Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

75,000th Customer Reflections

We’re celebrating customer reflections today. Exciting news: MissNowMrs recently celebrated our 75,000^th customer! It’s rather amazing to look back and realize exactly how many brides and newlyweds have benefited from the idea of one fed-up newlywed.

My disastrous name-change experience, including 3 trips to get my driver’s license, led to the idea for an easy online name-change service for brides nationwide. Despite my complete lack of computer skills, I (with the help of my new husband & another business partner) put together the framework for what is now MissNowMrs.

The framework was easy compared to the research. Imagine calling all of the Motor Vehicle Administrations in all 50 states to fully understand their name-change requirements. That research project and then similar ones for all of the other name-change forms fed into the vast information base that powers MissNowMrs today.

MissNowMrs is proud to be a small woman-owned business that makes the lives of other women easier. It’s worth every tedious hour of research to know that our customers can change their name and save 13 hours of unnecessary hassle. That’s a lot of time to spend enjoying your newlywed status instead of standing in government office lines!

Here’s one of my all-time favorite customer reflections in the form of a quote about our service:

“This is a great service that you are providing. I put off my name change for a year, because I was dreading ALL the paperwork! A newly married friend of mine, kindly informed me of your services. Needless to say, I’m ready to be a Mrs. now!! Thanks MissNowMrs.com!!”
~Jennifer M.

Did you use MissNowMrs for your married name change? If so, did it help save you time and stress? We’d love to hear about your experience in a comment… and if you still need to change your name we’d love to help!

Help Me Change My Name

MissNowMrs.com = Savings on Gas Money

How can a name change service create savings on gas money? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price of gas this morning on my way to work thinking about how much it must cost all over our country right now. No matter where in the U.S. you live, I’m sure you’re being hit hard with rising gas prices. It’s ridiculous to see the prices go up each week (…for some of us, each day) with little to no relief in sight, right?

Unfortunately, we ALL have to continue to purchase gas. We can’t just stop driving to work, to the grocery store, or to anywhere else we HAVE to go each day, but what we can do is cut back on how much unnecessary driving we do. Our easy online name change service will help you do just that. Cut back on the amount of driving you have to do to a number of government agencies to complete your married name change. Seriously, check out the list of name-change forms we provide for you along with step-by-step instructions to file your name change with (most) agencies via MAIL.

What this means for YOU:

1. TIME SAVED: You’ll save yourself TIME not having to research the name change process or wait in lines at government offices for agencies that allow you to notify them via mail.
2. STRESS-FREE: There’s no need to worry about filing mishaps due to out-dated forms, fees and instructions or having to take a day off from work just to spend it waiting around at each office. Save those PTO days for a vacation or a long weekend getaway!
3. SAVINGS ON GAS MONEY: This is a no-brainer…you’ll save at least a half-tank of gas by using our service since you’re not driving all over town to file your name change in-person with each agency!
Nearly 90% of brides change their names after marriage, so I ask you, “why not do it the easy way and keep name change hassles out of your newlywed life?!” That being said, we know you’ll still be driving around in your day-to-day routine, so we thought we would let you in on the secret to finding the lowest gas prices in your area.

Have the rising gas prices forced you to take a look at how much you drive? Tell us about some changes you have made in your daily routines, to cut back on the money spent at the pumps!

U.S. Passport Name Change Form Updates

There’s been a slew of U.S. Passport name change form updates! The U.S. Department of State has updated the forms available for U.S. Passport name-change services as of March 1, 2011. We want to be sure that our customers as well as our Newlywed Blog readers are in the know any time a State or Government Agency updates their forms. This way you can be sure that you will receive the most up-to-date forms via your MissNowMrs name-change account.

Below is a complete list of all the Passport Forms that have been updated:

DS-11: Application for a U.S. Passport
DS-82: U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals
DS-4085: Application for Additional Visa Pages or Miscellaneous Passport Services
DS-5504: Application for a U.S. Passport (Name Change*, Data Correction, Limited Passport Replacement)
DS-3053: Statement of Consent or Special Circumstances: Issuance of a Passport to a Minor under Age 16

*This form will only work for you if you are changing your name and your current Passport was issued less than 1 year ago.

Trying to keep up with U.S. Passport name change form updates? Information can be found on the U.S. Department of State website.

How to Change Your Name after Marriage in Common Law Marriages

Common Law Marriage Name Change

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Common Law Marriage Name Change

Some of you may be asking yourself what is a common law marriage*? It’s when a couple has lived together for at least 7 years, right? Actually…no, that’s a MYTH. A common law marriage is union (between a man and a woman who have not been formally married) recognized by a state based on that particular state’s laws. Common law married name change is a name change based on a common law marriage.

After some research, I found that not all 50 of the United States recognize common law marriages. As a matter of fact not even half do! States that recognize common law marriages (in some form or another) include: Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

Each state has its own requirements to meet for a union to be defined as common law marriage; which is precisely why it is important to take a look at your state’s laws to see if you are indeed in a valid common law marriage according to the state in which you reside.

The next order of business is your name change. Unfortunately, since there is no formal ceremony for common law marriages (and no Marriage Certificate) it is not the same process as changing your name after marriage and requires you to complete an additional step in order to legally change your name.

Federal courts rule that a name change at will or by “common law” is perfectly legal under the U.S. Constitution—meaning you can call yourself Rainbow Bright if you want to! However, in order to make the name change “official” you will need to take it one step further than just assuming your new name. Which means a legal name change through your local county court system. Please contact that office directly for further information on obtaining a legal name change.

Once you have a name change order (legal permission to officially change your name) you will notify each agency of your name change by submitting the proper paperwork. Each agency will process your name change requests and issue new state and government documents (i.e. Social Security card, Driver’s License, Passport, etc.) in that new name.

Sounds like going from Miss to Mrs.is a hassle, doesn’t it? This is where theMissNowMrs.com married name change service can help you! While we can’t obtain a name change order for you, once you have it you are able to use our service to help complete your paperwork and provide you with the step-by-step filing instructions to notify each agency of your new name. We promise to make it as painless and stress-free as possible!

Have you changed your name at will or by “common law?” Did you have trouble obtaining new state and government documents without a name change order? Help us and our readers further understand the process by leaving a comment below.

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Changing your name after common law marriage

Married Name-Change: Not to be Misunderstood

As MissNowMrs.com was created to relieve you from unnecessary stress, research, and form completion, we also want to be sure that we provide you with all of the fine details (cause that’s what us women love!) and make sure that you’re “in the know” when and if you decide to change your name!

First things first! After you have said your I Do’s, your Officiant will often times announce to your guests, “I now pronounce to you, Mr. and Mrs. XYZ”! Although your marriage is official, unfortunately that doesn’t mean that your name has automatically changed to your spouses’. Hence the reason for MissNowMrs.com, as we figured out first hand that changing to your new married name can be quite a hassle, so we’ve created this service to lay it out in black and white for you! In the past few years, we have discovered that there are quite a few newlyweds under the impression that the bride’s name is automatically changed once you are married (oh if only all things in life could be that simple)! For some brides, however, this is good news, as not everyone chooses to change their name!

Now that you know there is some necessary paperwork that must be filed when changing your name –here’s the good news! If you have discussed your name-change options with your spouse, you can get a jump-start on the process and complete all of your forms, print them off, and prepare for filing with your MissNowMrs account… before you are married! You will need to wait to submit your forms until after your marriage, as you will need a copy of your marriage certificate, but you will already have everything prepared and ready to go! Once you have registered for an account with us, it is yours to access via email and password, so that you may work at your own pace.

Please share with us and fellow newlyweds any misconceptions that you had in regard to your married name change, or anything that you wish you would’ve known before your wedding when it comes to changing your name!