Just married in Georgia? Congratulations. Changing your name here runs through a handful of Georgia-specific offices: your county Probate Court for the marriage record, the Department of Driver Services (DDS) for your license, and your county tag office for the car. Here is exactly how to do it, in order, with what it costs and how long it takes.

Which Married Names Can You Take in Georgia?

Step 1: Get Certified Copies From Your Probate Court

Georgia keeps marriage records at the county level, so this is your first stop:

1. Go to the Probate Court of the county that issued your marriage license. Georgia has 159 counties, each with its own Probate Court, and another county cannot pull your record.
2. Request certified copies in person (often same-day for walk-ins), by mail, or online where your county offers it.
3. The base fee is $10 per certified copy statewide. Ordering online or through a vendor can add a convenience fee (for example, a digital copy in Chatham County runs $18.90), so the counter or mail is usually cheapest.
4. Order 2 certified copies, since Social Security and DDS each want an original.

Step 2: Update Social Security First

Do Social Security first, because Georgia DDS verifies your new name against Social Security’s records before it will change your license. Good news for Georgia newlyweds: this is now an online job for most people. If you are only taking your spouse’s last name, you can change it entirely through your personal my Social Security account (sign in, choose Replace Your Social Security Card, and follow the marriage name-change steps). Social Security suggests waiting about 30 days after the wedding so your Georgia marriage record is available to verify electronically.

If you are changing more than your last name (say, your middle name too), the online path will not finish it: file Form SS-5 in person at a Social Security office with your certified marriage certificate. Either way, the new card (same number) arrives in about 2 to 3 weeks, and after an online change you should wait a day or two before your DDS visit.

Georgia has 32 Social Security field offices if you need to go in person:

Office	Address	City	ZIP	Phone
Albany	1522 W 3rd Ave	Albany	31707	(877) 319-0733
Athens	1650 Prince Avenue	Athens	30606	(866) 964-3294
Atlanta West	3800 Camp Creek Pkwy	Atlanta	30331	(877) 828-1694
Atlanta-D/T	401 W Peachtree St Nw	Atlanta	30308	(866) 931-9946
Augusta	115 Robert C Daniel Jr Pkwy	Augusta	30909	(877) 616-2523
Brunswick	134 Juniper Ct	Brunswick	31520	(866) 964-6563
Columbus	7263 North Lake Dr	Columbus	31909	(877) 784-3688
Cordele	510 E 15th Ave	Cordele	31015	(888) 225-8869
Covington	9180 Covington By Pass Rd	Covington	30014	(877) 873-9106
Dalton	301 Point North Pl	Dalton	30720	(866) 593-5681
Decatur	3554 Covington Hwy	Decatur	30032	(877) 626-9909
Dublin	919 Hillcrest Pkwy	Dublin	31021	(888) 655-6438
Gainesville	2565 Thompson Brdg Rd	Gainesville	30501	(866) 331-2309
Griffin	1548 Flynt St	Griffin	30223	(866) 964-1005
Gwinnett	4365 Shackleford Rd	Norcross	30093	(877) 803-6320
Kennesaw	200 Chastain Center Blvd	Kennesaw	30144	(866) 964-4690
Lagrange	1300 Lafayette Pkwy	Lagrange	30241	(866) 836-6744
Macon	3530 Riverside Drive	Macon	31210	(888) 759-3917
Milledgeville	109 Cypress Corners	Milledgeville	31061	(866) 348-5817
Morrow	6665 Park Place	Morrow	30260	(866) 331-2215
Newnan	246 Bullsboro Dr	Newnan	30263	(855) 863-3561
Rome	480 Riverside Pkwy Ne	Rome	30161	(866) 964-1006
Savannah	325 W Montgomery Xrd	Savannah	31406	(866) 366-4923
Statesboro	1050 Brannen St	Statesboro	30461	(866) 748-2088
Thomasville	1916 Smith Avenue	Thomasville	31792	(888) 491-1886
Tifton	732 2nd St W	Tifton	31794	(877) 635-3542
Valdosta	3149 Perimeter Park Ln	Valdosta	31602	(866) 829-2617
Vidalia	104 W Third St	Vidalia	30474	(866) 931-2518
Villa Rica	908 S Carroll Rd	Villa Rica	30180	(866) 331-2318
Warner Robins	220 Carl Vinson Pkwy	Warner Robins	31088	(866) 931-7084
Waycross	303 Isabella St	Waycross	31501	(877) 405-3578
Winder	389 East Broad St	Winder	30680	(866) 331-9071

Step 3: Change Your Georgia DDS License

In Georgia this is the Department of Driver Services (DDS), not “the DMV.” You must change your license in person at a DDS Customer Service Center within 60 days of your name change becoming legal, and an appointment is strongly recommended (book at dds.georgia.gov or call 678-413-8400).

Here is the part most guides get wrong: your first name or address change during the license term is free. There is no $20 name-change fee. You only pay if you happen to be within 150 days of your license expiring, in which case DDS processes it as a renewal (the $32 eight-year fee, with a $5 discount if you finish online). Bring your certified marriage certificate and your current license. If you want a hyphenated name from a post-1982 Georgia marriage, also bring the certified copy of your marriage-license application. A new photo is taken at the counter.

One timely note: as of May 7, 2025, a REAL ID (the gold-star license) is required to board domestic flights and enter most federal buildings. A name-change visit is the natural time to upgrade. Bring a certified birth certificate or an unexpired U.S. passport (a maiden-name passport is fine), plus two proofs of Georgia residency.

Step 4: Update Your Vehicle Title and Registration

Own a car? Georgia handles titles through the Department of Revenue at your county tag office (the Tax Commissioner), which is a different office from DDS. Update your license first, then:

Item	Detail
Where	Your county tag office (Tax Commissioner), where you live
Form	Tag & Title Application (Form MV-1) in your new name (required if you apply by mail)
Bring	Your current title, your updated Georgia license, and a certified marriage certificate
Fee	$18 title fee. This is a title application, not the $8 lost-or-stolen replacement. A $1 mailing fee or optional $10 expedited charge may apply. No title tax is due on a same-owner name change.

Georgia Name Change Mistakes to Avoid

“I’ll just ask the clerk to hyphenate my name.”

Not enough in Georgia. A hyphen on your license from a post-1982 Georgia marriage needs a certified copy of the marriage-license application with the hyphen already on it. Sort the hyphen out before the wedding, or you may need a Superior Court order later.

“The DMV handles all of this.”

Georgia has no “DMV.” Your license is the DDS; your car title and tag are the county tag office (Department of Revenue). Two different agencies, two different trips.

“I’ll change my license first.”

Do Social Security first. DDS checks your name against Social Security, so an un-updated record means a wasted trip. Wait a day or two after the Social Security change.

“There’s a name-change fee at DDS.”

There isn’t. It’s free once per license term. You only pay if you are within 150 days of expiration, when it becomes the $32 renewal.

“I have 60 days, so there’s no rush.”

True for the license deadline, but don’t let your certified copies and Social Security card lag. Every downstream account (bank, passport, employer) wants ID that already shows your new name.

Georgia State Taxes

Georgia has a state income tax, but unlike most states there is no self-service “change my name” button in the Georgia Tax Center for individuals. Instead, the Department of Revenue asks you to submit copies of your name-change documents with your tax return: a copy of your state ID or passport in the new name, plus your marriage certificate (or a Superior Court order or Social Security card). The Department warns that a name mismatch can delay your refund. So update Social Security first, file under the name and number that match Social Security, and attach those documents at filing time. Give your employer an updated Georgia G-4 so your W-2 matches too.

Other Georgia Licenses to Update

Georgia Marriage Certificate Fees

Order certified marriage copies from the Probate Court of the county that issued your license. The $10 base fee is set statewide; only the ordering method changes the total:

How you order	Certified marriage copy
Any county Probate Court (counter or mail)	$10 per certified copy (statutory base)
Chatham County, online / digital	$18.90 (base plus a 5% convenience fee)
Chatham County, by mail	$10 plus $1 per page

With 159 Probate Courts in Georgia, the base is always $10, so check your specific county only if you plan to order online through a vendor.

What a Georgia Name Change Costs and How Long It Takes

Licensed Professional? Update Your Board

Most Georgia professional boards sit under the Secretary of State, and a marriage name change is usually a free record update:

• Nursing (RN/LPN). Notify the Georgia Board of Nursing within 30 days using the Secretary of State name and address change form with a copy of your marriage certificate. There is no name-change fee; a new printed wall certificate is $50 only if you want one. You can print an updated license online once the change posts.
• Other Secretary of State professions. Real estate, cosmetology, and the rest use the same name and address change form with your certified marriage certificate. Most are a free update.

Update Your Voter Registration

Voter registration: update your legal name on the Georgia My Voter Page (or by submitting a voter registration form to your county registrar) at least about 30 days before an election. A new precinct card arrives in roughly two weeks. Do this once your Georgia ID shows your new name.

Changing your name is one of the happiest kinds of paperwork there is. Take it one step at a time, in the order above, and you will be signing your new Georgia name before you know it.