After Brit and I got married, I received a lot of questions about the process of changing my last name, so I decided to share a post about it. First and foremost, it's not as difficult as they all make it sound, or maybe as it used to be. It is in no way a pleasant process that I'd look forward to doing again, but understanding the appropriate order and documentation needed truly makes it much simpler.
Marriage License - Proof of name change
First, you must receive your marriage license. This is the proof that your last name has legally changed. Depending on state, your marriage license may not actually have your new full name on it. For example, my name is listed as Stefanie Sliger on my marriage license, although legally my name was changed to Stefanie Jones. Don't worry if it's listed with your maiden name. As long as your spouse's name/the name you want to change to is on the document, you're good. Remember, try to get multiple certified copies the the license, this will come in handy later.
Social Security Card
Once you have the marriage license, you can start changing your name! You'll need to start with your social security card. To change your name on your social security card you will need your old social security card, your marriage license, and a form of ID {i.e. state ID, passport}. You can complete the form online, find it here. When reading through the form, you'll stumble upon this statement, "A document supporting a name change must be recent and identify you by both your old and new names." Again, don't worry, your marriage license and another form of ID will cover this for you.
The Social Security office has developed a poor reputation for their long lines and lack of, I'll say, pleasantness. However, this was far from my experience. Everyone from the security officer at the door to the agent I worked with was beyond pleasant and even congratulated me on my recent nuptials. It was, dare I say, a joyful experience. I left 30 minutes later with a smile on my face. They said it would take 2 weeks to receive my new card, but I received mine in 5 days.
State ID
Next, change your state ID. You will need your marriage certificate and current state ID for this. Also, you will need to complete the appropriate documentation. There may be a fee for obtaining a new state ID, this and the specific documents you complete will all depend on which state you live in. You will receive a temporary ID that should have your new name on it. I made the mistake of forgetting to double check when they handed me the temporary card and ended up having to go back and do the whole shebang again. Learn from my mistakes and double check before you walk out those doors! In New York, you can schedule an appointment online, making the process much faster. Check with your state to see if you can do the same.
Passport
For your passport you will need to send in the original, or a certified copy, of your marriage license, and your old passport. You will get all of this information back. You will need to complete the required documentation and provide them with an updated passport photo. If you're traveling abroad within a month of your wedding, book your honeymoon in your maiden and don't plan to change your name on your passport until after you return. The process can take up to 4 weeks. You can expedite this for a bit more $$, but who has extra dough laying around right after a wedding anyway?
Credit Cards/Bank Accounts
For credit card and bank information, they may also want to see proof of name change, such as the marriage license. Typically this can be mailed or scanned to email. Some credit card companies will change it over the phone. So it's recommended to call, or research their specific website for the required information.
Email address
There are two ways you can change your email address. You can either get a completely new address, or you can change the way your name appears when sending messages and keep your same email address. If you're opting to get an entirely new address, this process can start right away, even before you get married. Since Jones is such a popular last name, I started searching for name combinations pretty early on. Luckily, the spelling of my first name is a bit unique so I found a combination quickly. If you're keeping your original email, you just need to edit your name in the Settings.
For gmail, go into Settings, click Accounts and Import, and then select Send mail as. You can edit how your name appears easily from here. Also, don't forget about your voicemail. If your voicemail states your last name, you're going to want to change that too.
Website services
There are a lot of websites offering name change services now {i.e. imamrs.com}. I'm not gonna lie, I signed up for one before we tied the knot. I loved the idea of it, however it wasn't as beneficial for me as it may be for others. These sites are really most beneficial if you have a lot of bills and/or subscriptions in your name. The websites cannot be used for government information because you have to be in person. If you are someone with multiple bills or subscriptions in your name, these websites may be worth it just to avoid the hassle.
Are you planning to change, or did you change your last name? What was the process like for you?
Thanks for visiting!
First, you must receive your marriage license. This is the proof that your last name has legally changed. Depending on state, your marriage license may not actually have your new full name on it. For example, my name is listed as Stefanie Sliger on my marriage license, although legally my name was changed to Stefanie Jones. Don't worry if it's listed with your maiden name. As long as your spouse's name/the name you want to change to is on the document, you're good. Remember, try to get multiple certified copies the the license, this will come in handy later.
Social Security Card
Once you have the marriage license, you can start changing your name! You'll need to start with your social security card. To change your name on your social security card you will need your old social security card, your marriage license, and a form of ID {i.e. state ID, passport}. You can complete the form online, find it here. When reading through the form, you'll stumble upon this statement, "A document supporting a name change must be recent and identify you by both your old and new names." Again, don't worry, your marriage license and another form of ID will cover this for you. The Social Security office has developed a poor reputation for their long lines and lack of, I'll say, pleasantness. However, this was far from my experience. Everyone from the security officer at the door to the agent I worked with was beyond pleasant and even congratulated me on my recent nuptials. It was, dare I say, a joyful experience. I left 30 minutes later with a smile on my face. They said it would take 2 weeks to receive my new card, but I received mine in 5 days.
State ID
Next, change your state ID. You will need your marriage certificate and current state ID for this. Also, you will need to complete the appropriate documentation. There may be a fee for obtaining a new state ID, this and the specific documents you complete will all depend on which state you live in. You will receive a temporary ID that should have your new name on it. I made the mistake of forgetting to double check when they handed me the temporary card and ended up having to go back and do the whole shebang again. Learn from my mistakes and double check before you walk out those doors! In New York, you can schedule an appointment online, making the process much faster. Check with your state to see if you can do the same.
Passport
For your passport you will need to send in the original, or a certified copy, of your marriage license, and your old passport. You will get all of this information back. You will need to complete the required documentation and provide them with an updated passport photo. If you're traveling abroad within a month of your wedding, book your honeymoon in your maiden and don't plan to change your name on your passport until after you return. The process can take up to 4 weeks. You can expedite this for a bit more $$, but who has extra dough laying around right after a wedding anyway?
For credit card and bank information, they may also want to see proof of name change, such as the marriage license. Typically this can be mailed or scanned to email. Some credit card companies will change it over the phone. So it's recommended to call, or research their specific website for the required information.
Email address
There are two ways you can change your email address. You can either get a completely new address, or you can change the way your name appears when sending messages and keep your same email address. If you're opting to get an entirely new address, this process can start right away, even before you get married. Since Jones is such a popular last name, I started searching for name combinations pretty early on. Luckily, the spelling of my first name is a bit unique so I found a combination quickly. If you're keeping your original email, you just need to edit your name in the Settings.
For gmail, go into Settings, click Accounts and Import, and then select Send mail as. You can edit how your name appears easily from here. Also, don't forget about your voicemail. If your voicemail states your last name, you're going to want to change that too.
Website services
There are a lot of websites offering name change services now {i.e. imamrs.com}. I'm not gonna lie, I signed up for one before we tied the knot. I loved the idea of it, however it wasn't as beneficial for me as it may be for others. These sites are really most beneficial if you have a lot of bills and/or subscriptions in your name. The websites cannot be used for government information because you have to be in person. If you are someone with multiple bills or subscriptions in your name, these websites may be worth it just to avoid the hassle.
Are you planning to change, or did you change your last name? What was the process like for you?
Thanks for visiting!
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