Name change after marriage: the order to update Social Security, the DMV, your passport and the rest

Changing your name after marriage happens in a fixed order: certified marriage certificate first, then Social Security, then your driver's license, then your passport, and after that everyone else. The order isn't bureaucratic fussiness. USAGov says it directly: notify the Social Security Administration early, because other agencies learn of name changes through SSA — and the IRS checks the name on your tax return against SSA's records.

If you decide to take a new name, the goal is simple: every document and record agreeing on it. Until they do, the old-name documents are the ones that cause friction at tax time and at any counter that compares two IDs.

1. 1Certified marriage certificateFrom the local government office where you got married. Get more than one.
2. 2Social SecurityFree; often online. Other agencies check names against SSA records.
3. 3Driver's license or state IDYour state DMV. A new-name ID makes every later step easier.
4. 4PassportBy mail with your marriage certificate, or in person.
5. 5Everyone elseEmployer, bank, insurers, post office, voter registration, VA, state tax office.

Step 1: certified copies of the marriage certificate

Your marriage certificate is the document that proves the link between your old and new name. It comes from the local government where you got married, and the process varies between states.

Every agency below wants either the original or a copy certified by the issuing office. SSA spells it out: no photocopies, no notarized copies. Order several certified copies at once. You'll mail one to the State Department with a passport application while you're using another at the DMV, and waiting for the first to come back slows everything down.

Step 2: Social Security

• Marriage document showing the new nameoriginal or certified by the issuing office
• Proof of identityU.S. driver's license, state ID or U.S. passport; it may be in your old name and expired
• Proof of citizenship or immigration status, if askedSSA's online questions tell you what applies
• No photocopies or notarized copiesoriginals or copies certified by the issuing agency only

Source: SSA publication 05-10513 (April 2026).

This is the step that unlocks the rest. Start at SSA's replace-card page (ssa.gov/number-card/replace-card); it asks a few questions and tells you which path you're on:

• Fully online. Since February 2026, adults who are U.S. citizens, have a Login.gov or ID.me account, and hold a current driver's license and a marriage certificate from a participating state can request the last-name change online.
• Start online, finish in person. You bring your documents to a Social Security office or Card Center within 45 calendar days, and you may be able to book the appointment yourself.
• In person only. You fill in Form SS-5 and make an appointment by calling 1-800-772-1213.

SSA wants proof of the name change (your marriage document), proof of identity (a U.S. driver's license, state ID or U.S. passport — it's fine if it's in your old name, even expired), and proof of citizenship if it's not already on your record. The new card is free, carries the same number, and doesn't count toward the three-a-year replacement limit.

Step 3: driver's license or state ID

Every state runs its own DMV process, fees and appointment system, so check your state motor vehicle office's name-change page. USAGov's general rule applies here too: bring certified copies of the documents that prove the change, starting with the marriage certificate.

USAGov's tip is worth following: an updated license makes changing your name everywhere else easier, because it's the photo ID most offices ask for. If your license isn't yet a REAL ID, this is a natural moment to upgrade — the REAL ID guide lists the documents.

Step 4: passport

How you update a passport depends on its age and your situation:

• More than a year after your passport was issued (or after your name changed): if you're eligible to renew by mail, send Form DS-82 with your current passport, an original or certified marriage certificate, one photo and the fee. If you're not eligible, apply in person with Form DS-11.
• Applying in person with an ID already in your new name: the State Department says you don't need to submit proof of the name change, but you must fill in the marriage details on page two of the DS-11.
• Passport issued within the last year: the State Department's change-or-correct page has a separate route for this — follow the box that matches your dates.

Online renewal is not an option for a name change. Current fees and processing times are in the passport renewal guide.

Step 5: taxes, and everyone else

1. Wedding dayMarriage license is signed and filed
2. After it is filedOrder certified marriage certificates
3. Within 45 daysFinish an SSA application you started online
4. NextDMV, then passport
5. Before you file taxesName on the return must match SSA records

County processing times vary; the 45-day window is SSA's for applications started online.

The IRS. You don't file a separate name change with the IRS. What matters is that the name on your return matches SSA's records. You can file married filing jointly without changing your name at all — but if SSA still has your old name, you must use your old name on the return, or processing and refunds can be delayed.

USAGov's list of who else to tell includes the U.S. Postal Service, your state voter registration, the VA if you receive veterans benefits, your state tax agency, the county property tax office if you own a home, USCIS if you hold a naturalization or citizenship certificate, and your state's social services office if you receive assistance. Your employer's payroll, banks, credit cards, insurers, doctors and utilities each have their own process; ask each one what it needs.

Keeping the paper trail together

The manual method: make a one-page list of every account and office, tick each off as it's done, and keep one certified marriage certificate in a folder you never lend out. Scan everything you receive — the new Social Security card, the new license, the passport — and keep the copies together with the certificate. The important documents organizer guide has a system that holds up.

Paperlock can hold that whole trail in one place: it reads the marriage certificate, new ID and new passport as you scan them, files them without folders, and answers questions like when does my new passport expire? later — with the document attached.

Rules here are federal and current as of October 2026. The office that issued your marriage certificate and your state DMV set their own steps; if a detail of your case doesn't fit, ask them before you go.