The District does not have a vital records counter that will sell you a marriage certificate. Your marriage record belongs to the Superior Court, and you buy a copy from the Marriage Bureau in the Moultrie Courthouse. Start in the wrong building and the whole process stalls before it begins.
Which Married Name DC Will Print
Taking your spouse’s surname is the simple case, and no court hearing is involved. DC DMV names exactly what it will accept: an original “certified marriage certificate (name change due to marriage)”, a divorce decree, or an “Official US Court Change of Name document”. The certificate you buy from the Marriage Bureau is the first of those, and every other agency in this guide follows from it.
Anything more ambitious deserves a phone call before you spend money. The District publishes no list of permitted married-name forms, so a hyphenated or combined surname, or moving your maiden name into the middle slot, should be settled with Social Security first. That matters more here than in most places, because the District is not one of the states where Social Security accepts a marriage name change online, and DC DMV wants to see your physical Social Security card with the new name on it before it will touch your license.
A first name change, or a name that is not derived from either spouse, runs as a separate court process through the same Superior Court. The District does not publish a single filing fee for it, so ask the court rather than budgeting from a figure you found online.
Step 1: The Marriage Bureau, and the $10 One
The court sells four things. You need the first one.
- Regular Certified Copy, which the court itself labels “(Motor Vehicles, Social Security & Divorce)”. $10.00 each. That parenthetical is the whole answer: this is the copy this process runs on.
- Immigration & Naturalization copy, also $10.00 each. A different purpose, not this one.
- Triple Seals, $20.00 each. For use abroad. Twice the price, and not what the DMV wants.
- No record found Search Letter, $20.00, with additional copies at $10.00. Only relevant if the record cannot be located.
No personal checks accepted. Pay through the court’s online payment portal, or send a check or money order made payable to “Clerk, DC Superior Court” if the portal will not work for you.
In person: Marriage Bureau, Moultrie Courthouse, Room JM-690, 500 Indiana Avenue NW, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Certified copy questions go to MarriageBureau@dcsc.gov, general information (202) 879-1212. Note that “The D.C. Courts does not mail internationally, unless it is a military base.” DC Courts: order a certified copy of a marriage record · DC Superior Court marriage information · our guide to certified marriage certificates
Step 2: Social Security, and You Need the Card Itself
Social Security’s replacement card policy lists the District as yes for an unchanged replacement card and no for a marriage last-name change, so the online shortcut some states enjoy is closed here. It is form SS-5 by mail or at a field office, with your $10 certified copy and photo identification. Free, your number never changes, and the card takes about two weeks. SSA policy RM 10205.630 · SSA: change your name · our Social Security name change guide
Do not skip ahead. DC DMV is unusually strict about the order: “If you are obtaining a duplicate license due to a name change, then you must change your name on your Social Security card first.” Card, not just the record, which is why the two-week wait is real in the District rather than the two or three days it is elsewhere. There are only 3 Social Security offices in the District:
| Office | Address | City | ZIP | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anacostia | 2041 Mlk Jr Ave Se | Washington | 20020 | (866) 495-0048 |
| Downtown | 1300 D St Sw | Washington | 20024 | (866) 708-3255 |
| Postal Plaza | 1905-B 9th St Ne | Washington | 20018 | (866) 737-4470 |
Step 3: DC DMV, $20 and In Person
| Question | District answer |
|---|---|
| What does it cost? | $20. The fee table lists “Duplicate Driver License $20” and “Duplicate Non-Driver ID Card $20”. A non-driver ID is free for residents 65 and older |
| Is there a card surcharge? | Yes, and it is new. “On December 15, 2025, a 2.5% service fee was added to all debit and credit card transactions completed online, through the mobile app, and in-person” |
| Which cards are taken? | VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, plus contactless and digital wallet payments. The old advice that DC DMV refuses American Express is out of date |
| Can I do it online? | No. “You will need to visit a DMV Service Center“ |
| What do I bring? | Your current DC license, learner permit or non-driver ID, plus one original document: a certified marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or an official US court change of name document |
| Will a scan do? | No. “DC DMV cannot accept photocopies or scanned documents” |
| What if I do not have a REAL ID yet? | Then bring more: “additional original source documents to prove your identity, Social Security number, and District residency”, with two proofs of DC residency |
| Is there a deadline? | DC DMV publishes none for a name change. The real deadline in the District belongs to health professionals, further down this page |
DC DMV: name changes and corrections · replace a REAL ID or Limited Purpose license · DC DMV driver license fees · our driver license name change guide
Step 4: The Car, $30 at the Same Service Center
DC DMV handles the vehicle in the same building as the license, and its instruction is short: “To replace a title and/or request a change of name or change of address, please bring the supporting documentation to a DC DMV service center.” So take the marriage certificate and the title with you and do both in one visit. DC DMV: vehicle titles
There is no separate name-correction line on the District’s fee schedule, because it is simply a title transaction: “Vehicle Title Only (New and Replacement) $30.00“, the same $30 as a duplicate title. If a lender has a lien on the vehicle, lien recordation is a further $20.00 per lien, and a title information request is $7.00. DC vehicle title fees
The Records That Do Not Update Themselves
- Employer and payroll first, right after Social Security, so your W-2 matches the federal record.
- Banks, cards, mortgage and loans. Most want to see a certified copy. At $10 the District is mid-priced, so a second copy is cheap insurance against a second trip to the courthouse.
- Insurance, retirement accounts and beneficiary designations. The name on a beneficiary form is the one that gets checked when it matters most.
- Your passport. Federal, optional, and free on form DS-5504 if your passport was issued within the last year. If it is older, the routine married-name form is DS-82. See our passport name change guide.
- Building access, parking permits and anything tied to your DC ID. These follow the license, not the certificate, so they come last.
Voter Registration
21 days before the election. “All voter registration applications and updates submitted online and by mail must be received by the Board by no later than the 21st day before the election in which you wish to vote,” and a name change counts as an update.
Miss it and the application “will not be processed until after the election” – but the District gives you a way back in: you can still register or update during early voting or on Election Day. Submit updates to the DC Board of Elections at 1015 Half Street SE, Suite 750, Washington DC 20003, or by email to DCRegistrations@dcboe.org. DC Board of Elections: register or update your registration
Which DC Office Does What
| Office | What it handles | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Superior Court Marriage Bureau Moultrie Courthouse, Room JM-690, 500 Indiana Ave NW · (202) 879-1212 | Your marriage record and certified copies of it. There is no vital records alternative | $10.00 regular certified copy, $20.00 triple seal |
| Social Security (3 offices) | The federal record everything else follows. Form SS-5, not online here | Free |
| DC DMV Service Center | Driver license, learner permit or non-driver ID | $20, plus a 2.5% card fee |
| DC DMV again, same visit | Vehicle title in your married name | $30.00 |
| Office of Tax and Revenue, PO Box 470 | Your District tax record, on form FR-COA or through MyTax.DC.gov | Free |
| DC Board of Elections, 1015 Half Street SE | Voter registration, 21 days out | Free |
| DC Health, 2201 Shannon Place SE | Health professional licenses, within 30 days | Free, but $100 if you are late |
| Superior Court, again | The separate court process, only if the marriage certificate cannot support the name you want | Ask the court |
Licensed Health Professional? This Is the Real Deadline
- The District has no deadline at all for your driver license, and a hard one for your professional license. It is worth reading twice.
- “All information updates are required to be submitted to our office via email/U.S. mail within 30 days of a change of name, address, or other information related to your license.”
- “Failure to do so may result in a $100 fine (see 16A DCMR § 3201.1 (d)).” That is the only monetary penalty anywhere in this guide.
- Use the Change of Information Form, and note that “a copy of your name change documents (i.e. court order, marriage certificate, or divorce decree) is required for all name change requests.”
- Send it to ohplb@dc.gov, or to DC Health, 2201 Shannon Place SE, Washington DC 20020. DC Health: reporting a name or address change
What Newlyweds Get Wrong in DC
Looking for a vital records office. There is not one for marriages. The Superior Court holds the record, and the Marriage Bureau sells the copies. People lose a week to this alone.
Buying the wrong copy. The court offers four products at two price points. Triple seals cost $20 and are for use abroad; the $10 “Regular Certified Copy” is the one the court itself tags for Motor Vehicles and Social Security.
Going to the DMV before the Social Security card arrives. Most states want the record updated. The District wants the card, and because DC is not an online state for this, that is a genuine two-week wait rather than a two-day one.
Budgeting $7. That figure has circulated for years. A duplicate DC license or non-driver ID is $20, and since December 2025 a card payment adds another 2.5% on top.
Bringing a photocopy. “DC DMV cannot accept photocopies or scanned documents.” One original, or you are going home again.
Assuming the 30-day rule is the DMV’s. It is not. It belongs to DC Health, it applies to licensed health professionals, and it carries a $100 fine.
District Income Tax: Form FR-COA
The District does have a tax step, and it is free. The form is FR-COA, Change of Name, Address, or Identification Number, which replaced the older FR-900C and FR-800C forms that still turn up in search results. Mail the completed form to the Office of Tax and Revenue, PO Box 470, Washington DC 20044-0470. DC Form FR-COA
If you already have a MyTax.DC.gov profile, you can log in and update your account details there instead of posting a form. If anything about your situation is unusual, for instance a return already filed in your maiden name for the year you married, call 202-727-4TAX or visit the customer service office at 1101 4th Street SW, Suite W270. MyTax.DC.gov
What a DC Name Change Costs
Cost & Time at a Glance
| Cost | About $30 for the essentials: $10 for the certified copy from the Marriage Bureau and $20 for the license or ID, plus a 2.5% card fee. Add $30 for a vehicle title. Social Security, the FR-COA, voter registration and the DC Health form are all free. |
| Time | Certificate the same day in person at the Moultrie Courthouse, or by post through the court’s payment portal. Then the slow part: form SS-5 and about two weeks for the physical card, because DC DMV insists on the card. One Service Center visit after that. |
| Deadline | None at the DMV. 30 days for health professionals, with a $100 fine for missing it, and 21 days before an election for your voter registration. |
| Step | District cost |
|---|---|
| Regular certified marriage copy, Marriage Bureau | $10.00 |
| Triple seal copy, if you need one for use abroad | $20.00 |
| Social Security card | Free, but not available online in the District |
| Duplicate driver license or non-driver ID | $20, plus a 2.5% card service fee |
| Non-driver ID for residents 65 and older | Free |
| Vehicle title | $30.00 |
| District income tax, form FR-COA | Free |
| Voter registration | Free |
| Health professional license, within 30 days | Free, or a $100 fine if late |
So the District order runs: Marriage Bureau at the Moultrie Courthouse for the $10 certified copy, form SS-5 to Social Security and wait for the physical card, then one DC DMV Service Center visit with the original certificate for the $20 license and the $30 title. FR-COA and your voter registration close it out for free, and if you are a licensed health professional, the 30-day clock is the only one in the District with a fine attached. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts after that, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.