How to Change Your Name in Pennsylvania After Marriage

Here is the honest math for a standard married name change in Pennsylvania, where you take your spouse’s last name or hyphenate using your marriage certificate. No court is involved.

Your out-of-pocket is small. Social Security and the car title change are free, PennDOT can issue a free update card for your license (a brand-new license card is $42.50), and the only sure cost is your certified marriage copies. A passport update only adds cost if your passport is more than a year old.

Time: plan for a few weeks, not one afternoon. Your new Social Security card takes about 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, and it needs to show your new name before you visit PennDOT.

In Pennsylvania your certified marriage certificate comes from the Register of Wills (Clerk of the Orphans’ Court) in the county that issued your marriage license, not from a single statewide office. Fees run about $5 to $25 per copy depending on the county.

Order 2 or 3 certified copies up front. Social Security and PennDOT each want to see an original, and ordering more later means another fee and another wait. County-by-county offices and fees are listed further down this page.

Good news for Pennsylvania car owners: changing the name on your title after marriage is free. Use form MV-41A, Side A. Your existing title stays valid, and you can mail the form to PennDOT, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 68293, Harrisburg, PA 17106-8293. Attach a copy of your updated Pennsylvania license.

Only if you want a brand-new paper title issued (Side B) is there a $67 fee. Most newlyweds do not need it.

Notary public (has a deadline)

If you are a Pennsylvania notary, do not sit on this one. Notify the PA Department of State within 30 days of your name change, with your marriage certificate as proof. Before you can notarize under your new name you must register your new signature with your county Prothonotary or Recorder of Deeds, buy a new stamp seal, and apply to be reappointed in your new name.

Concealed carry (License to Carry Firearms)

Pennsylvania law does not publish a statewide deadline for reporting a married-name change on an existing License to Carry Firearms, and marriage is not grounds for revocation. Because each issuing sheriff handles updates and replacements differently (some reissue a card for a small fee, some at renewal), contact the county sheriff that issued your license rather than assuming you can wait.

Hunting and fishing

Hold a hunting or fishing license? Update your name in your HuntFishPA account, or call the PA Game Commission License Division at 717-787-2084.

A few things that save Pennsylvania newlyweds time

• Order enough certified marriage copies up front. Social Security and PennDOT each keep an original.
• Do Social Security first. Every other ID wants your SSA record already updated.
• Your Pennsylvania car title change is free. Do not pay for a new title unless you want one.
• Going maiden-to-middle? Get your Social Security card and two matching IDs before your DMV visit, or PennDOT will turn you away.

Update your registration at vote.pa.gov and check the “Change of Name” box. A change made more than 15 days before an election counts for that election; closer than that, it applies to the next one.

Pennsylvania has a flat state income tax, so update your name with the state too. Log in to myPATH to update your tax account name, and give your employer an updated withholding record so your PA withholding matches.