Alaska adds a step no other state has, and getting it wrong costs you money rather than time. Your Permanent Fund Dividend is paid against a name that has to match Social Security exactly. If it does not, federal law requires the dividend division to withhold 24% and send it to the IRS. Everything below is ordered so that never happens.

The Questions Alaskan Newlyweds Actually Ask

Will changing my name affect my PFD?

It can, and this is the one to get right. The dividend division warns that federal law requires it to withhold 24% of your dividend and send it to the IRS if “the name you provided on a PFD application does not exactly match your Social Security information”. Update Social Security first, then make sure the name on your dividend application matches it character for character. The division is on 907-465-2326. PFD frequently asked questions · myPFD

Is there a deadline in Alaska?

Yes, and it is statutory rather than advisory: “By law, you are required to notify us of a name or address change within 30 days of the change (AS 28.05.071).” Most states publish nothing at all. Alaska publishes a statute number.

Can I use the certificate my officiant gave me?

No. The DMV wants a marriage certificate from Vital Statistics, and “submitted documents must be an original certified copy. Photocopies and fax copies are not acceptable”. A keepsake certificate, a church record, or a scan will all be turned away.

Can I do the Social Security part online?

Not in Alaska. Social Security policy lists Alaska as no for an online replacement card and no for a marriage name change, which makes it one of the strictest states in the country on this point. It is form SS-5, in person or by mail, and there are only three field offices.

Which borough office handles this?

None of them. Alaska has boroughs rather than counties, and unlike almost every other state, they do not hold marriage records. Anchorage and Juneau Vital Records, or VitalChek online, is the whole list.

Step 1: The Certificate, From Vital Records Only

Question	Alaska answer
Who issues it?	The state. Health Analytics and Vital Records, in Anchorage or Juneau. There is no borough counter
What does it cost?	$30 for the first certified copy and $25 for each additional copy ordered at the same time
How do I order?	Online through VitalChek, or by mail, fax, or in person at the Anchorage or Juneau offices
How many should I buy?	Two. Social Security keeps you waiting and the DMV wants an original, and at $25 a second copy is cheaper now than a second order later
Will a photocopy work anywhere?	No. Alaska DMV: “Photocopies and fax copies are not acceptable”

Alaska vital records orders · marriage certificate request form · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, and No Shortcut

Alaska is one of the few states where Social Security will not take a marriage name change online. Policy RM 10205.630 lists Alaska as no on both counts, so it is form SS-5 with your certified marriage certificate, either by mail or at one of the 3 field offices in the entire state. It is free, and your number never changes. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide

If you are off the road system, budget for the mail route: send the SS-5 with the original certified copy, and Social Security returns your documents with the new card. Everything after this step, from the DMV to the dividend, is checking against the record you are setting here.

Office	Address	City	ZIP	Phone
Anchorage	222 W 8th Ave	Anchorage	99513	(866) 772-3081
Fairbanks	101 12th Avenue	Fairbanks	99701	(800) 478-0391
Juneau	709 West Ninth Street	Juneau	99801	(800) 478-7124

Step 3: The DMV, Within 30 Days

Question	Alaska answer
Is there a deadline?	30 days, and it is law: “By law, you are required to notify us of a name or address change within 30 days of the change (AS 28.05.071)”
Can I do it online?	No. “You must submit proof of the change (in person) to us”
What proof is accepted?	A marriage certificate from Vital Statistics, a divorce decree, a court order, a US passport, an amended birth certificate, adoption papers, a naturalization certificate or a name change certificate
Original or copy?	Original certified copy only. “Photocopies and fax copies are not acceptable”
What does it cost?	The current card fee. A duplicate card is $15, a temporary is $5, and a REAL ID adds $20 on top
Do I need Social Security first?	Yes in practice. The card the DMV issues has to agree with the Social Security record, and the dividend division checks the same name later

Alaska DMV: changing identification details · Alaska DMV license fees · our driver’s license name change guide

Step 4: The Title

Vehicle question	Alaska answer
Name change on a title	$15
Where	Alaska DMV, the same division that issued your license
What to bring	The certified marriage certificate and your title. Do the license first so your photo ID already matches

Alaska DMV: name change on a title · changes to registration or title

What an Alaska Name Change Costs

Voter Registration

Update it online, but only after the DMV: the online system requires “a valid Alaska driver’s license or state ID card” and the details you type “must match the information on your Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) record”. You can also register in person at a Division of Elections office, or by mail, fax or email to a Regional Elections Office. Alaska Division of Elections

There is an Alaska shortcut worth knowing: dividend applications feed voter records, and “the voting records for applicants with a name change or mailing address change will be updated” through PFD automatic voter registration. PFD automatic voter registration

Which Married Name Alaska Will Print

Boroughs, Not Counties

If you have moved here from the Lower 48, this is the part that will not behave. Alaska has boroughs, large parts of the state are unorganized and belong to no borough at all, and none of them sell marriage certificates. The whole list of places that can give you one:

Where	How it works	Cost
Vital Records, Anchorage	In person, or by mail or fax using the marriage certificate request form	$30 first copy, $25 each additional
Vital Records, Juneau	Same service, the second of the two offices	$30 first copy, $25 each additional
VitalChek, online	The state’s online ordering route, with the provider’s own fees on top	$30 plus service fees
Your borough office	Not a thing. Boroughs do not hold marriage records in Alaska	n/a

State Income Tax: None, With One Catch

Professional Licenses

Step	What Alaska requires
The form	08-4291, Name Change and/or Address Change, from the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Form 08-4291
The attachment	A copy of the court order or marriage certificate showing both your former and your current name
The notary	Notarization is required for name changes. An address change on the same form does not need one, which catches people out
Where it goes	The division handles occupational and professional licensing across the state. Alaska professional licensing

The Rest of the List

What	What to do
Permanent Fund Dividend	Make the name on your dividend record match Social Security exactly, or lose 24% of the payment to withholding. Call 907-465-2326. PFD FAQ
Hunting and fishing	Fish and Game licenses run off your identity record, so update the license after the DMV card arrives and contact the department if the record does not follow
Passport	Federal, not Alaskan. The DS-5504 is free within a year of issue and it is a mail form. passport name change guide
Banks, cards, employer	Once the new card is in hand. Work through the name change checklist

So Alaska in order: $30 certified copy from Vital Records, form SS-5 by mail or at one of the three offices, the DMV in person inside 30 days, the $15 title, then the dividend record and your voter registration. Compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently, because the dividend step exists nowhere else.

Delaware gives you 30 days to put your married name on your driver license in person. It also makes you wait 72 hours after Social Security before it will serve you. Those two rules run against each other, and the state has only four DMV offices, so the order you do things in matters more here than almost anywhere else.

What Newlyweds Get Wrong in Delaware

Step 1: Your Certified Marriage Certificate, $25 Either Way

Delaware fixes the price by statute. 16 Del. C. § 3132 sets the fee for a certified copy of a marriage license or certificate at $25, and it is the same $25 whichever office you walk into. Active members of the military and their spouses are exempt. Something most states cannot say: $15 of every $25 goes into Delaware’s Domestic Violence Fund, administered by the Criminal Justice Council. Delaware Code 16 § 3132

You have two sources. The county Clerk of the Peace that issued your license holds the record, and for a recent marriage that is usually the faster counter. Or the state Office of Vital Statistics, which holds marriages from the last 50 years at three locations. Anything older than 50 years is a public record at the Delaware Public Archives, (302) 744-5000. Bring valid government photo identification either way. Delaware guide to certificates · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Watch the add-ons rather than the base fee. New Castle County charges the $25 “plus a one-time $2.50 processing fee”, so $27.50. Sussex County will take a mailed request with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the plain $25, but its online vendor adds $19.95 processing plus $2.50 shipping, which turns a $25 document into roughly $47. Sussex also asks you to call (302) 853-1717 first to confirm the record exists, and warns that “All transactions are final. No refunds will be given.” New Castle County Clerk of the Peace · Sussex County certified copies

Step 2: Social Security, and the Delaware Catch

Delaware is one of the states where Social Security lets you request a replacement card online for a marriage last-name change. It is also one of only three states in the country carrying the restriction that “currently only driver’s license holders can apply” that way. If you hold a Delaware ID card rather than a license, the online route is closed to you and it is form SS-5 by mail or at a field office. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name

The online option also has its own rules: you must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen with citizenship already on your Social Security record, and it covers a last name change from marriage only. Anything else goes to an office. It is free, your number never changes, and the card takes about two weeks. Our Social Security name change guide walks through the form.

Whichever route you take, this step comes first, because the DMV is waiting on it. The whole state has 3 Social Security offices:

Office	Address	City	ZIP	Phone
Dover	655 S Bay Rd	Dover	19901	(877) 701-2141
Georgetown	17 Georgetown Plz	Georgetown	19947	(866) 864-1803
Wilmington	920 W Basin Road	New Castle	19720	(866) 667-7221

Step 3: The DMV, $10 and On the Clock

If anything about your case is unusual, the Division publishes a direct line for this transaction: (302) 744-2506. DE DMV: changing your name · our driver license name change guide

Step 4: The Car, at the Same Counter

Delaware folds the vehicle into the same 30-day, in-person visit, so bring the car paperwork with you or you will be making the drive twice.

Question	Delaware answer
What does it cost?	$35.00 for a new certificate of title and registration card
What if a lien holder has my title?	Get form MV35 at a DMV facility, complete it and mail it to the lien holder. They mail the title back to that DMV location and you get a postcard when it arrives. The new title then costs $55.00
What do I bring?	The current certificate of title, the registration card, valid proof of Delaware liability insurance, and your new license or the marriage certificate
Does the $35 cover anything else?	No. The Division states the fee “does not include any other changes such as tag changes or renewal of registration”
Can I do it online?	No. It is part of the in-person name change visit

DE DMV: requirements for change of name and address

Delaware Income Tax

The Records That Do Not Update Themselves

Which Delaware Office Does What

Office	What it handles	Cost
New Castle County Clerk of the Peace 800 N. French St., 2nd Floor, Wilmington DE 19801, 302-395-7780	Certified copies of a license it issued. Mon-Fri 8 to 4, closed noon to 1	$27.50 ($25 plus a $2.50 processing fee)
Kent County Clerk of the Peace	Certified copies of a license it issued	$25 per certified record
Sussex County Marriage Bureau PO Box 29, Georgetown DE 19947, (302) 853-1717	Certified copies by mail or online. Call first to confirm the record exists	$25 by mail; online adds $19.95 plus $2.50 shipping
Office of Vital Statistics Dover (302) 744-4549 · Newark (302) 283-7130 · Georgetown (302) 856-5495	The same certificate, for marriages within the last 50 years	$25 per copy
Delaware Public Archives, (302) 744-5000	Marriages more than 50 years old, which are public records	Contact the Archives
Social Security (3 offices, or online if you hold a DE license)	The federal record every other office follows	Free
DMV: Wilmington, Delaware City, Dover, Georgetown	License or ID, plus title and registration, in one visit	$10 license, $35 car
Your county Department of Elections	Voter registration	Free

Voter Registration: The One Step With No Deadline

Delaware is unusually relaxed here. You can update your registration “anytime before an election” and, if you forget, “at your polling place on Election Day.” There is no advance cut-off to miss. Do it through the Delaware Voter Portal at ivote.de.gov, or send an application to your county Department of Elections by mail, email or fax, or hand it in at any Department of Elections office. Include a copy of your Delaware license, state ID, utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck showing your name and address. One warning worth repeating: “Changes of address with the Post Office do not update your voter registration.” Delaware Department of Elections: voter registration

What a Delaware Name Change Costs

Which Married Name Delaware Will Print

Work down this list and stop at the first line that describes you.

1. Taking your spouse’s surname? Stop here. The DMV accepts “an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate” as proof of the change, and no court is involved. This is the ordinary path and it is the one this guide is built around.
2. Returning to a former surname after a divorce? The DMV lists a divorce decree alongside the marriage certificate as acceptable proof. Bring the decree itself, not a copy of the settlement.
3. Want a hyphenated or combined surname, or your maiden name moved into the middle slot? Delaware publishes no statutory list of permitted married names, so do not assume. Settle it with Social Security first and confirm what the DMV will print before you spend $25 on copies or start changing bank records.
4. Changing a first name, or taking a name that is not either spouse’s? That is a separate legal process, not a marriage one: a notarized Petition for Change of Name in the Court of Common Pleas under 10 Del. C. § 5901, filing fee $85. The signed order comes with eight certified copies, with extras at $10 each. Court of Common Pleas: change of name petitions

Licensed Professional?

How do I change my name on a Delaware professional license?

Every board runs through one system, DELPROS. Log in, choose SERVICE REQUEST from the top banner, and upload your name change documentation. You can also send it with a renewal or a new application instead of filing separately. DE Division of Professional Regulation: change your information

Is there a fee?

None is published for a name change. The Division notes that “not all service requests have a fee,” and the Board of Nursing fee schedule lists charges for verifications ($35 and $45), a multistate upgrade ($50), re-examination ($25) and roster requests ($45) without listing a name change. Ask your board rather than budgeting for a number nobody prints. Board of Nursing fee schedule

Is there a deadline?

Delaware publishes no name-change deadline for professional licenses, unlike the 30-day rule at the DMV. That is not a reason to leave it: your license, your payroll record and your Social Security record should all read the same before your next renewal comes around.

So the Delaware order runs: buy the certified copy for $25, file with Social Security, wait the full 72 hours, then make one in-person trip to one of the four DMV offices inside 30 days with the car paperwork in the same bag. That is $10 for the license and $35 for the vehicle. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts that come after, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.

A certified copy of your marriage record costs $1.50 in Lincoln County and $2.50 in Dona Ana County. That is not a discount or a promotion, it is what New Mexico county clerks charge, and it is the cheapest certified copy in this entire guide. The catch is that the county is the only place that can sell you one.

Which Married Name You Can Take in New Mexico

If you are taking your spouse’s surname, the marriage record is the legal proof and no judge is involved. The MVD says which documents it will accept, and a marriage license is first on the list.

What you want	Does New Mexico allow it on the marriage record alone?	What it takes
Take your spouse’s surname	Yes	A certified copy of the marriage record from the issuing county clerk. No court
Go back to a former surname	Yes, with the right document	MVD accepts a marriage license, court order or divorce decree as proof of a name change
A hyphenated or combined surname	Ask before you commit	New Mexico does not publish a statutory list of permitted married names the way some states do, so confirm the exact spelling with the MVD field office before you order documents in it
Move your maiden name into your middle name slot	Ask before you commit	Same reason. Get the MVD answer first, then make every other record match it
Change your first name	No	That is a district court matter, a different process from this one, and worth a phone call to the court rather than a guess

One rule underpins all of it: whatever name you land on has to be the same name on the marriage record, the Social Security record and the license. New Mexico checks that electronically, which is the subject of Step 3.

Step 1: Only the County Clerk Can Sell You the Certificate

New Mexico has no state fallback for marriage records. The Department of Health’s Vital Records office says it in one line: “Copies of marriage licenses are available from the county clerk of the county where the marriage license was issued.” Not the state, and not a different county. NM DOH Vital Records

Where	Can it issue your marriage certificate?	Cost per certified copy
The county clerk who issued your license	Yes. The only office that can	County set. Lincoln $1.50, Dona Ana $2.50
Any other New Mexico county clerk	No	Not applicable
NM Department of Health, Vital Records	No. It does not issue marriage certificates	Not applicable

At these prices, buy several. Dona Ana mails them “within 1 to 2 business days after the request is received and processed”, and the second copy costs less than the postage stamp you would spend asking for it later. Bernalillo County sells copies through its online records portal, and its instructions include a detail worth knowing: search under the name you had before the name change, because that is how the record is filed. Lincoln County Clerk · Dona Ana County Clerk · Bernalillo County Clerk · our guide to certified marriage certificates

Step 2: Social Security, and Why It Has to Be First

Social Security’s internet replacement card policy lists New Mexico as no for filing a marriage name change online. It is form SS-5, by mail or at a field office, with your certified marriage copy and photo identification. It is free, the new card takes roughly two weeks, and your number never changes. SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide

New Mexico has only 10 Social Security field offices for the fifth largest state in the country, so check the drive before you plan the day:

Office	Address	City	ZIP	Phone
Albuquerque	500 Lead Ave Sw	Albuquerque	87102	(866) 613-9961
Clovis	1208 Arcineiga Dr	Clovis	88101	(866) 931-9945
Farmington	4650 N Butler	Farmington	87401	(866) 931-7656
Gallup	2070 East Aztec Avenue	Gallup	87301	(888) 810-3744
Hobbs	501 E Bender Blvd	Hobbs	88240	(866) 254-2611
Las Cruces	2141 Summit Court	Las Cruces	88011	(866) 563-9294
Las Vegas	2520 Ridge Runner Rd	Las Vegas	87701	(866) 635-0856
Rio Rancho	4433 Jager Dr Ne	Rio Rancho	87144	(866) 530-7783
Roswell	500 N Richardson Avenue	Roswell	88201	(866) 563-9470
Santa Fe	1922 5th Street	Santa Fe	87505	(866) 571-8130

Step 3: The MVD, Where There Is No Cheap Amendment

Several states charge a few dollars to reprint a license with a new name. New Mexico does not have that line item. The MVD publishes one price for a license, and a name change buys you a license.

That SSOLV line is the whole reason for the order of this guide. If your Social Security record still shows your maiden name, the electronic check disagrees with the marriage certificate in your hand, and you have driven to an MVD office for nothing. NM MVD: how do I change the name on my driver license · MVD: how much does a driver license cost · New Mexico REAL ID · MVD field offices

Our driver license name change guide covers what to expect at the counter generally.

Step 4: The Car

Which New Mexico Office Does What

Office	What it handles	Cost
The county clerk who issued your license	Certified copies of the marriage record. Nobody else can	$1.50 to $2.50 by county
Social Security (10 offices, or by mail)	The record the MVD checks against electronically	Free
MVD field office	Driver license or ID, then the vehicle paperwork	$18 or $34
County clerk, again	Voter registration, in person or same day	Free
NM Department of Public Safety	A concealed handgun license, within 30 days	$10.00
Your licensing board	A professional license, through its own portal	Board set

Voter Registration

The Secretary of State is direct about it: “If you change your name or move you must fill out a new voter registration form and submit to your local County Clerk’s Office or the Secretary of State’s Office.” You can do it at NMVote.org instead of on paper. Registration by mail or online closes 28 days before an election, but New Mexico has same-day registration, so if you miss that window you can still register or update and vote the same day at your county clerk’s office, at participating early voting sites, or at any polling place in your county on Election Day. NM Secretary of State: voter registration

What a New Mexico Name Change Costs

The New Mexico Card With an Actual Deadline

Nothing in the license or car process carries a legal deadline in New Mexico. One thing does, and it is written into the statute.

Question	New Mexico answer
What is the rule?	NMSA 29-19-6(D): “A licensee shall notify the department within thirty days regarding a change of the licensee’s name or permanent address.”
What do I file?	The Concealed Handgun License Replacement Card Application, to the DPS Concealed Carry Unit
What goes with it?	“if applicable, a certified copy of a legal document proving the change of name”, plus a photocopy of your valid driver license
What does it cost?	A nonrefundable $10.00 processing fee
Anything else?	The Department warns that incomplete replacement card applications will not be accepted, so send all four pieces together. NM DPS: concealed carry licenses · Concealed Handgun Carry Act booklet

Licensed Professional?

Nurses and other Regulation and Licensing Department boards

New Mexico boards have moved onto online portals, and none of the ones we checked publish a name-change fee or deadline on a page we could cite. Rather than guess at a number, do this: log in to your board’s portal, submit the name change with a certified copy of your marriage record, and ask what it charges while you are in there. NM Board of Nursing · NM Regulation and Licensing Department boards

The part that is not optional is doing it at all. Every board keeps its own copy of your name, and none of them hear about your marriage from the MVD.

What Newlyweds Get Wrong in New Mexico

Writing to the state for a marriage certificate. Vital Records cannot issue one. Only the county clerk that sold the license can, and no other county will do.

Buying one copy. At $1.50 to $2.50, a second and third copy are the cheapest insurance in this process, and several agencies want an original or a certified copy rather than a photocopy.

Going to the MVD before Social Security. The MVD validates your number and name against the SSA record electronically. If they disagree, the trip is wasted.

Expecting a cheap amendment. There is no small reprint fee here. It is $18 or $34, the same as a license, so pick the eight-year option if you are due to renew soon anyway.

Forgetting the 30-day concealed handgun rule. It is the only hard deadline in New Mexico’s process, it is in the statute, and it costs $10 to comply with.

Assuming voter registration follows the license. It does not. A name change means a new registration form, though same-day registration means you cannot be locked out of an election over it.

New Mexico Income Tax

New Mexico has an income tax, but the Taxation and Revenue Department publishes no individual legal-name-change form or Taxpayer Access Point step that we could verify, and its own individuals page routes name questions to the MVD. So file your PIT-1 in the name that matches your Social Security record, and call the Department if your situation is more complicated than that. NM Taxation and Revenue: individuals

So the New Mexico order runs: certified copies from the county clerk that issued your license for a couple of dollars each, Social Security by mail or at one of 10 offices, then the MVD at $18 or $34, then the car, the voter form and any board or permit you hold. 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.

West Virginia runs two clocks on your name change, and almost nobody knows about the second one. You get 20 days to tell the DMV about your new name. You get 10 days to tell it about your car. The car is the urgent one, and it is the step every other guide leaves out.

Which Married Name Can You Take in West Virginia?

Your certified marriage certificate is the name change document. For a married surname there is no petition, no hearing and no filing fee: the DMV, Social Security and your bank all just want to see the certificate.

West Virginia is also more generous than most states about the middle slot. The DMV states it plainly: with a certified marriage certificate a married person may display the spouse’s last name, and may also have the maiden name stand in place of the middle name. Plenty of states make you go to court for that second one. Here it comes with the certificate.

One thing to decide before the wedding rather than after: the West Virginia marriage license application does not ask what name you will use afterwards (WV Code 48-2-104 lists what goes on it, and a future married name is not among them). Your certificate records the marriage, and the name you build from it is the one every agency will accept.

A name that is not derived from the marriage, a first name change, or a spelling you invent, is a different process: a petition in the circuit court under WV Code 48-25-101. Filing fees there are set locally rather than statewide, so ask the circuit clerk in your county what the total is and what else they want from you before you file.

Step 1: $5 at the County Clerk, $12 From the State

Step 2: Social Security, In Person

Do this before the DMV, because the DMV checks. West Virginia DMV verifies every Social Security number against SSA records, and says a name that does not match must be corrected before a license or ID card can be issued. Arrive first and the trip is wasted.

And West Virginia is not one of the states where this can be done online. Social Security’s own participation list marks WV “Yes” for a plain replacement card but “No” for a last name change due to marriage, so it is Form SS-5 with your certified marriage certificate, in person or by mail. It is free either way. See our Social Security name change guide for the federal detail.

There are only 16 Social Security field offices in West Virginia, so check hours before you drive:

Office	Address	City	ZIP	Phone
Beckley	5475 Robert C. Byrd Dr	Mount Hope	25880	(866) 964-2042
Bluefield	3014 E Cumberland Road	Bluefield	24701	(888) 475-0295
Charleston	500 Quarrier Street	Charleston	25301	(888) 527-9305
Clarksburg	320 W Pike St	Clarksburg	26301	(866) 783-7305
Elkins	300 Third Street	Elkins	26241	(877) 828-1693
Fairmont	1000 Technology Dr.	Fairmont	26554	(877) 405-7674
Huntington	301 9th Street	Huntington	25701	(866) 931-7078
Logan	1103 George Kostas Dr	Logan	25601	(877) 405-1455
Martinsburg	14 Compass Pt	Martinsburg	25404	(866) 416-1919
Morgantown	3596 Collins Ferry Rd	Morgantown	26505	(866) 770-2055
Parkersburg	700 Market St	Parkersburg	26101	(866) 574-2533
Petersburg	111 S Grove St	Petersburg	26847	(877) 405-2885
St Albans	49 Olde Main Plaza	St Albans	25177	(866) 316-8153
Welch	50 Mcdowell Street	Welch	24801	(866) 273-0399
Wheeling	1231 Warwood Avenue	Wheeling	26003	(877) 480-5001
Williamson	146 East First Ave	Williamson	25661	(888) 759-3920

Step 3: Your License, Within 20 Days

Step 4: Your Car, Within 10 Days

Here is the one almost every West Virginia newlywed misses. WV Code 17A-3-18(c) says that when someone who has registered a vehicle or holds a certificate of title changes their name by marriage or otherwise, they must notify the DMV within 10 days, and that notice has to be accompanied by an application to retitle the vehicle in the new name.

Read that twice: the car gets half the time the license gets, and the notice is not enough on its own, it has to arrive with the retitle application. The form is DMV-1-TR and the title fee is $15.00. If you also want the registration card reissued in the new name, the updated or duplicate registration card is $10.00 on Form DMV-32-TR.

So the practical West Virginia order is: certified copies, Social Security, then one DMV visit where you do the license and the retitle together. One trip, both clocks satisfied.

Licensed Professional? Budget $10

Credential	What West Virginia requires
Registered nurse	A $10.00 name change fee on the RN Board fee schedule. Complete the online name change in the nursing portal first, then mail the signed Name Change Affidavit
Every other licensed profession	Each West Virginia board keeps its own form, its own fee and its own timing. Nothing in the Social Security or DMV steps above reaches a professional board automatically, so check yours directly

West Virginia Income Tax

West Virginia does not publish a name change instruction for personal income tax, so we will not invent one: we could not confirm either that a separate step is required or that the Tax Division simply picks the change up from your Social Security record. Ask them directly through the Tax Division contact page before you file, and do the Social Security step first regardless, since that is what a return is matched against.

Voter Registration

West Virginia registers voters through the DMV, but we could not confirm that a name change only visit carries through to your voter record, so treat it as a separate errand: update with your county clerk, or through the Secretary of State. The deadline is 21 days before an election, so it is the one step with a date attached to somebody else’s calendar rather than yours.

West Virginia Name Change Mistakes to Avoid

What a West Virginia Name Change Costs

What Your County Clerk Charges

The fee is statutory, so the number below is what you should be quoted anywhere in West Virginia. Go to the clerk of the county that issued your marriage license:

County clerk	Certified marriage copy	Note
Monongalia (Morgantown)	$5.00	Published on the clerk’s marriage certificate application
Berkeley (Martinsburg)	$5.00	Published vital record certification fee
Cabell (Huntington)	$5.00	Online ordering adds a processing fee
Every other county	$5.00	Set by WV Code 59-1-10(d)(4)
State Vital Registration, Charleston	$12.00	Records from 1964 to present

If a clerk quotes you something different for a certified copy of a marriage license, the statute is WV Code 59-1-10 and it is worth asking what the extra covers.

That is the West Virginia order: three $5 copies from the issuing county clerk, Social Security in person, then one DMV trip that clears the license inside 20 days and the car inside 10. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts that come after, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.