How Can I Change My Last Name After Marriage?

To legally change your name after marriage, you need to obtain a certified copy of your marriage certificate and use it on all legal and personal records. This process can be done for various reasons such as marriage, divorce, gender change, or personal preference.

To change your name, you need to fill in panels 1 to 7 and 15 and request a replacement Social Security card. If you want to change your name and address simultaneously, you need to get a physical copy of your marriage certificate.

Once you are married, you can change your name to your spouse’s name at any time you want, either immediately or months or years later. However, you may still have your maiden name on other documents like driver’s licenses, IRS, and previous W-2.

Assuming a last name due to marriage is possible on government documents such as health cards, driver’s licenses, and Ontario Photo Cards. It is not necessary to change the name on your own documents, but it may confuse family members.

Changing your name by phone is not possible if you haven’t already changed one of your names. However, if you are changing back to your birth name and have that name on file, you can do it by phone (documentation not required).

For lease agreements, changing your name after marriage is straightforward, but you must contact your landlord before using this process. In some cases, you may need a court order to change your name.

In summary, changing your name after marriage involves obtaining a marriage certificate, obtaining certified copies, updating your social security card, and obtaining a new drivers license or state ID card.

How do I change my name after I get married in the US?

Court order. To change your name, you must file a petition with your local court. You may need to file paperwork and appear before a judge to change your name. Find your local government website and contact your circuit court to learn how to legally change your name. Notify government agencies when you change your name. Show these federal and state agencies that you changed your name by providing certified copies of your marriage and divorce certificates or name change orders.

Have a question? Ask a real person any government question for free. They’ll help you find the answer.

How to legally change your name in NY after marriage?

How to Change Your Name in New York After Getting Married: Decide what your new name will be. … Enter a new last name on your marriage certificate. … Marry. Sign up for a name change service. … Get a new social security card. Get a new passport photo. … Get a copy of your marriage license. 1. Decide what you want your name to be. Think about changing your name. Write about it for the magazine. Think about whether you should take your husband’s name. Consider a hyphenated name, but decide that as an editor, you can’t use hyphens. You also decide that the last “r” in your name, followed by the first “r,” lacks musicality and flow. Think about all the social media handles and weekly column you have under your current name. You can add your husband’s last name to yours. Let yourself accept that everyone will think this is a middle name or hyphenate it incorrectly and move on. 2. Enter your new last name on your marriage certificate. Make an appointment online for your wedding certificate and ceremony using New York City’s Project Cupid, which is bureaucratic. Sign the new name with confidence, even though you don’t know what lies ahead.

Is it hard to change your last name in New York?

• To change your name in NYC, you need a Petition and your original birth certificate. We recommend using the Petition available on the New York County Civil Court webpage, availablehere. The form also allows you to change your sex designation.
• Complete the Petition by adding your personal information. If anything from #3-5 in the Petition applies to you, explain. For example, if you have ever been convicted of a crime, state when, where, what you were convicted for, and what happened with your case. You do not need to report subway or traffic violations, only crimes. If you have a child or spousal support obligations, indicate that you have such obligations on #12-18.
• The court will ask for your place of birth in #2. You must provide proof of birth. If you were born outside New York, you may provide a birth certificate, passport, or any other legal document which shows the date and place of youth birth. One of those documents must be a certified copy of your birth certificate, a certified transcript of your birth certificate, or a certificate from the Commissioner or local Board of Health stating that no such certificate is available.
• For the grounds of your application, say whatever you want the judge to know about why you want a name change. You dont have to share everything, but everything you do write must be true.
• If you would like your record to be sealed – which means that, unlike other normal court records, your name change petition and any related documents would not be public records – you should check the box on #30 to request the court to seal your records for your safety.
• Sign the Petition with your current legal name in front of a notary. Many banks will notarize it for free if you bring your ID and your paperwork. You may also have it signed off at the clerks office at Name Change Court. If you do not understand English, whoever translated the Petition for you should sign and have notarized an “affidavit of translation.”
• If you were born in New York State, you will need to submit a certified copy of your birth certificate with your petition. If you dont already have a certified copy of your birth certificate, you can request one from the government. If you were born in NYC, you can get your birth certificate from theNYC Department of Healthor call 212-788-4520 to find out how to get a copy. You may also go get your birth certificate in person at 125 Worth St. in Downtown Manhattan. If you were born in New York State, go to theNew York State Department of Health.
• If you are not a citizen, you have a right to change your name. If you do not have a birth certificate, you should be able to use an immigration document, such as a passport or a Travel Document. If you are without papers and live in New York, you may also be able to change your name here.
• Under the law, trans people are not required to show medical evidence of our transitions to change our names. Most of the time, judges correctly follow the law. If your name change gets denied because you did not include medical evidence, you can seek legal help to get your name change.
• There is a $65 fee to file a name change. If you cannot afford to pay the fee for filing a name change, bringing a copy of an award letter or other proof of income may help you waive the fees.
• If you are married, some judges want you to get permission from your spouse beforehand even though that is not in the law. In fact, under current New York law, when an adult seeks a name change, the courtcannotrequire approval from anyone else to grant their name change, even their spouse.
• *Once you have your papers ready, you can file your name change application in the civil court of any of the five boroughs, no matter which borough you live in. Manhattan: 111 Centre St.
• Bronx: 851 Grand Concourse
• Brooklyn: 141 Livingston St.
• Queens: 89-17 Sutphin Blvd.
• Staten Island: 927 Castleton Ave. This guide is Manhattan-specific because it has been less harmful to trans people due to our trainings. Please note that the process is different in each borough of NYC. If you dont go to Manhattan, please call the court clerk to make sure you are doing everything correctly.
• After you go through security to enter the court, go to the clerks office that handles name changes. In Manhattan, it is room 118 on the ground floor level near the exit.
• Get in the line marked “name change.” Tell the clerk you are filing for a name change and give the clerk your papers. If you were born in New York, the clerk will keep your original birth certificate. If you were not born in New York, the clerk will make a photocopy of your birth certificate and give you back the original. The clerk will also tell you that you need to pay the $65 fee.
• If you cannot afford this fee, tell the clerk that you need to proceed as a poor person and fill out the form
• it will ask you questions about your income, property, and expenses, such as rent. You should hear in a couple of days whether your petition to proceed as a poor person was approved. If it was approved, you will be given an Index Number and a court date. If it wasnt, the clerk will either ask you to come in with more information or tell you that you will have to pay the fee. You may call the clerk at 646-386-5609 or go to their office in person to check on it if you dont hear from them. If you are able to waive the fees, you might be able to also get free certified copies of your name change, but theres no guarantee.
• If you can afford this fee, go to the cashier on the 2ndfloor to pay. The cashier only accepts cash (in exact change), money orders, and certified checks,NOTpersonal checks or credit cards. The cashier will give you a receipt with your Index Number on it. Keep this receipt. Then go back to the clerk downstairs to turn in your papers.; The clerk may require that you provide proof of your New York City residency before they will accept your paperwork. Technically, this should not be required, but if you have proof available, such as an ID with your current address, it may be easier to provide this proof to the clerk. If you do not have an ID or other proof of residence, you should request that the clerk accept your petition anyway and allow the judge to decide the issue.; The judge will contact you if they need more information or documents to support your petition.; If you are currently incarcerated or on parole for a violent felony offense, you will need to give notice of the hearing date to the DA and the court or courts in which you were convicted.You can find more information about this in the name change guide for incarcerated individualshere.; *Hearings are currently not necessary; however, this may change in the future.; If the judge wants more information about any aspect of your petition, including your request to have your name change records sealed, they can decide to hold a hearing before granting your name change.; Note that if the judge grants your request to seal your name change case, you will have to make a Motion to Unseal in order to receive certified copies of your name change order. To do this, you will have to come back to court and submit the motion with the clerk in room 118. Typically, the judge will grant your request in 2-4 days.

How do I change my name on my passport?

For more info, see our Change or Correct a Passport page. If you are changing your name within a year of getting your passport, fill out Form DS-5504. If you changed your name more than a year after your passport was issued, use Form DS-82.

Travel.State.Gov U.S. Passports Passport Help Frequently Asked Questions about Passport Services.

Find answers to your questions in one of these categories:

General Questions; Children (Under 16); Social Security Number Requirement; U.S. Passport Card.

Can a non US citizen change their name after marriage?

If you are legally allowed to live in the USA and have accounts, memberships, or IDs here, you can change your records to your new married name. You don’t need to file separately. Show your marriage certificate. It doesn’t matter if the certificate is from the US or another country.

Update your green card after marriage. If you have a green card, apply to update it with all your other identification, accounts, and memberships. Show your marriage certificate and ID. Your marriage certificate can be from the US or abroad. If it’s in another language, have it translated into English. Complete form I-90, ‘Replace Permanent Resident Card’. This form is in all our kits. Select “Immigration” from the federal agency listings. It costs $540 to replace your green card. It could take 4 to 18 months for your new green card to arrive. You can change your name for free when you become a citizen, saving the $540 replacement fee. Some agencies may ask to see your updated green card before updating their records. You can leave your green card in your former name, but it could make things difficult when you need to open a bank account, apply for a job, or do other identity-related tasks. (continued…)

Why do immigrants change their names?

Someone might change their name in order to make it sound more American, to fit in with the local community, or simply because it was good for business. There is at least one instance of a small businessman arriving in the United States from Eastern Europe changing his name, at least his public name, to something that sounded Swedish, because he had settled in a Swedish neighborhood in New York City. Immigrants would sometimes officially record their name change, when naturalizing for instance, but often, as there was no law in New York State requiring it be done, no official record of a name change was made. People would just start using a different name.

John Colletta, in his book They Came in Ships, describes the immigration process at Ellis Island in more detail:

The Inspector in the immigration receiving center had in has hands a written record of the immigrant he was inspecting and, asking the same questions over again, could compare the oral statements with it. The inspectors therefore, read the names already written down on the lists, and they had at their service a large staff of translators who worked along side them in the Great Hall of the Ellis Island facility. (p.12)

Do I have to change name on passport after marriage USA?

You don’t have to change your passport name right after getting married. US Customs and Border Protection says you can travel with proof of your name change (like a marriage certificate) and return to the US. Other countries may have different rules. Before you go, check entry requirements. Check online or with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to find out what to do. If all your destinations accept a marriage certificate with your old passport, leaving your passport in your unmarried name is a good idea, especially if you have travel scheduled soon after your wedding (like a honeymoon). Passport processing times can be long.

How do you change your name?

You can change your name by filing papers in court. If the judge agrees, you get a court order stating your new name. You need this order to change your name on ID documents like your driver’s license, passport, or social security card. Steps to change a name. Start the process by filing forms with the court. You pay a filing fee of $435-$450. If you can’t afford the fee, you can ask the court to waive it. The clerk will give you a date for the judge to make a decision. A judge will decide in about two to three months. The judge can’t decide until the forms have been published in a newspaper for one month. This means the request is in a newspaper. There is a fee to publish in a newspaper.

How to legally change your last name in Texas?

If you are married and changing your last name, use your marriage license as proof. To change your first or middle name, get an application to amend your birth certificate from the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics. You need a court order to change your last name. You must be at least 18 to file for a name change. You must pay a fee and attach a fingerprint card to the petition. The reason for the change must be legal and in the public interest. A name change to avoid creditors wouldn’t qualify.

Petition to Change Name of an Adult. See the I Want to Change My Name guide. Get a fingerprint card from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). DPS uses Safran for fingerprints. To find locations, go to ibtfingerprint.com/locations. File the verified petition with the fingerprint card and filing fees in the county where you live. If you can’t afford the court costs, you can ask for them to be waived. The guide has free form instructions on filing the Statement. I cannot afford my court fees. Appear before a judge and provide testimony about why you want to change your name. If the name change is granted, go to the clerk’s office and get a Change of Name certificate or a certified copy of the court order. Notify the appropriate agencies of your new name. They won’t be automatically notified.

Yes, but there are more requirements. If you are a registered sex offender, attach a completed sex offender registration update to the petition. All offenses above a Class C misdemeanor must be listed in the petition, along with the case number and court of each offense. If you were convicted of a felony, you must show:

How long do I have to change my name after marriage in Illinois?

Notify the Illinois Secretary of State of your name change and update your ID. You must notify the Secretary of State’s office of a change of address or name within 10 days. You must also update your license or ID with your new name within 30 days of your name change. You can do this at an Illinois Driver Services Office. Take your name change documents and your current ID. Update your Social Security card. Fill out the SS-5 form, print it, and take it to your local Social Security Office. The staff will verify your documents and give you a certificate showing that the Social Security Office has approved your name change. You can also mail your SS-5 form to your local Social Security Office with a certified copy of your ID, marriage certificate, and proof of age. They will mail your new social security card to you. Where should I update my name after a name change in Illinois? You need to update:

Is there a deadline for name change after marriage in Texas?

You can change your name after marriage without a time limit. Start the process soon after your wedding to avoid complications. Many couples start the process 1-2 months after marriage.