Kansas gives you something most states do not: you choose your new legal name on the marriage license itself, hyphenated or combined, and it becomes your name the moment the license is endorsed. No petition, no judge, no filing fee. Then one clock starts, and it is short: 10 days to notify the Division of Vehicles in writing.
Which Married Name Can You Take in Kansas?
This is settled by statute, and it is unusually generous. K.S.A. 23-2506 says that at marriage a person may designate a new legal name, that the name may combine the two prior surnames or use derivative versions of them, that the designated name is recorded on the marriage license next to the former name, that the change is effective when the license is endorsed with the certificate of marriage, and that a certified copy of that endorsed license is proof of identity for a Kansas driver’s license or nondriver ID.
- Your spouse’s surname. Designate it on the license application. Done.
- A hyphenated or combined surname. Also on the application. Kansas says the new name may be a combination of the two prior names or a derivative of them, so this is a box to fill in rather than a court case.
- Maiden name into the middle slot. Kansas asks for your new legal first, middle and last name on the application, so it is designated the same way. Social Security is clear about surnames; for a middle-name move, take the endorsed license and ask, rather than assuming.
- Something the marriage does not create. That is a district court petition under K.S.A. 60-1401. Filing fees are set locally, so ask your district court clerk what it costs before you file.
The practical consequence: decide before the wedding, not after. The license application is where the choice is recorded, and a name you did not designate there is a harder road than one you did.
Step 1: Certified Copies, $20 From Vital Statistics
Kansas routes the record in two hops. The completed license is filed with the Clerk of the District Court that issued it, and the court forwards it to the KDHE Office of Vital Statistics, which is where certified copies actually come from.
A certified copy is $20.00, including additional copies ordered at the same time. If you have seen $15 quoted anywhere, that price expired on June 30, 2022. Allow roughly 10 business days after your license is released to the state before ordering. KDHE marriage certificate · our guide to certified marriage certificates
Buy two or three while you are there. Social Security wants to see one, the Division of Vehicles wants to see one, and your bank will ask for one.
Step 2: Social Security, at Least 24 Hours Before the DMV
Kansas states the gap explicitly, which is rare and useful: your name “must be updated with the Social Security Administration at least 24 hours prior” to updating your Kansas credential. Not two weeks, not a card in hand, but not the same afternoon either. KDOR driver’s license FAQ
Kansas is not one of the states where this can be done online: Social Security’s participation list marks Kansas “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, and free either way. Social Security name change · our Social Security name change guide
Kansas has only 11 Social Security field offices for the whole state, so plan the trip:
| Office | Address | City | ZIP | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge City | 2204 Summerlon Cir | Dodge City | 67801 | (877) 694-5494 |
| Hays | 1212 E 27th St | Hays | 67601 | (888) 552-7176 |
| Hutchinson | 811 E 30th Ave | Hutchinson | 67502 | (877) 846-8333 |
| Independence | 2125 N Penn Ave | Independence | 67301 | (877) 512-3855 |
| Johnson County | 15375 W 95th St | Lenexa | 66219 | (877) 445-9978 |
| Kansas City | 850 Nebraska Ave | Kansas City | 66101 | (866) 331-2197 |
| Lawrence | 1440 Wakarusa | Lawrence | 66049 | (866) 698-2561 |
| Manhattan | 1121 Hudson Ave | Manhattan | 66503 | (877) 840-5741 |
| Salina | 1410 E Iron Ave | Salina | 67401 | (877) 405-3494 |
| Topeka | 600 Sw Commerce Pl | Topeka | 66615 | (888) 327-1271 |
| Wichita | 3216 N Cypress St | Wichita | 67226 | (866) 931-9173 |
Step 3: 10 Days to Tell the Division of Vehicles
K.S.A. 8-248 is blunt: when the name of a licensee “is changed by marriage or otherwise”, the person shall within 10 days notify the Division in writing of their former and new names and the number of any license they hold. Miss it and the general penalty in K.S.A. 8-268 applies, a misdemeanour carrying a fine of up to $500.
Read the statute carefully though, because the 10 days is about written notice, not about having new plastic in your wallet. Telling the Division inside the window is the legal duty; collecting the new card is the errand that follows.
What the counter visit needs:
- Your current Kansas credential
- Proof of the legal name change: the certified copy of your endorsed marriage license
- Proof of your current residential address
- Social Security updated at least 24 hours earlier
$16.00 total, which KDOR’s fee chart lists as “Name Change on DL or LP”: an $8 credential fee plus an $8 photo fee. Note the separate $8.00 line for “changes to existing credential” is for things like a photo update or removing a restriction, not a name change.
REAL ID: adding it to a valid credential is $8.00, and KDOR says there is no extra REAL ID surcharge beyond the normal fees.
In person, appointment recommended. Kansas does not issue a name change online. Appointments are not strictly required but do get priority through KDOR’s scheduling system. Our driver license name change guide covers the counter visit.
Step 4: Your Car, $10 at the County Treasurer
This one is cheap and it is not at the DMV. Take your title and a copy of your marriage license to the county treasurer, and the title fee for an owner name change is $10.00. If a lienholder is holding the title, they complete Form TR-128; otherwise the title and registration application is TR-212a. KDOR title FAQ · KDOR forms
One nice detail: Kansas treats a name change on a title as not a sale, so there is no sales tax on it. Kansas does not publish a deadline for the car the way it does for the license, so this is the step you can schedule rather than rush.
Kansas Income Tax: Form DO-5
Kansas does have its own step here, and it is a single short form. Form DO-5 is the Department of Revenue’s “Name or Address Change Form”, with a tick box for “I am changing my name” and fields for your old and new names. The K-40 return also carries a name-change box, so if you are filing anyway you can flag it there. No fee either way.
Who Holds Your Kansas Marriage Record
Kansas splits this between two offices, which is why people end up at the wrong counter. Counties publish general certification fees rather than a marriage copy price, so here is the routing rather than a fee table:
| Office | What it does | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk of the District Court (the county that issued the license) | Issues the marriage license and receives the completed, endorsed license, then forwards it to the state | License fee set locally |
| KDHE Office of Vital Statistics | Issues the certified marriage certificate you will hand to Social Security, the Division of Vehicles and your bank | $20.00 per certified copy |
| Sedgwick County (Wichita) | Tells couples to contact KDHE about 10 business days after the license is released | via KDHE |
| Shawnee County (Topeka) | Directs certified copy requests to Vital Statistics | via KDHE |
Voter Registration
Good news: this one can ride along. KDOR asks during your credential visit whether you want to register or update your voter registration, so the name change can be handled in the same trip. If you would rather do it separately, the Kansas voter registration form covers a name change, and registration closes 21 days before any election. Kansas Secretary of State
Kansas Name Change Mistakes to Avoid
Deciding your married name after the wedding. Kansas records the new legal name on the license application. Designating it there is the whole shortcut, and skipping it makes an unusual name much harder.
Letting the 10 days run. K.S.A. 8-248 wants written notice of your old and new names inside 10 days, and the general penalty is a misdemeanour with a fine up to $500.
Reading the $8 line as the name change fee. A Kansas name change on a license is $16.00. The $8 line is for photo updates and restriction removals.
Going to the district court for your certificate. The court issues and files the license; KDHE Vital Statistics issues the certified copies, at $20 each.
Ordering the certificate too early. Give it about 10 business days after the license is released to the state.
Going to the counter the same day as Social Security. Kansas wants at least a 24 hour gap.
Assuming your concealed carry license updates itself. It does not, and Kansas says so explicitly.
Licensed Professional?
- Nurses. The Kansas State Board of Nursing works to a 30 day rule under K.A.R. 60-3-103: submit legal documentation or an affidavit of the name change on the board’s form, notarized, with a certified copy of the marriage document.
- Everyone else. Each Kansas board keeps its own form and its own clock, and nothing in the steps above reaches a professional board automatically.
The Kansas Card That Will Not Update Itself
| Credential | What Kansas requires |
|---|---|
| Concealed carry handgun license | Report the name change to the Attorney General’s Concealed Carry Licensing Unit within 30 days under K.S.A. 75-7c06. The Attorney General states plainly that updating your license with the Division of Vehicles does not update the concealed carry record. Failure to notify can bring a fine of up to $100 or suspension of up to 180 days. Kansas AG concealed carry FAQ |
What a Kansas Name Change Costs
Cost & Time at a Glance
| Cost | About $56 for the core steps: $40 for two certified copies at $20 each, $16 for the license. The car adds $10. Social Security and the tax form are free. |
| Time | Order certificates about 10 business days after the license is released, Social Security next, then wait 24 hours before the license counter. |
| Deadline | 10 days to notify the Division of Vehicles in writing (K.S.A. 8-248), and 30 days for a concealed carry license or a nursing license. |
| Step | Kansas cost |
|---|---|
| Certified marriage certificate, KDHE | $20.00 per copy, extras at the same price |
| Social Security card | Free, Form SS-5, in person or by mail |
| Driver license name change | $16.00 ($8 credential + $8 photo) |
| Add REAL ID to a valid credential | $8.00, no separate surcharge |
| Vehicle title, owner name change | $10.00 at the county treasurer, no sales tax |
| Kansas income tax record | Free, Form DO-5 |
| Voter registration | Free, and can be done at the license visit |
Passport, federal and optional: free on DS-5504 if it was issued less than a year ago, otherwise $130 by mail on DS-82, routine processing currently 4 to 6 weeks. See our passport name change guide.
That is the Kansas order: designate the name on the license, order certified copies from Vital Statistics, Social Security, a 24 hour gap, then the Division of Vehicles inside the 10 day window, then the car, your tax record and any board or permit that will not update itself. Our name change checklist covers the banks and accounts that come next, and you can compare how other states handle it if you have moved recently.