How to Change Your Name

Guide Note: How to Change Your Name walks you through the steps of acquiring the documents, filing the paperwork and settling the personal business necessary to change your name.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Legally Change Your Name
• File Your Name Change
• Other Options
• Resources

Introduction

(Creative Commons photo by Peter Sanford)

• Whether you're getting married, getting divorced or you're a boy named Sue, there are plenty of good reasons to change your name (and a few bad ones too). If you're planning to make the change, follow the proper steps to make your new name legit. You'll need to obtain documentation from the court and use that documentation to change your name with several different government agencies and financial institutions. Make sure that you follow all of the proper steps so that you don't have problems confirming your identity later.

Legally Change Your Name

• Obtain the proper documentation for your name change.

Marriage

• You will need a certified marriage certificate as legal proof of your changed status to obtain new identification.

1. Apply for Your Marriage License: The first step to getting your marriage certificate, which you will need to change your name, is to contact your local county clerk a few months before your wedding to learn about the marriage license application process. Once you've got that information, stay on top of the application process. Make sure that all required signatures are on the marriage license when your wedding officiant mails it to the county clerk.
   • Visit Mahalo's page How to Get a Marriage License for a complete walkthrough of the license application process.
2. Request Certified Copies of Your Marriage Certificate: Contact the county clerk's office that's processing your marriage license application to request additional certified copies of your marriage certificate. You will need these to file your name change with government agencies and financial institutions.

Divorce

• When you get divorced, request that the judge issue a divorce decree that officially restores your former name. Request certified copies of this order from your county clerk to use as proof of your name change.

Naturalization

• In the United States, aliens have the opportunity to change their names during the application process for naturalization. On page one, the N-400 Application for Naturalization asks, "Would you like to legally change your name?"

Personal Preference

• Maybe you have your own reasons for changing your name. That's your prerogative and right as an American citizen. To formally change your name, apply for a court order in a state court and pay the filing fee, which varies from state to state. Although a man in Missouri successfully changed his name to "They" in 2004, you'll probably have to state your reasons for wanting to make the change, and there are a few restrictions:

1. Notifications: Lawyers must notify the state bar of an impending name change. Ex-convicts must notify the Criminal Justice System. Aliens must notify The Immigration and Naturalization services.
2. New Names You Can't Have: Generally, you can't change your name to obscenities or have numbers in your name.
3. Fraud: You can't change your name for fraudulent purposes, such as avoiding creditors or impersonating other people for profit or defamation.

File Your Name Change

Changing your name will involve a wait. (Creative Commons photo by Florian Boyd)

• Once you've legally changed your name with the courts, you'll need to notify several government agencies and financial institutions about the change.

1. File Your Name Change with the Government:
   • File your name change with the Social Security Administration:
   1. Fill out the social security card application.
   2. Make sure that you have proof of your identity, citizenship and marital status.
   3. Take your application and documentation to your local Social Security office.
   4. The Internal Revenue Service processes your tax returns according to the name that you currently have filed with the Social Security Administration.
   • File your name change with the Department of Motor Vehicles:
   1. If necessary, make an appointment at your local DMV.
   2. You will need a certified copy of your marriage license, divorce decree or court order and your old driver's license (if you're going on a domestic honeymoon and have already booked flights under your maiden name, wait until afterwards to change your driver's license).
   3. Get a license with your new name on it.
   • File your name change with the U.S. Passport Agency.
   1. If your passport was issued within one year of your legal name change, fill out the DS-5504 form (Application for a U.S. Passport: Name Change, Data Correction, and Limited Passport Book Replacement Form) and mail a certified copy of your marriage certificate or court order, two current color photographs (2" by 2") and your current, valid passport to the address on the form.
   2. If your passport was issued more than one year ago, you must renew your passport by filling out a DS-82 renewal form and pay the renewal fee.
2. Inform Business and Financial Institutions About Your Name Change:
   1. Change your name with your bank, credit card services, holders of any leases or mortgages that you have, doctors, the voter registration office and the human resources department at your work. You want to make sure that your benefits and retirement plan are under the proper name.
   2. Also, if you have a trust fund, will or other legal documents, change your name on those.
3. Use Your New Name: Once you've made it official, start using your name. Break it in and have fun with your new identity!

Other Options

• If all of that paperwork sounds like too much work for you, you have a couple of other options:

1. Consider hiring a lawyer to help you legalize your name change.
2. Simply start using your new name to change it through common usage. As long as you are not doing so with fraudulent intent, you can change your name at will in the United States, which technically has the same authority as a court-approved name change.

Resources for How to Change Your Name

• About.com: How to Change Your Name When You Marry  
• wikiHow: How to Change Your Name
• SoYouWanna.com: Soyouwanna Change Your Name?
• U.S. State Department: How to Change Your Name in Your Passport
• Social Security Online: Marriage, Divorce and Name Changes
• eHow: How to Change Your Name After Marriage
• Lifespy: How to Change Your Name
• legalZoom: Name Change Education Center
• legalzoom.com: Name Change FAQs
• USAToday.com: Your Money: What's in a name change?   (January 30, 2001)
• IRS.gov: Procedures: Name Changes & Social Security Number Matching Issues
• Nolo: Changing Your Name After Divorce
• About.com: Final Decree of Divorce 
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Application for Naturalization
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Application for Naturalization information page
• wikipedia: Name change
• azlyrics: Johnny Cash Lyrics

Online Legal Services for Changing Your Name

• U.S. Legal Forms: Name Change Products
• LegalZoom: Divorce & Name Change

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