Name Change After Marriage Checklist — Printable, in the Right Order

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. Then scroll for the complete written checklist — 5 government steps and 31 accounts — and the printable PDF.

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.

The complete name change after marriage checklist

Below is the full written checklist the tool above personalises — the same five government steps every state uses, in the order the agencies verify one another, followed by the 31 accounts most people have to update. Tick it off on screen, print it, or download the PDF further down.

Before the wedding: decide the name, then get the copies

• Decide the exact new name before you sign the marriage license. Spelling, hyphen or no hyphen, maiden name as middle name — every agency copies what Social Security records first, so pick once.
• Order at least three certified copies of the marriage certificate from the office that records it: county clerk or recorder in most states, the probate court in a few, the state vital records office in others. Not the decorative certificate from the ceremony.
• Check your passport's issue date. Under one year old means the correction is free (DS-5504); older means a paid renewal (DS-82, $130). If a honeymoon flight is inside the next 6 weeks, plan to travel in your current name.

1. Social Security — always first, always free

• Form SS-5 with one certified copy and your current ID, in person at any office or by mail. Start online in my Social Security to skip the queue.
• Wait 24–48 hours after SSA confirms. The card arrives in about two weeks, but it's the electronic record the license office checks — and it updates in days.
• Nothing to file with the IRS. It syncs from Social Security; file your next return in the new name so it matches your W-2.

2. Driver's license or state ID

• In person at your state's licensing agency (DMV, BMV, MVC, RMV or Secretary of State — the tool above names yours) with the certified copy, your current license and the fee ($3–$42 by state).
• Ask for REAL ID if your license doesn't have the star yet — you're already carrying the document REAL ID applicants most often lack. Bring two proofs of residency.
• Vehicle title and registration in the same trip; they don't follow the license automatically.
• Mind the state deadline — 10 to 30 days in most states that publish one. The state table lists every agency, fee and deadline with the official link.

3. Passport

• Mail the form, the current passport and a certified copy; add two new photos for DS-82 and DS-11.
• Book flights in whichever name the passport will show on travel day. Airlines match the ticket to the ID, not to the marriage.
• Expedite ($60) only if travel is inside 6 weeks — routine service is 4–6 weeks.

4. Voter registration and work

• Voter registration — often possible at the license visit, otherwise your state's election site or vote.gov.
• Employer / HR the same week — payroll must match Social Security before the next pay run or the W-2 is wrong.
• Professional licenses and certifications — nursing, teaching, bar, real estate: each board has its own form and most want a certified copy.

5. Money, insurance, home, travel and online

Now that your government ID shows the new name, everything else verifies against it. Work through the groups below in order; the PDF prints the same list with tick boxes.

The 31-account checklist

Government first, in the order above. Then work outward the same week — each group below verifies against the one before it, which is why the sequence matters more than speed.

What a name change after marriage costs

Why this order and not another

Every state 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 — the single most common name-change do-over. The IRS is the one agency you never contact: it takes its data from Social Security, which is why a mismatch there shows up months later as a rejected tax return.

The mistakes that cost a second trip

• Going to the license office before Social Security syncs — two days is enough, a week is safe.
• Bringing the ceremony certificate instead of a certified, sealed copy from the recording office.
• Changing the bank first. Banks check your ID; a new name on the account and an old name on the license fails.
• Booking the honeymoon in the new name before the passport is back.
• Forgetting the vehicle title, the professional license, and the 401(k) beneficiary form — the three most-missed items in the tracker data.

State-specific guides

Each state guide repeats this checklist with the agency name, fee, deadline and certified-copy source filled in, and a state PDF: start from the 50-state list, the open dataset, or the tool at the top of this page.