.gov-verified · State-by-state reference · 2026 Last verified 2026-06-20
Name-change requirements by state
Every U.S. state runs a married name change through the same federal spine — certified marriage certificate, then Social Security, then your state driver's license / REAL ID, then your passport. What changes by state is the DMV step: the agency, the fee, whether you can do it online or only in person, and whether there's a deadline. The table below compares all 46 verified states side by side, each row linked to that state's full guide and to the official .gov source it came from.
46 of 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states + DC) verified so far; the remaining 5 are added as each is checked against its official source.
Of the 46 verified U.S. jurisdictions, 40 confirm you must change your name in person at a DMV office after marriage, and only 18 publish a deadline to update your license.
46
States verified
40
Confirm in-person only
18
Publish a deadline
$3–$42.5
DMV fee range (flat-fee states)
Name-change requirements by state, compared
Search or sort the table, then open any state for its full, source-linked steps. Fees are shown exactly as the official source states them — where a state doesn't publish a single flat figure, we link its fee page instead of guessing a number.
Showing 46 of 46 verified states.
| Agency | In person? | Deadline | Verified | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division | Charged at the 'normal duplicate fee'; a specific dollar amount for the duplicate is not itemized on the official fees page. Fee varies - see source. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-16 |
| Arizona | Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) | $12 | Yes — in person | Yes | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| California | California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | $37 — the cited DMV fee page lists 'Replacement (lost or stolen) / Change DL/ID Information' for a Class C license at $37; the $46 on the same page is the original/renewal fee, not a name/information change | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 5 | 2026-06-14 |
| Colorado | Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | fee varies — see source (official current fee schedule; Colorado DMV fees were adjusted June 30, 2025 and July 1, 2025, so confirm current amount on the State DMV Fees page) | Yes — in person | Yes | 8 | 2026-06-14 |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (CT DMV) | $30 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-14 |
| Delaware | Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | Varies — see source. The Delaware DMV name-change page does not publish a single flat dollar figure; we link the official source rather than assert a number. | Yes — in person | Yes | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles (DC DMV) | Varies — see source. The DC DMV name-change page does not publish a single flat dollar figure for a name change; the fee is the applicable driver-license/ID service fee. We link the official source rather than assert a number. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-20 |
| Florida | Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) | $25.00 (source-cited) | Yes — in person | Yes | 5 | 2026-06-14 |
| Georgia | Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) | No name-change fee is stated on the official DDS Update License page. A 'one free name or address change during the license term' policy appeared in a Google search snippet but could NOT be confirmed in the body of any official DDS page fetched, so treat as unconfirmed. Replacement/duplicate card (if applicable) is $10.00 when at least 150 days remain on the license/ID. Fee varies — see source. | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-14 |
| Idaho | Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), Division of Motor Vehicles | Varies — see source. The Idaho ITD required-documents page does not publish a dollar fee for a name change; ITD directs fee questions to its DMV line. We link the official source rather than assert a number. | See state page | No stated deadline | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| Illinois | Illinois Secretary of State, Driver Services Department | $5 (source-cited) | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-20 |
| Indiana | Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) | $9.00 per the official BMV Fee Chart (fee to amend a credential). Confirm current amount on the source as fees can change. | Yes — in person | Yes | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| Iowa | Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), Motor Vehicle Division | $10.00 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 2 | 2026-06-15 |
| Kansas | Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles | $16.00 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-15 |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Transportation Cabinet — Division of Driver Licensing (DRIVE) | $15.00 | Yes — in person | Yes | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV), Department of Public Safety | $13.00 (a local fee may apply, not to exceed $4) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 5 | 2026-06-14 |
| Maryland | Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) | $30 (fee schedule effective September 1, 2025) | Yes — in person | Yes | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) | $25.00 (source-cited) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-20 |
| Michigan | Michigan Department of State / Secretary of State (SOS) | $9 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 6 | 2026-06-14 |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) | $26 — DVS lists the duplicate/replacement card (all DL classes) at $26; a marriage name change is issued as a duplicate, so $26 is the name-change-relevant figure. The $46 on the same page is the original Class D issuance fee, not a name change. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-16 |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS), Driver Service Bureau | $11.00 | See state page | No stated deadline | 2 | 2026-06-15 |
| Missouri | Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR), Driver License Bureau | fee varies — see source. The official PDF fee chart could not be machine-parsed to confirm the exact current duplicate amount; verify on the DOR fee chart before publishing a number. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-16 |
| Montana | Montana Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) | Varies — see source. The Montana MVD name-change page states you pay 'the required fees' for a replacement license but does not publish a single flat dollar figure; we link the official replace-license page rather than assert a number. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | Varies — see source. The Nebraska DMV name-change page states only that 'the appropriate License Fees' apply and links its fee page; it does not publish a single flat dollar figure for a name change, so we link the official source rather than assert a number. | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-15 |
| Nevada | Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | $8.50 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 4 | 2026-06-15 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJ MVC) | $11 (listed as 'Changes/duplicate' on the NJ MVC license fee schedule) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 5 | 2026-06-14 |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) | Varies — see source. The New Mexico MVD name-change pages do not publish a name-change-specific fee; the general driver-license page lists $18.00 for a four-year license or $34.00 for an eight-year license, but those are not tied to a name change. We link the official source rather than assert a name-change number. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-20 |
| New York | New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) | $12.50 (source-cited) | By mail (some types) | No stated deadline | 6 | 2026-06-14 |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV), N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) | fee varies — see source. The exact base duplicate fee is not stated on the NCDMV name-changes or replacement pages reviewed; confirm the current amount at a DMV office or on the official fee schedule. (A web-search snippet cited $16.75 but this could not be verified on an official page that was directly read, so it is NOT asserted here.) | Yes — in person | Yes | 3 | 2026-06-16 |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), Drivers License Division | $3.00 — NDDOT states that if you are not in need of a renewal, you submit a $3.00 fee and have a new picture taken. (If you are renewing at the same time, the standard renewal fee applies instead.) | Yes — in person | Yes | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| Ohio | Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) / Deputy Registrar license agencies | $29.00 (listed as "Duplicate Operator $29.00 / $29.00"). No separately labeled name-change fee published; confirm exact charge with deputy registrar. | See state page | No stated deadline | 5 | 2026-06-16 |
| Oklahoma | Service Oklahoma (Department of Public Safety) | $25.00 | See state page | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-15 |
| Oregon | Oregon Department of Transportation, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) | fee varies — see source (the official fees page lists amounts under 'Replacements'; exact base amount not independently confirmed from the rendered fee table) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 6 | 2026-06-16 |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services (DMV) | $42.50 per official Payments and Fees page. Confirm exact charged amount at the Driver License Center; fees are subject to change. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | $28.50 — the RI DMV fee table lists the duplicate/update license fee at $28.50; the name-change page itself says costs are in the DMV Fee Table without an inline amount. There is no line literally labeled 'name change', so this is the applicable duplicate/update fee. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-20 |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) | $10 | Yes — in person | Yes | 5 | 2026-06-14 |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS), Driver Licensing | $15 — South Dakota DPS states a duplicate driver's license costs $15, and a name or address change costs $15. (A new/renewal license is $28.) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 5 | 2026-06-20 |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security — Driver Services | $8.00 total ($6.00 license + $2.00 application fee) | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 6 | 2026-06-14 |
| Texas | Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) — Driver License Division | $11 (source-cited) | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-14 |
| Utah | Utah Driver License Division (DLD) | $23.00 | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-15 |
| Vermont | Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | $24.00 — Vermont's official fees table lists the driver-license 'Replacement' fee at $24.00; a name change is issued as a replacement/corrected license. (There is no line literally labeled 'name change'.) | Yes — in person | Yes | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| Virginia | Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | fee varies - see source. DMV states you must 'pay the appropriate licensing fees'; the exact dollar amount is not stated on the name-change pages reviewed. | Yes — in person | No stated deadline | 3 | 2026-06-14 |
| Washington | Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) | fee varies — see source. The DOL change-name pages state a fee is required ('Payment for the fee for a new license with updated information' / 'You may need to pay a fee') but do not list a specific dollar amount; they direct applicants to the driver licensing fees page. | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-14 |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | Varies — see source. West Virginia does not publish a flat duplicate/name-change dollar figure; renewal fees follow an age-based formula ($5.00 per year until your age is divisible by five), and a REAL ID adds an additional $10.00 fee. We link the official source rather than assert a single name-change number. | See state page | No stated deadline | 2 | 2026-06-20 |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) — Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) | $14 | Yes — in person | Yes | 7 | 2026-06-14 |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), Driver Services | Varies — see source. The Wyoming Driver Services page refers only to the standard renewal fee and does not publish a dollar amount for a name change; we link the official source rather than assert a number. | Yes — in person | Yes | 4 | 2026-06-20 |
Data licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) — free to cite or republish with attribution to NameChangePacket (namechangepacket.com). Last verified 2026-06-20.
How we verify this (and why a state may be missing)
Each row is read directly from that state's official DMV / driver-license page and stamped with the date we last checked it. We publish a state only after we've confirmed it against the source, so 5 jurisdictions aren't in the table yet — we'd rather leave a state out than guess its rules. When an official page doesn't state a single flat fee, the row says so and links the page, instead of asserting a number no government source confirms. See our methodology for the full sourcing and fail-closed policy.
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Frequently asked questions
- What do all states require to change your name after marriage?
- Every state shares the same federal spine: a certified marriage certificate, then Social Security first, then your state driver's license / REAL ID, then your passport. What differs by state is the DMV step — the agency, the fee, the accepted documents, whether you can do it online or only in person, and whether there's a deadline. This table shows that state-specific step side by side for every verified state.
- Do you change your name at the DMV or Social Security first?
- Social Security first, in every state. State DMVs verify your name and SSN against the SSA's records at the counter, so updating Social Security before the DMV is what keeps your license or REAL ID from being rejected on a name mismatch.
- How much does a name change cost by state?
- Among the verified states that publish a flat driver-license fee, the cost ranges from $3 to $42.5; some states don't publish a single flat figure, so we link their official fee page instead of guessing a number. The federal Social Security update is always free, and a passport correction within one year of issuance is free via Form DS-5504.
- Which states make you change your name in person?
- Most verified states require it: 40 of the 46 confirm on their official page that the driver-license name change must be done in person at a DMV office. A few are different — for example, New York lets you change the name on a Standard license by mail (only its REAL ID / Enhanced documents need an in-person visit for a new photo). Where a state's official page doesn't state the method, the "In person?" column says "see state page" rather than assume one. Use the "In-person required" filter to see the confirmed in-person states.
- Is there a deadline to update your license after marriage?
- Most states set no hard deadline, but 18 of the 46 verified states publish one (for example, a set number of days to report the change). The "Deadline" column flags every state whose official page states one; open that state's page for the exact wording.
- How is this data verified, and what about states not listed?
- 46 of 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states + DC) verified so far; the remaining 5 are added as each is checked against its official source. Every value is read directly from that state's official DMV/driver-license page and stamped with the date we last checked it — fees are shown verbatim from the official source, and when a state doesn't publish a single flat figure we say so and link the page rather than assert a number. We never publish a state's rules until we've confirmed them.
Not legal advice · Not a government service · Not affiliated with any government agency.