Who's behind NameChangePacket
NameChangePacket is built and run by Matt McAllister, an independent software builder and sole proprietor in California. It's a small, independent operation — not a law firm and not a government service — built to do one thing well: tell you the right order to change your name, with every step cited to an official .gov page and dated.
Why this exists
Changing your name after a marriage or divorce is not hard so much as it is easy to do in the wrong order — update your driver's license before Social Security and a counter can turn you away on a name mismatch, or mail your passport in right before a trip and be without it when you fly. The official rules are all public, but they live across SSA.gov, travel.state.gov, the TSA, and fifty separate state DMV sites. NameChangePacket reads those sources, puts the steps in the order that keeps your name matching everywhere, and shows you the source behind each one so you never have to take our word for it.
How we build and check the steps
Sourced to an official .gov page
We don't write procedure from memory. Each government-process step is tied to an official source — SSA.gov, travel.state.gov, DHS/TSA, or a state DMV — and the page links to it so you can confirm the current rule yourself.
Dated and re-checked
Government rules and fees change. Every ruleset carries the date we last verified it against the official page, and we show that date. If a figure isn't dated, it isn't ours.
Fail-closed when unverified
We publish a state's specific rules only when we've verified them. Until then the page routes you to the official source and doesn't assert a rule. We never fabricate a procedure to fill a gap.
For the full method — including how the steps are a deterministic projection of the verified rulesets, not AI-generated legal advice — see how we verify every step.
What we're not
We're an independent service that organizes and sequences your name change. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice; we are not a government agency and not affiliated with or endorsed by one. The government forms are always free — what you pay for is the right order, the state-specific accuracy, the source-verification, and the support. For a court-ordered legal name change, consult your county court or an attorney.
See your exact steps free
Answer a few quick questions and we'll tell you what to do first, second, and third for your exact situation — each step linked to the real .gov page. No account, no card.
Frequently asked questions
- Who runs NameChangePacket?
- NameChangePacket is built and run by Matt McAllister, an independent software builder and sole proprietor based in California. It's a small, independent operation — not a law firm and not a government service.
- Are you lawyers or a government agency?
- No. We're not attorneys, not a law firm, and not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. We organize and sequence the name-change steps and cite each one to its official .gov source. For a court-ordered legal name change, consult your county court or an attorney.
- How do you keep the information accurate?
- Every government-process step is sourced from an official .gov page and carries the date we last verified it. We publish a state's specific rules only when we've checked them against that state's own pages; until then we route you to the official source instead of guessing. We'd rather show less than show something we can't stand behind.
- How do I reach you?
- Email support@namechangepacket.com — real email support, answered by the person who built your packet.
Not legal advice · Not a government service · Not affiliated with any government agency.