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You are here: Home / Archives for Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds

May 26 2021

How to Change Your Name in New York City | 2021

How to Change Your Name in New York City

Are you wondering how to change your name in New York City? The name change experts at MissNowMrs created this guide to help you save time and stress. Why? Because navigating your name change with state and government agencies in New York City can take over 13 hours!

The New York City Name Change Process

1. Understand New York City Name Change Laws

New York allows most version of married name change, but not taking your maiden as a middle name. Fortunately, there’s a loophole! It is possible to take your maiden name as a middle name IF you file your name change forms in a specific order.

File your Social Security form and your U.S. Passport forms first. Next, wait to receive both of those new documents back in your new name. Then, you can go to the New York DMV and file for your new driver’s license. Your updated Social Security card and passport will provide the necessary 6 points of identification needed by the agency for your name change.

2. The Social Security Administration

To begin your name change, find and fill out the SS-5 form. Then decide if you wish to file in-person or by mail. You will need to provide a certified marriage certificate and your driver’s license or U.S. passport for the form to be processed. Please note that photocopies are not accepted, even if you file by mail.

Pre-COVID, it typically took 2 weeks for your new SS card to be mailed to you. Now, it’s anywhere from 3-6 weeks. Your new card will have your new name, but your SSN will remain the same. If you elected to file by mail, your marriage certificate and form of ID will be returned with your new card.

3. The IRS

Completing the IRS 8822 form is not mandatory. However, it’s only 11 questions, you can file it by mail, and ensures that the IRS does not hold your tax returns if there is confusion regarding your married and married names. We consider it a no brainer!

4. The State Department

The State Department has three different name change forms, depending on your current passport status. They are the DS-11, the DS-82, and the DS-5504. After filling in the correct form, file it with your current passport, a certified copy of your marriage certificate, two passport photos, and the listed processing fee.

Usually U.S. passports take 5-6 weeks to be processed and issued. With COVID delays, that timeline can be even longer. So, it is important to take any upcoming international travel into account, before changing your name on your passport. TSA will not authorize travel under a name that is different from your current reservation.

5. The New York City DMV

Once you have your new SS card and passport in your married name, it’s time to tackle changing your name on your driver’s license. Complete the New York Department of Motor Vehicles Application for Driver’s license and bring it to the DMV along with your current driver’s license, certified marriage certificate in English, SS card, passport, and proof of residence if you have recently moved. The fee for your new license is $12.50, and it will be issued the same day you apply.

6. The New York City Voter Registration Bureau

Next up is updating your name with the New York Voter Registration Bureau. Simply complete the New York State Voter Registration Application and mail it to your County Board of Elections with a photocopy of your new driver’s license. This ensures that you will be able to vote under your married name in the next election.

7. ALL of Your Creditors and Accounts

As you wrap up filing all government forms, it’s time to update all of your creditors. We advise starting with your employer and your banking institutions. Typically, they will ask you to file a form in-person and show a certified marriage certificate (and occasionally your new SS card.)

Next, update your name with your loan providers, credit card companies, mortgage providers, utilities, and professional licensing boards. Most of them will change your name by phone, or via an online form. Finally, change your name on of your accounts, memberships, periodicals, frequent flyer programs, and on social media. Every company’s policy will be different, but many will allow you to login and make the update on your own.

8. New York City Name Change Made Easy

Now that you’ve learned how to change your name in New York City are you anxious? Skip 13 hours of stress and hassle with the MissNowMrs name change app or online service. We’d be delighted to streamline your name change into a matter of minutes!

New York City Married Name Change Service

Written by Danielle Tate · Categorized: Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds

Apr 28 2021

How to Change Your Name in Wyoming | 2021

How to change your name in Wyoming after marriage

Wyoming charges you a full renewal to put your married name on a driver’s license. Not the $25 duplicate fee you would expect, but the standard $35 renewal, in exchange for a brand new five-year license. You also hand over your old card at the counter and wait four to six weeks for the new one to arrive. Knowing that before you go changes how you plan the whole thing.

Six Things People Get Wrong Here

Read these before you drive anywhere

  • There is no Wyoming DMV. Driver licensing belongs to WYDOT Driver Services, and the counter you want is a driver exam office. Searching for a DMV is how people end up reading another state’s rules.
  • You surrender your license. Wyoming requires you to “appear in person at any Wyoming driver exam office, surrender your current Wyoming license or ID card”. There is no keeping the old one as a souvenir.
  • The new card takes 4 to 6 weeks in the post. Plan around any travel or car purchase in that window.
  • The state office charges five times what your county clerk charges for the same certified copy. $25 in Cheyenne, $5 at a county clerk.
  • Wyoming has no online voter registration, and if you post the form it has to be notarized first.
  • Social Security comes first, always. WYDOT will not issue the new credential until Social Security has your married name.
Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Step 1: The $5 Copy, Not the $25 One

Your marriage record lives with the county clerk that issued the license, and that is also the cheapest place to buy a certified copy. Natrona County publishes it plainly: a certified copy of a marriage license is $5.00, against $30 for the license itself. Other counties run a dollar or two higher. Buy two while you are there, because Social Security wants to see one and the driver exam office wants to see one. Natrona County Clerk: marriage licenses · our guide to certified marriage certificates

The Wyoming Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Services in Cheyenne holds the same records and charges $25 per certified copy, a fee that rose by $5 in 2021. It is the right call only if you have moved away and cannot get back to the county, or if you no longer remember which county issued the license. It can only issue records for marriages that actually happened in Wyoming. 2300 Capitol Avenue, Hathaway Building, Cheyenne, (307) 777-7591. Wyoming Vital Statistics: marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, With Only Three Offices in the State

Wyoming is one of the states where Social Security accepts a marriage name change online, which matters more here than almost anywhere else: there are only 3 Social Security field offices in the entire state. SSA policy RM 10205.630 lists Wyoming as yes for a replacement card and yes for a last-name change due to marriage. Otherwise it is form SS-5, free, and your number does not change. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide

WYDOT is explicit that this comes first: “If you have not changed your name with the Social Security Administration, you will need to do so prior to applying for your new credential.” Here is the entire list of Wyoming offices, which is short enough to read in one go:

OfficeAddressCityZIPPhone
Casper150 E B StCasper82601(866) 964-3972
Cheyenne3001 E Pershing BlvdCheyenne82001(866) 336-7580
Sheridan2268 N Main StSheridan82801(866) 530-7798

Step 3: The Driver Exam Office, and the $35

What Wyoming wants at the counter

  • You, in person, at any Wyoming driver exam office.
  • Your current license or ID card, which you surrender there and then.
  • Legal proof of the change: “a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree … or other legal verification of a name change signed by a judge”.
  • Social Security already updated.
  • The standard renewal fee: $35 for a Class C license. A duplicate would have been $25, an ID card is $10, and any class of CDL is $45.

What you get back is not a corrected version of the old card. It is a new license, valid five years (ID cards run eight), and it is “mailed to you in approximately 4 to 6 weeks”.

Wyoming publishes no deadline for reporting a name change. The 10-day rule you may run into belongs to address changes, not names. Driver Services is on 307-777-4800 if your card has not arrived. WYDOT: add or change information · WYDOT driver license fees · our driver’s license name change guide

Step 4: The Title, at the County Clerk Again

Wyoming does not title vehicles at the state level. Your county clerk does it, on the Application for Certificate of Title, form MV-300A, and each county sets its own fees. Carbon County, as a worked example, charges $15 for a new or duplicate title and $10 for a VIN inspection. Carbon County: vehicle titles · WYDOT: titles, plates and registration

Because the fee is county business rather than state business, call your own clerk before you go rather than trusting a figure from a forum. Take the certified marriage copy, the current title, and your new license if it has arrived.

Voter Registration: No Website, and a Notary

This is the step that surprises people who have moved from almost anywhere else. Wyoming has no online voter registration. You register, or re-register under the new name, in person with your county clerk, or by post, and a posted application “must have this form notarized before mailing” unless you are a military or overseas voter. Wyoming Secretary of State: registering to vote · Wyoming voter registration and change form

Deadlines are friendlier than the process: in person with the clerk or by post at least 14 days before an election, and if you miss it, Wyoming still lets you register and vote at your polling place on Election Day. The 23 county clerks are the chief election officers for their counties, so the clerk who sold you the certified copy is also the person who fixes your registration. Wyoming election FAQs

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

State Income Tax: Nothing to Do

Wyoming has no personal state income tax. There is no revenue department to notify, no change-of-name form, and no fee. Most state guides have a section here; in Wyoming it is genuinely empty, which is one fewer agency than a newlywed faces in most of the country.

Your federal return still matters. The IRS matches the name on it against Social Security records, which is one more reason the SS-5 goes first.

Hunting and Fishing

Wyoming Game and Fish lets you manage almost your whole sportsperson record online, with one pointed exception: “Most customer information can be updated online with the exception of your name and date of birth.” A married name is exactly the thing the self-service portal will not touch.

Call 307-777-4600, fax 307-777-4610, or email wgfLicenseSales@wyo.gov. Changes are handled first come, first served, and you can check the record online after two or three business days. Do it before you apply for anything in the draw, so your application and your license agree. Wyoming Game and Fish: user account information

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

What a Wyoming Name Change Costs

Cost & Time at a Glance

CostAbout $55 if you buy locally: $5 for the certified copy at the county clerk, $35 for the license, and around $15 for the county title, plus $10 if a VIN inspection is needed. Buy the certificate from Cheyenne instead and the same job costs $75 or more.
TimeSocial Security first, and it can be done online here. Then one trip to a driver exam office. The long pole is the 4 to 6 weeks your new license spends in the post.
DeadlineNone published for the license. For voting, 14 days before an election if you register with the clerk or by post, or turn up at the polls on Election Day.

Your County Clerk Does Three of These Jobs

Wyoming pushes a striking amount of this process down to the county. The same clerk sells the certified copy, titles the car, and registers you to vote:

JobWho does itWhat it costs
Certified marriage copyCounty clerk that issued the license$5 in Natrona County; budget $5 to $6
Certified copy if you have left the stateVital Statistics Services, Cheyenne$25
Vehicle title in the new nameCounty clerk, form MV-300A$15 in Carbon County, set county by county
VIN inspection, if requiredCounty clerk$10 in Carbon County
Voter registration under the new nameCounty clerk, or by post with a notaryFree
Driver licenseWYDOT driver exam office, not the county$35

Which Married Name Wyoming Will Print

Taking your spouse’s surname, hyphenating the two, or moving your maiden name into the middle slot all run on the certified marriage certificate, and none of them involves a judge. WYDOT’s own list of acceptable proof puts the marriage certificate alongside a court order, which tells you how it views the document: it is legal proof of the change, full stop.

A first-name change, or a surname that has nothing to do with the marriage, is a different animal. That is a district court petition, filed where you live, and the filing fee is set locally rather than published as one statewide number. Settle the exact spelling with Social Security before you go to the driver exam office, because Wyoming prints what Social Security has verified.

Professional Licenses

Wyoming licenses profession by profession, with no single statewide portal to log in to. The pattern is the same everywhere, so work it in this order:

StepWhat to do
1. Finish the government stepsSocial Security, then the license. Most boards want to see a document that already shows the new name
2. Contact your own board directlyNursing, real estate, insurance, engineering and the rest each keep their own records and their own forms
3. Send what they ask forUsually the certified marriage copy, your license number, and a written request from you rather than from your employer
4. Check the renewal dateSeveral boards reprint the credential only at renewal, so the record changes now and the certificate changes later

So Wyoming in order: $5 certified copy from the county clerk that issued your license, Social Security next and probably online, then a driver exam office for the $35 renewal, then back to the county clerk for the title and your voter registration. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts once the new license lands, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Written by Danielle Tate · Categorized: Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds, State Name Change Tips

Apr 27 2021

How to Change Your Name in North Dakota

How to change your name in North Dakota after marriage

North Dakota charges $3.00 to put your married name on your driver license. That is not a typo, and it is the cheapest counter in this whole guide. What nobody tells you is the other half of the sentence: you have 10 days to get there.

Which Married Name Can You Take in North Dakota?

If you are taking your spouse’s surname, your marriage certificate is the whole legal story. No court, no petition, no filing fee. North Dakota treats the certificate as the name change document and every counter in this guide works from it.

One word in the state’s own wording does the heavy lifting, though. NDDOT asks for a “government issued marriage certificate”, or a certified court order or divorce decree that “must have a seal”. The keepsake certificate your officiant signed and handed you at the reception is not a government document, and it will not get you a license. NDDOT: address or name change

If the name you want is not the one your marriage record shows, the marriage route has done all it can, and a district court petition is the alternative. That is a different process from this one, and worth a call to the court rather than a guess. Before you commit to anything more elaborate than your spouse’s surname, ask a Driver License Site what they will accept, because their answer governs every card you own afterwards.

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Step 1: Only One County Can Sell You This

North Dakota is unusually strict about where a marriage certificate comes from, and getting this wrong costs a wasted trip. The state Health and Human Services department says it plainly: “All certified copies of marriage records must be issued by the county where the license was originally purchased and filed.” ND HHS: certified copies of marriage records

Read that twice if you married in a different county from the one you live in. The state vital records office cannot issue a marriage certificate at all, and neither can any other county. There is exactly one building that holds your record.

WhereCan it issue your marriage certificate?Cost
The county that sold your marriage licenseYes. This is the only office that canSet by that county. Grand Forks County publishes $10.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy ordered at the same time
Any other North Dakota countyNoNot applicable
ND Health and Human Services, Vital RecordsNo. The state does not issue marriage certificatesNot applicable

Fees “may vary from county to county”, so ring yours before you drive. And buy more than one copy while you are there, because the second trip costs more than the second copy does. Grand Forks County example · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, Which You Can Do Without Driving

This is the step where North Dakota geography would normally beat you, and does not have to. The state has just 4 Social Security field offices in total, which for a lot of readers is a long morning in the car.

You can skip it. Social Security’s internet replacement card policy lists the participating states, and North Dakota is marked yes for a last name change due to marriage, not just for a plain replacement card. File it online, at no cost, and your number never changes. Social Security name change · our Social Security name change guide

If you would rather do it at a counter, here are all four:

OfficeAddressCityZIPPhone
Bismarck4207 Boulder Ridge RdBismarck58503(877) 319-6044
Fargo657 2nd Ave NFargo58102(877) 335-4114
Grand Forks402 Demers AveGrand Forks58201(888) 617-0456
Minot1414 20th Ave SwMinot58701(866) 415-3193

Step 3: $3, and a 10 Day Clock

Here is the whole transaction, from NDDOT’s own name-change page:

Fee$3.00, if you are not also renewing. NDDOT: “you will be required to submit a $3.00 fee and have a new picture taken”
Deadline10 days. “A ND Driver License Site must be visited by anyone who has a change of name to purchase a corrected license within 10 days”
WhereAny ND Driver License Site, in person. A new photograph is taken
What to bringA government issued marriage certificate, or a certified court order with a seal, or a certified divorce decree with a seal that states your current legal name
What it also doesUpdates the ID you will vote with, because North Dakota has no voter registration

Ten days is a short window, and it starts at the name change rather than at the moment paperwork catches up. The practical order is to file with Social Security the week of the wedding, collect your certified copy from the issuing county, and go. Our driver license name change guide covers what the visit is like. NDDOT driver license

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Step 4: The Car, $5 and No Tax

North Dakota charges a 5% motor vehicle excise tax when a vehicle is titled, which is the number that makes people avoid retitling after a wedding. It does not apply to you, and that is written into the state’s own manual.

  1. Complete SFN 2872, the Application for Certificate of Title & Registration of a Vehicle. NDDOT form SFN 2872
  2. Pay $5.00. The Motor Vehicle Registration Manual states it in four words: “Certificate of title fee is $5.”
  3. Pay no excise tax. The manual’s list of tax exemptions includes, at number four, “Change of name only because of marriage, adoption, or court order (entire document).” A marriage name change is expressly exempt from the 5%. NDDOT Motor Vehicle Registration Manual
  4. Skip the damage disclosure. The same manual lists “Change of a name by marriage” among the transactions where damage disclosure is not required, so that is one form fewer.

North Dakota Income Tax

We are not going to send you looking for a form that we could not find. North Dakota has an income tax and a Taxpayer Access Point, but the self-service documented in TAP covers payments, returns and business account maintenance, and the Office of State Tax Commissioner publishes no individual legal-name-change form or procedure that we could verify.

So do the part that is certain: file your North Dakota return in the name that matches your Social Security record, since that is the record the state cross-checks against. If your circumstances are more complicated than that, ring the Office of State Tax Commissioner and ask rather than filing and hoping. ND Office of State Tax Commissioner: contact

What a North Dakota Name Change Costs

Cost & Time at a Glance

CostAbout $18 for the core steps: roughly $10 for a certified marriage copy, $3 for the license, $5 for the car title. Social Security is free, the concealed weapon license change is free, and there is no voter registration to pay for. This is the cheapest state in this guide.
TimeCertified copy the same day at the issuing county. Social Security online. One in-person license visit with a new photo. Concealed weapon license by mail, 2 to 3 weeks.
Deadline10 days to get a corrected license (NDDOT). No deadline is published for the car title.
StepNorth Dakota cost
Certified marriage copy, issuing county onlyVaries. Grand Forks County publishes $10.00 first, $5.00 each additional
Social Security cardFree, and North Dakota can file it online
Driver license name change$3.00, in person, within 10 days
Vehicle title$5.00, and the 5% excise tax is exempt
Voter registrationDoes not exist in North Dakota
Concealed weapon license changeFree, form SFN 61759, by mail
North Dakota income taxNo published individual step

Passport, federal and optional: free on DS-5504 if your book was issued less than a year ago, otherwise $130 by mail on DS-82. See our passport name change guide.

Voter Registration: There Isn’t Any

North Dakota is the only state in the country with no voter registration, and the Secretary of State publishes a paper saying exactly that. There is no form to file, no county auditor to write to, and no deadline to miss. North Dakota: the only state without voter registration

What replaces it is an ID requirement: you need a valid form of identification to vote, in person or by mail, and NDDOT-issued identification is the main one people use. So the $3 license visit in Step 3 is your voter step. If your ID still shows your maiden name while everything else has moved on, sort that out before an election rather than at the polling place. Voting in North Dakota

The North Dakota Card Nobody Will Remind You About

North Dakota has constitutional carry inside the state, so an eligible resident does not need a license to carry concealed here. A Concealed Weapon License still matters if you carry outside North Dakota, and if you hold one, the name on it has to match.

QuestionNorth Dakota answer
Do I need a license to carry concealed in North Dakota?No, not as an eligible resident inside the state. You do need one to carry concealed outside North Dakota. ND constitutional carry
What do I file to change the name on mine?Form SFN 61759, the Concealed Weapon License Change Request, by mail only
What does it cost?Nothing. “There is no charge for the replacement or updated license”
What proof do they want?A court document showing the change, which “does not have to be certified”, or a copy of your driver license showing the new name. Return your old license with it
How long, and will they tell me?Allow 2 to 3 weeks, and no. “The BCI does not send a notification that your change was received/updated.” Send it certified mail with a return receipt if you want proof. ND Attorney General: replace or update license

Licensed Professional?

BoardHow the name change works
ND Board of NursingName and address changes are made in your Nurse Portal account. The Board does not publish a fee or a deadline for it, so we are not going to invent one: log in, make the change, and ask what documentation they want attached. North Dakota Board of Nursing
Every other North Dakota boardIts own form, its own proof, its own timetable, and none of them hear about your marriage from anybody else. Check each one you hold a license with
Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Which North Dakota Office Does What

OfficeWhat it handlesCost
The county that sold your marriage licenseCertified copies of the marriage record. No other office canCounty set; $10 / $5 in Grand Forks County
Social Security (online, or one of 4 offices)The Social Security record everything else checks againstFree
Any ND Driver License SiteThe license, in person, within 10 days. Also your voting ID$3.00
NDDOT Motor VehicleThe vehicle title, on SFN 2872$5.00, excise tax exempt
ND Attorney General, BCIA concealed weapon license, by mail on SFN 61759Free

What Newlyweds Get Wrong in North Dakota

Not knowing about the 10 days. It is the shortest license deadline in this guide, and it is the one thing the old version of this page never mentioned. Ten days, from the name change.

Going to the wrong county for the certificate. Only the county that sold your marriage license can issue a certified copy. Not your home county, not the state.

Bringing the pretty certificate. NDDOT wants a government issued document. The one with the calligraphy is not it.

Skipping the car because of the 5% tax. The excise tax does not apply to a marriage name change. Retitling costs $5, full stop.

Waiting for the BCI to confirm. If you sent a concealed weapon license change, no confirmation is coming. Send it certified mail if you want a record.

Assuming there is a voter form. There is not, because North Dakota has no voter registration. Your ID is your registration.

So the North Dakota order runs: certified copies from the county that sold your license, Social Security online the same week, the $3 license visit inside ten days, $5 for the car with no excise tax, and a free mailed form if you hold a concealed weapon license. There is no voter step and no verified tax step. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts that follow, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Written by Danielle Tate · Categorized: Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds, State Name Change Tips

Apr 26 2021

How to Change Your Name in South Dakota

How to change your name in South Dakota after marriage

South Dakota will let you do almost all of this from your kitchen table. Social Security takes it online here, the vehicle title has an online portal, the nursing board runs through a portal. Exactly one step refuses: the driver license. The state says so twice, in two separate places, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you plan your week.

What a South Dakota Name Change Costs

Cost & Time at a Glance

CostAbout $45 for the core steps: $15 for a certified marriage copy, $20 for the license, $10 for the car title. Every extra certified copy is another $15, because South Dakota gives no discount for buying two.
TimeCertified copy same day at any Register of Deeds. Social Security online. One trip to a driver exam station, card by post in about 3 to 4 weeks.
DeadlineNo name-change deadline is published for the license. The one date that bites is 15 days before an election for your voter registration.
StepSouth Dakota cost
Certified marriage copy, any Register of Deeds$15.00 each, and extras are $15.00 too
The same copy by phone or online$15.00 plus an $11.50 expedite fee
Social Security cardFree, and South Dakota can file it online
Driver license name change$20.00, in person only
Vehicle title$10.00 at the county treasurer
South Dakota income taxNothing. There is no state income tax
Voter registrationFree
Nursing license$10.00 through the Nurse Portal
Concealed pistol permitNot required in South Dakota

Passport, federal and optional: free on DS-5504 if your book was issued less than a year ago, otherwise $130 by mail on DS-82. See our passport name change guide.

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Step 1: Your Certified Copy, $15 at Any Register of Deeds

South Dakota does something genuinely convenient here and something genuinely annoying, and it is worth knowing both before you order. The convenient part: you do not have to go back to the county where you married. The Department of Health says a marriage record can be ordered from the State Office in Pierre “or any South Dakota Register of Deeds.” Any of the 66. SD Department of Health: order vital records

The annoying part: there is no volume discount and no cheap counter. Every copy is $15.00, wherever you buy it and however many you buy.

How you orderCost of the first copyEach additional copy
In person at any South Dakota Register of Deeds$15.00$15.00
In person or by mail at the State Office, 221 West Capitol Avenue, Pierre$15.00$15.00
By phone or online through VitalChek$26.50 ($15.00 plus the $11.50 expedite fee)$15.00

So the money-saving move in South Dakota is not “buy in bulk”, it is “buy at a counter”. Ordering by phone or web adds an expedite fee that DOH says “only applies to phone and internet requests”. If you post the request instead, bring a clear copy of your photo ID or have the application notarized. SD vital records fees · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, Which You Can Skip the Drive For

South Dakota is one of the states where Social Security lets you file a married last name change over the internet. POMS RM 10205.630, the policy that lists participating states, marks South Dakota yes for a last name change due to marriage, not just for a plain replacement card. SSA internet replacement card policy

In a state this size that is not a small convenience. South Dakota has 6 Social Security field offices in total, which for some readers is a two hour drive each way. It is free either way, your number never changes, and you will need your certified marriage copy. Social Security name change · our Social Security name change guide

Here are all six, if you would rather do it at a counter:

OfficeAddressCityZIPPhone
Aberdeen115 4th Ave SeAberdeen57401(855) 278-4196
Huron200 4th Street SwHuron57350(866) 563-4604
Rapid City2200 North Maple AveRapid City57701(866) 964-7416
Sioux Falls5021 S Nevada AveSioux Falls57108(877) 274-5421
Watertown514 Jenson Ave SeWatertown57201(888) 737-1763
Yankton1818 Broadway AveYankton57078(877) 405-3522
Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Step 3: The One Step You Cannot Do Online

South Dakota lets you replace a lost license online or by mail. It does not let you change your name that way. The Department of Public Safety states it in both of its licensing articles: “If your name has changed, you’ll need to apply in person at a driver licensing location” and “Applicants with name changes must apply at a Driver Licensing location.” Plan the trip; there is no way around it. SD DPS: replacement or duplicate

  1. Budget $20.00. South Dakota is one of the few states that prints a name-change line rather than leaving you to guess: its fee table reads “Name or Address Change on Driver License / ID Card — $20”. A full license is $38, so this is the cheaper transaction, not the dearer one. SD DPS fee table
  2. Bring a certified marriage certificate from a government entity. DPS is specific and slightly blunt about this: it wants “a certified copy of a marriage certificate from a government entity, a divorce decree, or court order,” and adds “we can only accept original, certified documents. No photocopies!” The decorative certificate your officiant signed does not count.
  3. If your name has changed before, bring the whole chain. “If your name has changed more than once, you’ll need a certified document from a government entity showing each name change.” SD DPS required documents
  4. Bring two documents showing your name and physical address, and the completed license application form. The signature has to be original: DPS will not accept electronic, digital or stamped signatures.
  5. Walk in or book. Walk-in customers are welcome at any exam station, and appointments can be scheduled if you would rather not gamble. Paying by card adds $2.00 or 2.95%, whichever is greater, at the counter as well as online.
  6. Then wait for the post. DPS quotes about 3 to 4 weeks for the card. Our driver license name change guide covers what the visit is like.

Step 4: The Car, $10 at the County Treasurer

Your license does not update your title, and in South Dakota the car is handled by a different office again: not the exam station, but your county treasurer.

  1. Go to your county treasurer, or use the state’s online duplicate title service. Vehicle titling and registration is a county treasurer function in South Dakota, and the Department of Revenue publishes the office list. SD county treasurers
  2. Complete the Application for Motor Vehicle Title & Registration, signed by the record owner or an authorized agent.
  3. Pay $10.00. The title fee is $10.00, and the duplicate title fee is $10.00 as well. SD DOR: title fees and registration
  4. Ask about local fees. Counties can add their own charges, and the Department of Revenue tells you to ring your treasurer rather than assume the state figure is the whole bill.

Licensed Professional?

BoardHow the name change worksCost
SD Board of NursingNurse Portal, “Other Applications”, Name Change application. Upload the legal document that makes the change effective. SD Board of Nursing$10.00
Every other South Dakota boardIts own form, its own proof, its own timetable. None of them hear about your marriage from anyone elseCheck each board

Nurses, read this before you sign anything. The Board’s instruction is unusually pointed: “Until your new name is updated in the Verification site, use your former name in relation to your nursing practice and license(s); using any other name is a violation of SD law.” Signing charts in your married name the week after the wedding, before the Board has processed it, is the mistake to avoid.

What Else Carries Your Name

  • Concealed pistol permit: nothing to do, because nothing is required. South Dakota has permitless carry. The Secretary of State puts it plainly: residents and nonresidents “who may lawfully possess a pistol are not required to have a permit in order to carry a concealed pistol in the state.” Permits are still available and still optional, from the sheriff of the county you live in, who also handles renewals. South Dakota publishes no fee or deadline for changing the name on one, so ring the sheriff rather than assume. SD concealed pistol permits
  • Everything with your name printed on it. Nothing in the steps above reaches your employer, your bank, your insurers, your utilities or your airline. Our name change checklist is that list.

What Newlyweds Get Wrong in South Dakota

Trying to do the license online. South Dakota does let you replace a license online, which is exactly why people assume a name change works the same way. It does not, and you will find out after creating the account.

Turning up with the keepsake certificate. DPS wants a certified copy from a government entity, and says no photocopies. The pretty one your officiant signed is not it.

Buying one copy to save money. Copies are $15 whether you buy one or four, so the saving is imaginary, and a second trip to the Register of Deeds is not free.

Ordering copies online out of habit. Phone and internet orders carry an $11.50 expedite fee that a counter visit does not. That is most of the cost of a second copy.

Assuming the license visit fixes the car. The title lives with your county treasurer, not the exam station, and it is a separate $10.

Which Married Name Can You Take in South Dakota?

If you are taking your spouse’s surname, your certified marriage certificate is the whole legal story. No court, no petition, no filing fee. It is the document Social Security wants and the document the exam station lists.

Anything more elaborate deserves a phone call rather than an assumption. Whether South Dakota will put a hyphenated surname, or your maiden name in the middle slot, on a license on the strength of the marriage certificate alone is not stated either way in any state source we could find. Ask the exam station what they will accept before you file with Social Security, because the Social Security record is what the license desk checks against.

A name your marriage record does not show at all is a circuit court matter, and a different process from this one.

Voter Registration

One form, one section people miss. Fill in a voter registration form and complete the bottom part, headed “Previous Voter Registration Information Required”. That section is what links the new name to the old record instead of creating a duplicate. SD Secretary of State: registration changes

It goes to your County Auditor, and it must ARRIVE 15 days before the election you want to vote in. Postmarked is not the test; received is.

No fax, no email. South Dakota requires an original signature, so the form is mailed or hand delivered. If you are close to a deadline, drive it over.

South Dakota Income Tax: There Isn’t One

Nothing to do here, and that is the whole section. South Dakota has no state individual income tax, so there is no revenue department form, no portal step, and no letter to write. Most state guides pad this section out; in South Dakota it is genuinely blank.

The only tax paperwork your new name touches is federal, and Social Security handles that side of it when your record updates. File your federal return in the name that matches your Social Security record and there is nothing else to chase.

Where Your South Dakota Marriage Record Lives

Three offices sit between you and a finished name change in South Dakota, and none of them are the same building. This is the map:

OfficeWhat it does for youCost
Any county Register of DeedsSells certified copies of your marriage record. You do not have to use the county that issued the license$15.00 per copy
SD Department of Health, State Office, PierreThe statewide registry. Same record, in person or by mail; phone and web orders go through VitalChek$15.00, plus $11.50 if ordered by phone or web
A driver exam stationThe license itself. In person only for a name change$20.00
Your county treasurerThe vehicle title and registration$10.00
Your County AuditorVoter registration, by mail or hand delivery onlyFree
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So the South Dakota order runs: one certified copy at any Register of Deeds, Social Security online from home, then the single unavoidable trip to a driver exam station with the certified copy and two address documents, then the county treasurer for the car, your County Auditor for the vote, and any board that will not hear it from anyone else. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts that follow, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.

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Written by Danielle Tate · Categorized: Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds, State Name Change Tips

Apr 13 2021

How to Change Your Name in Vermont

How to change your name in Vermont after marriage

Vermont will not take your word for your married name. If your license is Real ID compliant, the DMV checks you against Social Security electronically, through a system called SSOLV, and it cannot print a card in a name Social Security has not already accepted. That single fact fixes the order of everything below, and it is the reason people leave the counter empty handed.

What Vermont Newlyweds Ask First

Can I change my name online?

No. The DMV puts it bluntly: “Name changes must be done in person at a DMV office location.” Social Security cannot be done online here either, so this is a state where you turn up in person twice.

How long do I have?

Thirty days, and it is law rather than advice: “You are required by law to notify the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days of any change to your address or name.” If you hold a professional license, the Office of Professional Regulation has its own separate 30-day rule.

Will the certificate from our ceremony work?

Not on its own. Vermont requires a certificate “issued by a state office of vital statistics … a certified copy with a stamp or raised seal of the issuing authority”, and then says it plainly: “A church, chapel, or similarly issued certificate is not acceptable.” Your town clerk sells the one that works, for $10.

Do I need to bring my Social Security card?

For the DMV, yes. For your professional license, the opposite: the Office of Professional Regulation says “Drivers licenses and social security cards are not acceptable forms of documentation of the change.” Two Vermont agencies, two opposite documents. Carry the certified certificate to both and you are covered either way.

What happens to the car?

Something genuinely odd. Vermont has you sell the car to yourself: “Each individual currently listed on the title must sign on the back of the title (as "sellers") and fill in the name of the "buyer(s)."” Details further down.

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Step 1: $10 at the Town Clerk

Buy it where you bought the license

  • Vermont marriage licenses are issued by town and city clerks, and the same clerk sells the certified copies.
  • $10 per certified copy from the town clerk. The state’s own advice is that ordering from your town or city clerk is the fastest and cheapest route.
  • The state online ordering service charges $12 per copy. Worth it only if you have left Vermont.
  • It must carry a stamp or raised seal. Order two: one for Social Security, one to show the DMV.

Vermont certified vital records · Vermont Department of Health: order vital records · the state online ordering service · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, in Person or by Mail

Vermont is not one of the states where Social Security accepts a marriage name change online. Policy RM 10205.630 lists Vermont as yes for an unchanged replacement card and no for a last-name change due to marriage, so it is form SS-5 with your certified copy, at an office or by mail. Free, and your number never changes. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide

Then wait. The DMV tells you exactly how long to leave it: update Social Security “several days before you apply”, because SSOLV has to find the new name before a card can be issued. There are 3 Social Security offices in Vermont:

OfficeAddressCityZIPPhone
Burlington128 Lakeside AveBurlington05401(877) 840-5776
Montpelier33 School StMontpelier05602(877) 505-4542
Rutland246 West StRutland05701(866) 690-1944

Step 3: Form VL-040 and $24

What the counter costs, and what it wants

  • $24.00 for a replacement Real ID or non-Real ID license, a junior license, a learner permit or a non-driver ID. An Enhanced Driver’s License is $60.00.
  • Applicants on SSI, SSDI or with a qualifying disability pay $10.00, on a fee line that literally reads “Replacement (lost, destroyed, mutilated, or a new name is required)”.
  • The form is VL-040, the Replacement License form, which Vermont uses for name changes as well as lost cards.
  • Bring an original or certified copy of the marriage license or certificate, a civil union certificate, or a court order stating the new name.
  • In person, at a DMV office. Not online, and there is no mail option for a name change.
  • Social Security already updated, several days earlier, or SSOLV will not verify you.

Vermont DMV: name change · Vermont license fees · our driver’s license name change guide

Step 4: Selling the Car to Yourself

Vermont handles a name on a title the way it handles a sale. The DMV: “The title to be changed must contain owner information that matches the owner information on the current vehicle registration. You must complete a registration application form providing an updated vehicle odometer reading and updated owner information. Each individual currently listed on the title must sign on the back of the title (as "sellers") and fill in the name of the "buyer(s)."“

So you sign as the seller under your maiden name, and you are the buyer under your married name. If two people are on the title, Vermont also wants the relationship between the two owners stated.

The fee is the corrected title fee, $27.00, on the schedule effective 19 March 2026. Take the odometer reading before you go, because the form asks for it. Vermont title fees

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What a Vermont Name Change Costs

Cost & Time at a Glance

CostAbout $61 all in: $10 for the certified copy at the town clerk, $24 for the license, and $27 for the corrected title. It is $10 for the license instead of $24 if you qualify for the reduced-fee schedule, and $12 rather than $10 for the certificate if you order through the state portal.
TimeSocial Security first and by post or in person, so allow two to three weeks and then “several days” more before the DMV so SSOLV can catch up. One in-person DMV visit after that.
Deadline30 days to tell the DMV, by law. Another 30 days, separately, for the Office of Professional Regulation if you hold a license.

Which Married Name Vermont Will Print

Follow the branch that fits

  • Taking your spouse’s surname? No court. The certified certificate from the town clerk is the whole proof, and the order is Social Security, then the DMV.
  • Hyphenating, or moving your maiden name to the middle? Also no court, but settle the exact spelling at Social Security first. SSOLV compares strings, not intentions, and a hyphen in one record and not the other is a failed check.
  • In a civil union? Vermont names the civil union certificate alongside the marriage certificate as acceptable proof.
  • Changing your first name, or taking an unrelated surname? That is a probate court process rather than a marriage name change, and the filing fee is set by the court.

Voter Registration

Report the new name online at vote.vermont.gov, which needs a Vermont license, permit or non-driver ID, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. You can also hand, post or email a completed voter registration form to your town or city clerk. Vermont Secretary of State: voter registration

Vermont is unusually forgiving about timing: since 1 January 2017 you may register “on any day up to and including the day of the election”, during clerk business hours beforehand and during polling hours on Election Day itself. There is no cutoff to miss.

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The Rest of the List

  • Passport. Federal, not Vermont. The DS-5504 is free within a year of issue and it goes in the mail, whatever older guides say about filing it in person at an agency. passport name change guide
  • Fish and Wildlife licenses. Update these after the new license arrives, since they hang off your identity record, and contact the department if the record does not follow.
  • Banks, cards, insurers and your employer. After the DMV card is in hand. The name change checklist has the order that wastes the least time.

Your Town Clerk Is the Hub

Vermont has counties on the map, but for a name change the office that matters is the town or city clerk. The same desk issued your marriage license, sells the certified copy and registers you to vote:

JobWho does itWhat it costs
Certified marriage copyThe town or city clerk that issued your license$10 per copy
The same copy, ordered onlineVermont online vital records ordering service$12 per copy
Voter registration in the new nameTown or city clerk, or vote.vermont.govFree
Driver licenseDMV office, in person, form VL-040$24
Corrected titleDMV, with your own signature as the seller$27
Professional licenseOffice of Professional Regulation, onlineFree

Professional Licenses: 30 Days, and Not Your ID

  • The clock. Vermont law requires OPR licensees and applicants to notify the office within 30 days of a name or address change, which runs in parallel with the DMV’s 30 days rather than after it.
  • The cost. Nothing. “There is no charge to update your information.”
  • The route. Online Services, sign in, Edit Profile, then update profile, upload the document and submit.
  • The document. A marriage certificate, divorce decree or official court documentation. Note what is refused: “Drivers licenses and social security cards are not acceptable forms of documentation of the change.” Vermont OPR: change of name and address

Vermont Income Tax

Vermont taxes income, but there is no individual name-change form to hunt for. The department identifies you by your Social Security record, so once Social Security has the married name, file your next return under it. If something about your account needs fixing sooner, that is a call to the Department of Taxes rather than a form download.

So Vermont in order: $10 certified copy from the town clerk that issued your license, form SS-5 to Social Security and then a few days of patience while SSOLV catches up, an in-person DMV visit with form VL-040 and $24, and the $27 corrected title where you sign as your own seller. Compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Written by Danielle Tate · Categorized: Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds, State Name Change Tips

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