Free Name Change Checklist

Every name change is the same four government steps in a strict order plus a different pile of accounts. Answer five questions and this builds your plan: what to do first, which passport form you need, your state's licensing agency with its fee and deadline, and everyone else to tell. Print it, copy it, or carry your answers straight into the free forms.

Why the list is in this order

Every state's licensing agency verifies your new name against the Social Security database electronically, so Social Security has to change first and the record needs a day or two to propagate. Banks, employers and airlines then verify against your government ID, which is why the license and passport come before them. Skip the order and you get sent home at a counter, which is the single most common name-change do-over.

What the checklist does and doesn't do

• It names your state's agency (all 50 states and DC) and puts it in the right step, so you're not searching "DMV" in a state that calls it the BMV, MVC or Secretary of State.
• It picks your passport form from the issue date (DS-5504 free under a year, otherwise DS-82) and computes your state deadline from your wedding or decree date where the state has one.
• It's the first half of the free packet. Click through and your answers carry over: the packet fills the SS-5, the passport form and your notification letters in your browser. For the long tail of accounts after the government steps, the tracker saves your progress.
• It isn't legal advice. A marriage certificate or a divorce decree with a restoration clause covers every step here; a name that isn't on either needs a court petition first.