Changing Your Name – Doing It Yourself

Changing her name is one of the first things that a newlywed bride would do after marriage. Though several agencies and lawyers offer their services maiden name change, going the DIY way is not difficult either. Not to mention the huge cost saving here. What follows is a brief on the steps to be followed for a hassle free name change if you decide to do it yourself.

Congratulations! You have got married. Along with changing a lot of things for making your coexistence a pleasure for both, you would also want to bring about your maiden name change. For this purpose, you may like to take the help of agencies and lawyers specialized in this service or order the necessary kit that’s available online. But all this can be expensive. On the other hand, you might be one of those people who are enthusiastic about trying to do stuff yourself. Either way, we have strived to list all the steps involved in going about the task of changing your name yourself - just so you don’t miss out on anything and bring about your name change quicker.

In case you want to change your first name before changing your maiden name, a court order is needed for the same. A Petition for Name Change has to be filed in your county’s clerk office (usually located inside the local county’s court office). You would also have to appear before the judge on a court given date. When the judge grants your name change, the court provides an Order for Change of Name certificate. This certificate is essential to change/ update your name in the rest of the documents as well.

Once you register your marriage license with the state, you will be provided with a free certified copy of your marriage license. Though one copy is enough to initiate your name change process, it is always wise to order at least three certified copies. This will save your time as you need not wait for each department to return your copy before applying to others.

This is simple. You need to take the name change court order/ your certified marriage license copy and your old social security identification to the local Social Security office, or mail it to them to get your copy of the new Social Security card with your new name. Usually the IRS records are also automatically updated in this process; thereby saving you the hassles of irrelevant documentation. 

Some states allow the birth certificate to be updated with your new name. To do this, you can mail a certified copy of your Order for Change of Name certificate and/or a certified copy of your marriage license, along with your original old birth certificate, to the state’s Public Health department, which will send back your new and old birth certificates at the earliest. Timely receipt of these certificates will help you move forward with the other processes involved with your name change. 

When you have the certified copy of your name change court order and/ or the marriage license with you, it should not be difficult to have your passport in order. The order/ license has to be mailed to the Department of State, along with the requisite form for editing the information on your current passport. Photos that adhere to the rules of the state should also be mailed along with these documents to receive the updated passport at the earliest. 

In general, a phone call to the companies with which you have bee n dealing with, or are incurring monetary transactions on a daily basis, is sufficient to update your name in utility bills. But in some cases, when proof of the change is requested, sending the authorities a Xerox of your marriage certificate or court order would serve to be adequate. 

Changing your bank account details, including your name specific details on credit and debit cards, check books, etc., would require a Xerox copy of the certified marriage license and/or the court order. You may find it important to update this information with your employer to avoid any paycheck deposit confusions.

This requires a direct visit to your local DMV’s office along with your old driver’s license, Social Security Card, and your marriage license. Some offices also require proof of utility bills and bank details along with your name change application. At the DMV’s office you can also update your voter and vehicle registration.

You have to update your name change with other departments and companies such as the post office, revenue department, mortgage, loan providers, insurance, investment, etc. to avoid confusion or trouble in future proceedings. Follow these steps in order, and take care to use appropriate and correct documents to make your do-it-yourself name change experience easy and quick.

Last but certainly not the least, once all the required documentation is in place, and you are all ready to move ahead with a new name, you need to inform all others in your circle too. Be it leaving a message on social media forums or sending out emails and calls, with little care you can ensure that your colleagues, friends, family members, and all others start referring to you by your new name.