Name Change by State
This is our name change by state directory. Every state runs its own offices, so the paperwork for a name change after marriage looks a little different depending on where you live. Pick your state below and you will get the steps in the order that actually works, with the right agency named at each one.
Click your state on the map
Smaller states, easier to tap here: Connecticut Delaware Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey Rhode Island Vermont
Hover or tap a state to open its guide. Prefer to type? Use the search below.
Type a state name or its two letter code, then click your state. Press Enter to jump straight to the first match.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
What is the same in every state
The offices change from state to state, but the order does not. Work through it top to bottom and no office sends you back to the start:
- Get certified copies of your marriage certificate. This is your proof for everything that follows.
- Update your Social Security card. Most other offices check your name against Social Security first.
- Update your driver's license or Real ID.
- Update your voter registration.
- Update your vehicle title and registration.
- Update your U.S. passport.
After those, the rest is cleanup: bank, employer, insurance, doctor, subscriptions. None of them are difficult once your Social Security card and your license already show your married name.
What changes from state to state
Three things, and they are the reason a general checklist is not enough. First, who holds your marriage record: it might be a county recorder, a circuit or probate court, a town clerk, or the state health department. Second, what your licensing agency is called and where it sits, from a DMV to a Department of Revenue to a county office. Third, whether vehicle titling and voter registration run through the same office as your license or a separate one, which decides whether this is one trip or three.
There are real outliers too. North Dakota does not register voters at all. Hawaii licenses drivers through its counties rather than a state agency. Your state guide above says which applies to you.
Changing your name after divorce instead?
The order is much the same, but your proof is your divorce decree rather than a marriage certificate. Read our guide to changing your name after divorce, or go straight to the name change after divorce kit.
Let the kit do the paperwork
Every step above is doable on your own. The catch is the busywork: tracking down each form, filling in the same details over and over, and knowing which office wants which proof. That is what our name change kit takes off your plate. You tell us your state and your situation, and you get a personalized checklist, the correct pre-filled forms, and plain step by step instructions.
It does not replace the offices, and NameChange does not issue any legal document for you. What it does is get your paperwork ready and in the right order, so each office says yes the first time. See what is in the kit.
