Name change questions

To legally change your name, you need to first change it with the social security administration, and then you can change it on your driver's license and passport. Depending on how long after the wedding you will be flying, it may be best to hold off on the name change process until after your trip.

I agree with Hannah. Depending on how far out your trip is from your wedding, hold off from the legal process of changing your name until you return from traveling or postpone your trip. It could take a couple of weeks or it could take months depending on when the trip is and how backed up they are.

Agreed with the others. Your government issued IDs will have to have your legal name and they will all need to match. The process doesn't happen overnight and there could be additional delays with Covid and the increased travel forecast. If you are traveling a month after your wedding I would hold off on name changes until you return.

If you haven't already looked into this, I would check into your state's rules around changing middle names. In my state it's fairly straightforward to change your last name but to change your middle name requires a court order and is more complicated. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Got it. Well the issue is we will have the marriage license already submitted before the trip. So can my marriage license have my new name while my government ID’s such as drivers license still hand old name.

View Quoted Comment My state is the same, I’m in CA. So it personally sounds too complicated and expensive for my maiden name to become my middle name. I might keep my name and just tell people I have his last name LOL. What will you be doing?

I will also be doing this (I’m in TN). We will be traveling out of the country immediately following the wedding, so I don’t have to worry about whether to change my name immediately, but I am holding off on renewing my passport until next month because you can change the name for free within 1 yr of issuance, so I will be working on the name change pretty quickly on my return. Otherwise, as others have said, your 1st stop should be social security office...after that it’s all pretty simple. Make sure you get a few copies of your marriage license because everyone seems to want that proof regardless of updated license, ss card, etc. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also just wonder how difficult it is to make my maiden name my middle name here in CA. Seems like I need a court order. Anyone run into this issue?

View Quoted Comment You should still be fine. That doesn't signal a change to the federal government yet. Your application to the social security administration does.

View Quoted Comment

This won't be an issue.

My passport remained in my maiden name for years after we got married (even when I changed SS and driver's license) because it expired just before our honeymoon and I wouldn't have time to get it changed, so I just had to renew in my maiden name. Then I didn't feel like paying for it again, so I just left it. I always traveled under my maiden name because of this. I never experienced any issues, even with my SS being changed - I kept a certified copy of our marriage certificate with me when traveling in case a question ever arose, but it didn't.

Just make sure that your tickets match the name on the ID you plan to provide. If you are using a combination of driver's license/ID and SS, all should match.

Just wait until after the trip! You won't have any problems traveling if you haven't started the process with social administration or DMV.

View Quoted Comment Yes! I'm in WA and that's what I decided too. I just took his name but I miss my old name a little! I'm sure I'll get used to it though. You could definitely legally keep your name and go by his name! But having just gone through the name changing process it is very confusing what your name is while sort of having both! Like when you go to the doctor and they ask your last name there were honestly sometimes where I couldn't remember if I'd changed it there yet or not so I would have to say Idk! So embarrassing haha 🤦‍♀️