Change Your Last Name: 5 Steps To Take After the Wedding
Change Your Last Name: 5 Steps You Need To Take After the Wedding.
You’ve got your brand new name on that important marriage license.
But that’s not all you need to officially change your last name to begin your new life.
My hair isn’t blond, but that’s how I felt when I went about changing all my official documents after our wedding.
I grew up in Canada, then moved to the US after marriage.
So that meant I had to not only change my last name on everything, I had to get a new SSN, take a driver’s test, and so on.
Well, I headed in to the local insurance office, and confidently asked to renew my new driver’s license.
Blank stares was all I got.
In Canada, car insurance is wrapped up with driver’s license renewal somehow, and I had never heard of private insurers, versus government, or state, issued driver’s license.
It’s good that time has erased my memory and the mortification!
So here’s 5 steps to take to officially change your last name
These 5 steps are in the order in which to change your name.
You need the Marriage Certificate to get the Social Security Number, which you need to get your Driver’s License.
And so on. You can’t switch the steps around.
Step 1: Marriage License to Marriage Certificate
Before you can change any other documents,
you need to make sure your marriage license is filled in correctly:
marriage officiant, date, place, and two witnesses.
The steps vary from state to state, or country to country, so be sure to ask about the proper steps when you pick up your marriage license.
Typically, you take or send the license to the county clerk, who signs and stamps it, which then becomes a certificate.
Meaning you are now legally married with the paper work to prove it.
The most important paper work of your future life.
Do not misplace your marriage certificate, because down the road, it’s how you prove who you are.
Step 2: Apply for a New Social Security Card
Go to your state or country Social Security Administration website.
Fill out the application for a new social security card.
If you’re staying in the same country, you’ll just change your name.
When you move to a new country, you begin from scratch, and apply for a new number. You will need all the paperwork to prove you have a right to the new number. Moving from Canada to the US means you need the official paperwork to prove you are a legal permanent resident, together with the marriage certificate.
Side Note: an American Permanent Resident Card expires every 10 years. So even if there is no expiration date on your particular card you need to keep track and renew it on time. This card is super important when you get your new SSN.
Also, there will be a fee to renew your Permanent Resident Card. Be sure to go directly to the government website, not through a website who holds your hand through the process then charges you an even higher fee. The government fee is around $600. So if someone says it’s more, you’re not on the right website!
Step 3: Driver’s License
Staying in the same country:
Go into your local Department of Motor Vehicles with your paperwork: former Driver’s License, Marriage Certificate and your new Social Security Card (or Number).
Then get in line!
Changing country:
Make an appointment with the local Department of Motor Vehicles for a driver’s test, which may mean merely passing the written and physical tests, or also an actual driving test to prove you won’t jeopardize the residents of your new country on the road.
Then they’ll snap your new photo, and issue your new license.
Step 4: Change the Name on Your Bank Account
Most couples open a joint account after marriage.
The fastest way to do this is to go to your local branch with your Driver’s Licenses and Marriage Certificate.
Ask to change the name on all your accounts, then ask for new checks with your names (or order them from a company like this that prints checks) and new bank cards.
Some banks charge for the new bank cards. I hope you have a nice bank that does it free, like ours. Yay for BofA!!
Step 5: Everything Else
Once you have a Social Security card and Driver’s License in your married name, other changes should be fairly easy.
Some places only require a phone call; others may ask for a copy of your Marriage Certificate or Social Security card.
Some places you may need to notify:
-Employer/payroll
-Post office (if your address changed too)
-Electric and other utility companies
-Credit card companies
-Landlord or mortgage company
-Insurance companies (auto, home, life)
-Doctors’ offices
-Investment account providers
-Your attorney (to update legal documents, including your will)
-Passport office
-Airlines (to transfer over your miles)
There is an optional…
Step 6: Hire a Company to Do All the Changes
If you feel overwhelmed, there are services who do these things for you.
One is Hitchswitch Name Change, “choose the package you want, and with a few simple steps, all of the paperwork you need is sent to you filled out with your information (that only takes filling out one form).
This service cuts down on all the time it’d take to track down every single form you need and fills it out for you. It doesn’t get simpler than that!”
Have fun following the 5 Steps to Change Your Name.
It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s so exciting
to see those new documents and cards!
