Driver's license in the United States: when is it necessary to change my name

Photo: Aymane Jdidi / Pixabay

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is very demanding in terms of updating the personal data of drivers in certain situations : when there is a move – from one state to another or from one address to another – or when there is marriage, divorce or adoption. Both contexts involve a change in the information related to the license, specifically the address and the name, data that can create a lot of confusion if they are not modified in time. For this reason, the laws of each state oblige people with driving privileges to notify the DMV when they are in any of these contexts, especially in relation to the name, which can also be changed through processes legal by own decision.

As with most procedures in the United States, the requirements to update The name before the DMV varies greatly from state to state . However, a requirement that is common to all cases is that, before filing with one of its offices, the applicant must update their name with the Social Security Administration (SSA), either in person or by mail, with original documents or certified copies. The online update is not available.

For this first step it will be necessary: ​​

1. Complete the form to request a Social Security card.

2. Provide legal name change documents: marriage certificate, divorce decree, court ordered name change.

3. Provide proof of identity: United States driver’s license or passport.

4. Provide proof of U.S. citizenship: U.S. birth certificate, certificate of citizenship.

After name change with SSA, applicant will be ready to initiate the name change with the DMV in the state where you reside. This first step is necessary because the DMV will verify the name, date of birth and Social Security number through the information provided by the SSA. After that, it will be necessary to present the documents required by state laws in that specific entity.

Changing the name before the DMV, unlike the address, is a more complex process since the driver has to make sure to do it also in his registration and title of the car and to do so you must collect all the information, documents and requirements where it is proven that you are the person you say you are. As it is a process that can be complicated, there are agencies recognized by the DMV that can carry out this process quickly and efficiently. Among them is MissNowMrs , a name change service approved by the government and aimed at those who wish to expedite this process.

MissNowMrs offers to change the name of her clients not only in the DMV, but in the Social Security Administration (SSA), in the Internal Revenue Service, in the United States passport, in the United States Postal Service and in insurance, bank account, medical, utilities and more for a fairly reasonable fee. The only limitation of MissNowMrs is that it represents the perfect alternative for newly married women , but it does not serve the other types of applicants related to this procedure. In that sense, those who do not belong to this group will have to show up at a local office and make the change with the requested requirements.

For those drivers who wish to do this independently, the website DMV.org has all the information corresponding to the requirements for the name change