Connecticut runs a married name change on two pieces of paper almost nobody names for you. The license needs Form E-78. The car needs Form H-13B. Both steps are appointment only, both want originals, and turning up without the right form is the single most common wasted morning in this state. Here is the whole sequence, in the order that works.
Which Married Name Connecticut Will Accept
No court is involved in a marriage name change here. The DMV names what it will take as proof: “certified documentation that shows the change of name (i.e., marriage license, civil union certificate, divorce decree, probate court documents)”. Anything outside that list is a different process. CT DMV: update a license, permit or ID
| What you want | Connecticut route |
|---|---|
| Take your spouse’s last name | Certified marriage certificate, then Social Security, then Form E-78 at a DMV appointment. No court |
| Hyphenate the two surnames | Same route, and worth settling with Social Security first so the two records match exactly |
| Move your maiden name into the middle slot | Same route. Social Security decides what it will print, and the DMV follows Social Security |
| Keep your name | Nothing to do. Connecticut does not require a married name |
| A brand new name, or a first-name change | Probate Court. An Application for Change of Name, in a court that shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court. Not part of a marriage name change |
That last row matters more than it looks. Guides love to say you can invent any combination you like after a wedding. In Connecticut you cannot: a name that does not come out of the marriage goes through Probate Court.
Step 1: The $20 Certified Copy
One price, three places to buy it
- $20 per certified copy, and the fee is the same whether you buy from a town or from the state.
- Buy it from the town where the marriage took place, from the town where either of you lived at the time, or from the State Vital Records Office.
- Anyone 18 or older may buy a copy of a marriage record in Connecticut.
- Order two. Social Security wants to see one and the DMV wants to see one, and a second copy is another $20 later if you skip it now.
CT DPH: marriage and civil union certificates · how to obtain a vital record · our guide to certified marriage certificates
Step 2: Social Security, Online if You Want It
Connecticut is one of the states where Social Security accepts a marriage name change online. SSA policy RM 10205.630 lists Connecticut as yes for a replacement card and yes for a last-name change due to marriage, so a my Social Security account may save you the trip. Otherwise it is form SS-5, free, and your number never changes. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide
This is not optional housekeeping, it is the gate. Connecticut DMV says it plainly: “It may take up to 48 hours for SSA to process the change; this must be processed prior to updating your driver’s license or non-driver ID.” Book the DMV appointment for at least two days after Social Security has your new name. These are the 15 Social Security offices in Connecticut:
| Office | Address | City | ZIP | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ansonia | 475 Main Street | Ansonia | 06401 | (866) 331-7096 |
| Bridgeport | 35 Courtland St | Bridgeport | 06604 | (866) 331-6399 |
| Danbury | 131 West St | Danbury | 06810 | (866) 275-7821 |
| East Hartford | 478 Burnside Avenue | East Hartford | 06108 | (866) 706-6759 |
| Hartford | 135 High St | Hartford | 06103 | (877) 619-2851 |
| Meriden | Suite 212 | Meriden | 06450 | (877) 409-8429 |
| Middletown | Suite 800 | Middletown | 06457 | (877) 692-3145 |
| New Britain | 1 Herald Square | New Britain | 06051 | (866) 858-6086 |
| New Haven | 150 Court St | New Haven | 06510 | (866) 331-5281 |
| New London | 6 Shaws Cv | New London | 06320 | (866) 643-3401 |
| Norwich | 55 Main St | Norwich | 06360 | (888) 482-3170 |
| Stamford | 2 Landmark Square | Stamford | 06901 | (866) 770-1881 |
| Torrington | 147 Litchfield Street | Torrington | 06790 | (877) 405-0486 |
| Waterbury | 51 North Elm St | Waterbury | 06702 | (877) 405-4874 |
| Willimantic | 1320 Main St | Willimantic | 06226 | (877) 405-0488 |
Step 3: Form E-78 and a $30 Appointment
The fee is $30 to change your name on a driver’s license or non-driver ID, and name updates are handled by appointment only, at a DMV hub office or a DMV express office. CT DMV: change your name · make or change a DMV appointment
The Connecticut checklist
- Completed Form E-78, Change of Name or Name Correction Request. Fill it in before you go. Form E-78
- Your current Connecticut driver’s license or non-driver ID.
- Certified documentation of the name change: marriage license, civil union certificate, divorce decree or probate court document.
- Originals. “Photocopies and religious marriage certificates will not be accepted”, so the certificate from your church or synagogue is not the document the DMV means.
- Social Security already updated, at least 48 hours earlier.
- $30, plus up to $8 more if you book into an express office such as a AAA branch or a Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union location in Milford, North Haven or Norwalk.
You leave the appointment with a temporary license, and the permanent card is posted to you.
Connecticut publishes no deadline for a name change on a license, unlike states that give you 10 or 30 days. That is freedom, not permission to forget: every step after this one wants to see the new card. Our driver’s license name change guide covers what to do if the permanent card does not arrive.
Step 4: The Car, and the Insurance Card Trap
Updating the registration and title is another in-person appointment, not an online form, and it runs on Form H-13B, the Registration and Certificate of Title application. Bring the original Certificate of Title, certified documentation of the name change, and your current registration. If you cannot produce the registration there is a $20 duplicate fee. CT DMV: update your registration · Form H-13B
The trap is the insurance. Connecticut asks for your “owner’s current Connecticut Insurance Identification Card” in the new name, which means your insurer has to be told before the DMV appointment rather than after it. Call the insurer the same day you collect the certified copy, and the card should be in hand by the time you are standing at the counter.
Connecticut does not publish a flat “name change on a title” fee the way it publishes the $30 license fee, so ask when you book rather than budgeting from a number you found on a forum. CT DMV: make changes to a car title
The Other Connecticut Licenses
| License | What Connecticut does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting and fishing | Licenses sit under a Connecticut Conservation ID, and you log in with that ID, your last name and your date of birth, which is precisely what has just changed. No name-change form is published, so contact DEEP once your license is updated | DEEP outdoor licensing |
| Trades, real estate and consumer licenses | The Department of Consumer Protection runs its own “change to an existing registration or license” route, separate from the health professions | DCP license changes |
| Passport | Federal, not Connecticut. The DS-5504 is free within a year of issue, and it is a mail form, whatever older guides say about visiting an agency in person | passport name change |
Connecticut Has No County Offices
Every other state guide sends you to a county clerk. Connecticut abolished county government in 1960, so there is nobody at that desk. Marriage records belong to the 169 town and city clerks and to the State Vital Records Office in Hartford. Which one you use depends on the marriage, not on where you live now:
| Where to buy the certified copy | When it applies | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| The town clerk where you married | Always works. This is the office that registered the marriage | $20 per copy |
| The town clerk where either of you lived at the time of the marriage | A useful second option if the wedding town is far away | $20 per copy |
| The State Vital Records Office, Hartford | Any Connecticut marriage. Convenient if you have moved out of state | $20 per copy |
Payment and opening hours are set town by town, so call the clerk before posting a check. The fee itself does not move.
Professional Licenses
- Health professions, DPH. The request has to come in writing from the licensee, by email or post, and it has to include your name, license number, profession, date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number, with a copy of the marriage certificate or of a license showing the new name. CT DPH: name or address change requests
- One thing to expect: “A new license will not be generated until after the license has been renewed.” Your record changes now, the printed credential changes at renewal.
- Consumer Protection licenses. Trades, real estate and the rest go through DCP’s own change process. DCP: change to an existing registration or license
Connecticut Income Tax
Connecticut does tax income, and the update is free and online: log in to myconneCT, open More, then Manage Names and Addresses under Taxpayer Updates. Do it after Social Security, so the name on your return matches the name the IRS and DRS can verify.
Voter Registration
Register again under the new name online if you hold a Connecticut license or non-driver ID, or on the Secretary of the State’s paper form. The pre-election cutoff is the 7th day before an election, whether you post it or hand it to your Registrar of Voters. CT registration deadlines
If you miss that, Connecticut has Same Day Registration during early voting and on Election Day, but read this bit carefully: it is not at your polling place. Each town runs one designated SDR location, open 6am to 8pm on Election Day. CT Same Day Registration
What a Connecticut Name Change Costs
Cost & Time at a Glance
| Cost | $50 covers the essentials: $20 for the certified copy and $30 for the license. Add up to $8 if you use an express office and $20 if you need a duplicate registration. Social Security, myconneCT and voter registration are free. |
| Time | Certified copy from a town clerk, then Social Security, which can be done online here. Then wait 48 hours for Social Security to process before the DMV appointment. Two appointments in total if you own a car, because the license and the registration are separate visits. |
| Deadline | None published for the license. The one date that bites is the 7th day before an election for voter registration. |
What Newlyweds Get Wrong in Connecticut
Six ways to lose a morning
- Doing the DMV before Social Security. Connecticut will not process the license until SSA has, and SSA can take 48 hours. This is the single most common ordering mistake, and older versions of this very page had it backwards.
- Arriving without Form E-78. It is a two-minute form, and it is not optional.
- Turning up without an appointment. Name updates are appointment only, at hub or express offices.
- Bringing the church certificate. “Photocopies and religious marriage certificates will not be accepted.” You need the certified civil record, at $20.
- Updating the car before the insurer. The DMV wants an insurance card already in the married name.
- Looking for a county clerk. There is not one in this state. Town clerk, or the state office in Hartford.
So Connecticut in order: $20 certified copy from the town clerk, Social Security next and possibly online, wait 48 hours, then a $30 DMV appointment with Form E-78, then a second appointment with Form H-13B and an insurance card that already shows the new name. Our name change checklist takes it from there, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.