Social Security offices is not opening any time so Can't do name change it's sad.

Man, that blows. May I ask which state you live in?


Do you have a passport? If you mail a birth certificate but hang onto your passport you’ll at least still have a piece of primary ID in your possession, should something go awry. I had to mail my original birth certificate to get my passport and it came back in a timely manner.
Or maybe get a certified copy of your birth certificate and hang onto that?
That sucks though!

You can mail the documents certified and return receipt requested. This way it is more likely they get there appropriately. In terms of the marriage certificate, we specifically got 2 copies when we picked them up for that exact reason: having a spare in the event 1 gets lost. I understand the hesitancy to submit legal documents via the mail, but unfortunately it's either that or waiting. Did they give a timeline as to when they think they may be opening up? Pretty much every state has started to open up and drop mandates, so I would assume it's on a matter of time before the federal offices follow suit.

I had to do this by mail last June and it was fine! I mailed everything certified and then they mailed me back my new card with all of my original documents probably within 3-4 weeks!

It can be done. You have to mail a photo ID (driver’s license, work ID, passport etc) and marriage certificate.
However there’s no timeframe that you have to do it within so you can wait if you’re not comfortable doing so.

I changed my name during covid. Mail the documents certified and including a certified return label. No issues, they were surprisingly fast.

You can order additional originals from your state vital records office. They don’t mean you have to send the one you signed that day, they mean an original issued from vital records.

I had the same issue in August. I called the office (I'm in FL) and they told me to mail my passport, my marriage certificate, and the "name change form" found on the Social Security website. Go to the post office and send it "certified" like other posters have mentioned. Then you can track your documents and see when they are delivered. You can get certified copies of your marriage certificate wherever you got your marriage license. It costs $1.00 per extra copy. I got 5 extra copies because I needed to change a lot of stuff and it was easier to send everything in the mail during covid. Hope this helps!

Did you call your local office or the 1800 customer service number? Call your local office and ask them what documents they actually need right now. I read that a bunch of different documents were needed but when I called they only needed a certified copy of my marriage license and the filled in application. They mailed me back my certified copy a week later and I got my new SS card 4 weeks after that. You should never need the "original" that you actually signed day of, but you can purchase extra certified copies from the clerks office. They just can't take a photocopy. I got 3 extra copies and really only ever needed the one but I'm glad I have them

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I did call the 1-800 number and that is what i was told. However the originals i need to keep on hand

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I have a certified copy of ALL those however i don't have a passport at all. i live in Pennsylvania. I'm just not mailing my ORIGINALS anywhere.

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No they didn't I actually asked about this they stated that they run on FEDERAL guidelines not state and even though states are opening up they are not and i was told that's the entire US

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I understand i just dont trust sending that in

View Quoted Comment So that’s your choice. It’s not that you *cant*. But clearly plenty of people have done this and had no issues.

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That's why I said don't call the 1800 number. Look up your local office and call them. You also don't need to mail your original documents you need to go to where you got your marriage certificate and request certified copies. Plenty of people have said they had no issues with mailing so if you don't want to request certified copies or mail any documents then you'll just have to wait.

I did mine by mail. No issues.

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I have a certified copy of my marriage license only 1 though didnt think we would need 2 lol. I will probably wait most likely

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Yes it is and that's amazing they did. I don't have any extra driver's license or social security cards lying around my house like that .

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Thanks i only got 1 certified copy of my license not knowing i would run into this issue but sending it certified would make sense as long as they send the certified back to me.

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I have a certified copy of my marriage license only 1 though just found out about this issue which sucks i will probably send it certified to them maybe

View Quoted Comment You can always get more. That's what I did. I didn't know I'd need more than one either. One of those things they don't tell you about getting married lol