proofs of Maryland physical address, such as vehicle registration, insurance card, bank statement, credit card or utility bill or mail from a federal, state or local government agency.

http://www.mva.maryland.gov/realid/real-id-faqs.htm

So you could have trouble if you haven't yet got your Social Security card.

Yes, when you go get your license to wed, ask them to explain the local protocol. If you want or need to do it quickly, order two certified copies of your marriage certificate. I had to go do social security in person (for personal reasons - I was running up against my 12 month window for free passport name change) and could then go to the DMV/DOT as soon as 48 hours after my info was entered with social security. Had I had more time, I could have saved myself some pain (😁) and just mailed one marriage certificate and application to the social security office and then mailed another marriage certificate to the passport office and then whenever one of those certificates came back headed to the DMV/DOT.

I got my new SS card in 1 week. But you do not have to wait to go to the DMV. When I was at the SSA office, they told me I could go to the DMV 24 hours later and it would be updated in their system. I am not sure abut the passport. I have not done that part yet.