To change your name after marriage, you will need to request and pay for a few Certificates of Marriage from the county Register of Deeds that issued your marriage license. They are $10 each. Some counties allow ordering online but others you must request by mail or go in person. I recommend you get 3 or 4.
To change your name on legal documents, you must start first with the Social Security name change and get a replacement card with your new name on it. DMV and SSA share the same name system so once you have changed your name at SSA, you can go to DMV and get a new license with your new name on it. For Passport you can go ahead and get started on that as soon as you get your marriage certificate. Any changes on licenses that are required for your work, go ahead and send a Certificate of Marriage to the licensing board.
The good news as of June 2022, the Social Security field offices are open again. So you can walk your marriage certificate in in-person and get your name changed that day without going through the download and mail in process that was in effect during COVID. They will not keep the certificate of marriage but need to see it then hand it back to you. (Of course, you can still do the online process if you prefer. *See instructions below.) SSA hours are 9 to 4 weekdays. There are 2 lines and you should get in the one without an appointment. (The guard in Wake County told me that a rep will come get those of you there to change your name on your card so you don’t have to wait so long and if you get there by 3:30, you will be out of there by 4:00.) The Raleigh Social Security office has recently moved from Old Wake Forest Road to 3315 Poole Road.
To change your name on your passport follow these guidelines: https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/passport-name-change.html You will send in an original Certificate of Marriage with your application, new photo if required, current passport, check for fee. It takes 6 to 8 weeks unless you pay to expedite it.
Once you have started the name change process, you must follow through because if you travel by plane or cruise, all your ID must match. If you are going on a honeymoon right after your wedding, make sure all reservations are in your maiden/current name because you will not have time to complete the name change process until after you return home.
Still an option:
*Changing your name Online/and mail in instructions for Social Security:
1. Download form SS-5 from SSA.gov website. https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
2. Fill it out. Item 1, line 1 should be the new name you want to be on your new SS card. Line 2 shows your former/maiden name, line 3 for any other names you have used.
3. Not necessary to fill out Items 9 and 10, the information about your mother and father.
4. Don’t forget to sign it! (Make a photocopy for your records)
5. Supporting documents: It would be a good idea to photocopy your driver’s license or birth certificate as an additional identifying document but not absolutely necessary since the marriage certificate has a lot of information on it and has always been sufficient in the past. Mail the completed SS-5, an original Certificate of Marriage (photocopy not acceptable), any other ID you are submitting, in Wake County mail to: 3315 Poole Road, Raleigh NC 27610.
6. It may take anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks to get your new card. They will return your original Certificate of Marriage
7. When you get your new SS card, you can go to DMV and change your name on your driver’s license. Take an original Certificate of Marriage with you. They are paperless and won’t keep it but they have to see it.
Here is a link to the SSA blog that explains the process: https://blog.ssa.gov/need-to-change-your-name-on-your-social-security-card/
