Name change after marriage in Massachusetts

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Marriage certificate

• The Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics charges $32 for each certified copy of a marriage record ordered by standard mail, a price that includes a 10-year record search.⁵
• At the Registry counter in Dorchester, a certified Massachusetts marriage record costs $20 per copy and is usually processed on the spot.⁵
• The Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics charges $54 for the first certified copy ordered online or by phone and $42 for each additional copy.⁷
• The Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics asks for proof of identity with every certificate request, preferably a driver license, even an expired one.⁷
• After a Massachusetts wedding, the officiant files the marriage license with the city or town clerk in the place that issued it.³
• Massachusetts does not keep records of marriages performed in other states, so couples married elsewhere order the certificate from the state where the wedding took place.³
• The Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics keeps vital records from 1936 to the present.⁸
• Massachusetts marriage records from 1931 through 1935 have been transferred from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics to the Massachusetts State Archives.⁸
• Both people fill out the Massachusetts Notice of Intention of Marriage in person at a city or town clerk before the wedding.⁹
• The Massachusetts Notice of Intention of Marriage asks for proof of age, a Social Security number, a fee that varies by town and the name each person will use after the wedding.⁹
• The Secretary of the Commonwealth says a Massachusetts spouse’s name changes automatically to the one listed on the marriage certificate after the wedding.³
• Chapter 46, Section 1D of the Massachusetts General Laws lets each spouse adopt any surname, keep or resume a birth surname, or use a hyphenated combination.¹⁰

Driver's license

• Chapter 90, Section 26A of the Massachusetts General Laws requires a license or permit holder to report a change of name in writing to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles within 30 days.¹
• The same 30-day name-change rule in Massachusetts covers anyone with a motor vehicle or trailer registered in their name.¹
• The Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles may revoke or suspend the license, permit or registration of someone who skips the name-change report.¹
• The Massachusetts RMV completes name changes only at an RMV Service Center, by appointment, where it takes a new photo and signature and issues the new card.²
• Massachusetts drivers must fill out the license and ID application before the appointment and bring it to the RMV Service Center.²
• The Massachusetts RMV charges a $25 Driver’s License/ID Amendment Fee for each changed card.²
• For a REAL ID license, the Massachusetts RMV requires proof of the name change, such as a marriage certificate, when the new name differs from the lawful presence document.²
• For a standard, non-REAL ID license, the Massachusetts RMV lets a driver change the name with no documentation, as long as there is no attempt to defraud.²
• The online option of the Massachusetts RMV covers address and organ donor status changes, through a MyMassGov Personal account.²
• The Secretary of the Commonwealth tells newlyweds to get the Social Security card first because the Massachusetts RMV checks the Social Security number on a new license application.³

Voter registration

• Massachusetts voters with a signature on file at the Registry of Motor Vehicles can update their name through the online voter registration system.¹¹
• The Massachusetts deadline to update a voter registration is 10 days before any election or town meeting.¹¹
• A Massachusetts voter can also file a paper registration form by mail with the local election office, postmarked by the registration deadline.¹¹
• Under Chapter 51, Section 2, a Massachusetts voter who adopts a new name stays registered under the former name until June 1 of the following year.¹⁰
• Massachusetts registrars correct the current voter register to the new name when the voter gives notice in person before registration closes for an election.¹⁰
• The Secretary of the Commonwealth advises updating the voter registration once the new Massachusetts license arrives, to avoid problems at the polling place.³

Agencies

• Uninsured newlyweds may be able to enroll through the Massachusetts Health Connector within 60 days of the wedding, using the marriage certificate.³
• The Massachusetts Department of Revenue does not ask married couples for proof of marriage to file a joint or separate return.³

Social Security

• The Social Security Administration recommends updating your Social Security record before you go to your state motor vehicle office.⁴
• Social Security suggests waiting until the state has recorded the marriage, which takes about 30 days in most cases.⁴
• For proof of identity, Social Security prefers a U.S. driver license and also accepts a state ID card or a U.S. passport.⁴
• Social Security treats a marriage certificate as the ideal proof of both the new legal name and the marriage.⁴
• Social Security accepts only original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency, never photocopies or notarized copies.⁴
• Social Security does not charge for a card with the new name.⁶
• Once Social Security completes the request, the replacement card arrives by mail in 5 to 10 business days.¹²
• People who cannot use Social Security’s online services fill in the paper Form SS-5 and show the required documents.¹³

Passport

• USAGov says to report a name change to the U.S. Department of State as soon as possible to get an updated passport.¹⁴
• Form DS-5504 covers a name change by marriage when the passport was issued less than one year ago and the name changed within that year.¹⁵
• The U.S. Department of State charges no fee for Form DS-5504 unless the applicant asks for expedited service or 1–2 day delivery.¹⁵
• Form DS-82, the mail-in passport renewal, accepts a married name when the applicant sends certified proof such as a certified copy of the marriage certificate.¹⁶
• Renewing with Form DS-82 requires sending the most recent passport, issued when the applicant was at least 16 and less than 15 years ago.¹⁶
• An applicant who cannot document the name change with a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order must apply on Form DS-11 instead.¹⁶
• Form DS-11 is filed in person at a passport acceptance facility, at a passport agency by appointment, or at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.¹⁷

Voter registration

• A voter registration can be updated online through vote.gov or by mail with the National Mail Voter Registration Form.¹⁴

Agencies

• USAGov advises telling Social Security early because other agencies learn of name changes through the SSA.¹⁴
• Every name on a federal tax return must match Social Security records.¹⁴

• Form SS-5 filled in from your answersYou print it, sign it and bring it to Social Security with your documents. The form itself is free on ssa.gov.
• The passport application for your case, filled inPicked from your answers about your current passport; the State Department’s fees are paid to the State Department. The application also needs a recent color photo, which the kit doesn’t include: U.S. passport photo rules, and a photo from a selfie.
• The Massachusetts checklistThe steps above in order, with the deadline, the fee and the official page for each one.
• Notification lettersFor your bank, employer, insurer and other accounts, with your old and new names.

The kit does not file anything for you and is not legal advice. Government fees, like the license fee and the county copy of your marriage record, are paid directly to each office.