Changing Your Name After Marriage: The 2026 Guide

Changing your name is the least romantic job of the first married year, and the one most often done in the wrong order. The sequence matters because each agency checks against the one before it: the Social Security Administration against your marriage certificate, the DMV against Social Security, your bank against your driver’s license. Do it in order and it is a few weeks of errands. Do it out of order and you will be sent home from a counter at least once.

There is no deadline and no obligation. Nobody has to change their name when they marry, and nothing in this guide is required if you keep yours.

First, decide on the name

Keep your own name. No paperwork at all. Many people use their spouse’s surname socially and keep their own legally and professionally.

Take your spouse’s surname. The most common change, and the simplest.

Hyphenate, or use two surnames without a hyphen. Decide which, and use it the same way everywhere. Airline and bank systems handle hyphens and spaces inconsistently, so consistency across your documents matters more than the choice.

Move your current surname to your middle name. A common compromise that keeps your old name on the record.

Your spouse takes your name, or you both change. Federal agencies accept a marriage document for a name change by either spouse. Rules for anything more inventive vary by state. California’s Name Equality Act of 2007, for example, lets either spouse choose on the marriage license application to take the other’s surname, either birth surname, or a blended or combined surname. Many other states treat a newly created surname as a court-ordered name change, which means a petition and a fee. Check with your county clerk before you apply for the license, because in some states the choice must be written on it.

Step 1: Certified copies of the marriage certificate

After the wedding, your officiant returns the signed license to the county or city clerk, which records it and issues the marriage certificate. Order several certified copies, usually from the same office or the state’s vital records department. Three to five is sensible: agencies keep some documents and return others, and you will want to run steps in parallel. A photocopy or the decorative certificate from the ceremony will not be accepted.

If you married abroad, you will need the foreign marriage record with an apostille and a certified English translation; our guide to destination weddings explains why many couples marry legally at home first.

Step 2: Social Security

Everything else follows from your Social Security record, and so does your tax return: the IRS matches the names on returns against Social Security’s records, so a mismatch can delay a refund.

It is free. The SSA does not charge for a replacement card, and you keep the same number.

Some of it is now online. Since 2024, the SSA has let newlyweds in participating states request a name change online, with their marriage certificate and identification to hand. Its August 2024 notice listed 21 states, from Arkansas to Wyoming, and advised waiting at least 30 days after the marriage before applying. Whether you qualify depends on your state and your circumstances. The SSA’s website asks a few questions and then tells you whether you can finish online, need to start online and bring documents to an office, or should book an appointment.

Otherwise, book an appointment. You will need Form SS-5, proof of identity, and evidence of the name change: the certified marriage certificate, which the SSA returns. The SSA says the new card arrives by mail in five to ten business days after it completes the request.

Give the change a few days to reach the government databases before you go to the DMV.

Step 3: Driver’s license and REAL ID

Each state runs its own process, and most require a visit in person for a name change. Bring your certified marriage certificate, your current license and whatever proof of address your state asks for.

This is the moment to make sure your license is REAL ID-compliant, marked with a star in the upper corner. Federal enforcement began on May 7, 2025, and since February 1, 2026, the TSA has charged a $45 fee for its ConfirmID identity check to travelers who arrive without a REAL ID or another acceptable document such as a passport. REAL ID applications require documents that link your name history, so the marriage certificate is essential if your birth certificate shows a different name.

Step 4: Your passport

The State Department’s form depends on how recently your passport was issued. Fees below are current as of September 2026.

You will send your current passport, one new photo and a certified copy of your marriage certificate. Online passport renewal cannot be used for a name change; the State Department limits it to people who are not changing personal information such as their name. Routine processing currently takes four to six weeks, plus mailing time.

Don’t change it before the honeymoon. Airline tickets must match the ID you travel on. Book the honeymoon in your current name, travel on your current passport, and start the change when you are home. See planning the honeymoon.

Step 5: Money, work and everything else

With a new Social Security card and license, the rest can be done in any order, often online.

• Employer: tell HR and payroll so your pay records match Social Security, and update your email signature and professional profiles when you’re ready.
• Banks and credit cards: most want the marriage certificate and new ID. Order new checks and cards.
• Investments and retirement accounts: update your name, and review beneficiaries while you’re there.
• Insurance: health, car, home or renter’s and life.
• Professional licenses: nursing, law, teaching and other boards have their own forms and deadlines.
• Property and vehicles: leases, mortgages, car titles and registrations.
• Utilities, phone, doctors, pharmacies and airline and hotel loyalty programs.

The archive’s name-change list is our original checklist and still useful for the long tail of accounts.

Voting

Update your voter registration after you change your name, through your state election office or vote.gov. If you move when you marry, re-register at your new address.

Keep a certified marriage certificate with your important papers. Proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration have been debated in Congress, and if your current name doesn’t match your birth certificate, your marriage certificate is the document that links the two. Check your state’s current rules well before any registration deadline.

For same-sex couples

The process is identical. Marriage between same-sex couples has been legal nationwide since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, and the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022 requires the federal government to recognize those marriages. Social Security, the State Department and state DMVs process name changes the same way for every married couple. If you married abroad in a country that recognizes only civil unions, ask a lawyer how that record will be treated before you begin.

Keeping track

Keep a simple list: every agency, the date you applied and the date the new document arrived. Scan each new card. And keep one piece of ID in your old name valid until every account has caught up. A few weeks with two names is normal, and the thank-you notes can go out under either one.