How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Delaware

To change your name after marriage in Delaware, order a certified copy of your marriage certificate, then update your Social Security card first, wait a few days, update your Delaware driver’s license, and then work through your passport, voter registration, bank accounts, and other records. The marriage certificate is your legal proof, and most agencies accept it without a court order. The whole sequence typically takes a few weeks if you do it in the right order.

Order a Certified Marriage Certificate

Before any agency will change your name, you need a certified copy of your marriage certificate from the Clerk of the Peace in the county where you were married. This is the version with an official raised seal, not the decorative certificate an officiant may hand you at the ceremony. Delaware has three Clerk of the Peace offices, one each in New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County. You can request certified copies in person or by mail, and fees vary by county.

Order two or three copies at once. You’ll be handing them over to multiple agencies, and some require originals rather than photocopies.

Know Which Names Your Marriage Certificate Covers

The marriage certificate route works for common choices: taking your spouse’s surname, keeping your birth name, hyphenating both surnames, or moving your maiden name into the middle name slot. The Social Security Administration and the Delaware DMV will process whatever name change matches what appears on the certificate.

If you want something the certificate doesn’t reflect, such as an entirely new surname or a non-standard arrangement, you’ll need a court-ordered name change through the Delaware Court of Common Pleas instead. That’s covered at the end.

Update Your Social Security Card First

Social Security has to go first. Every later step, especially the DMV, verifies your name electronically against Social Security records, so nothing else moves forward until this one is done.

You can request a replacement card online through the SSA website, depending on your situation, or in person at a local field office.¹ Delaware has field offices in Dover, Lewes, and Wilmington. If you apply in person, bring a completed Form SS-5, your certified marriage certificate, and a valid photo ID such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport.² All documents must be originals or certified copies. The SSA does not accept photocopies or notarized copies.

The SSA advises waiting at least 30 days after your marriage date before requesting the replacement, so the state has time to update its records.³ Once the request is processed, your new card arrives by mail in 5 to 10 business days.¹ Your Social Security number stays the same.

Update Your Delaware Driver’s License

Once Social Security has processed the change, you’re required to update your Delaware driver’s license within 30 days, and it must be done in person at a DMV office.⁴

Timing matters here. Wait at least 72 hours after the SSA updates your records before going to the DMV.⁵ The DMV verifies your name electronically against Social Security’s database, and if the update hasn’t propagated yet, the system won’t match and the clerk can’t process your request. Showing up too early is the most common reason people waste a trip.

Bring your old driver’s license (you’ll surrender it), your certified marriage certificate with the raised government seal, and your updated Social Security card. The DMV will not accept a decorative marriage certificate signed by clergy.⁶ If you’ve had earlier name changes from prior marriages or divorces, bring documentation for every change in the chain. The clerk takes a new photo and prints a new license on the spot. The fee is $10.⁴

Update Your U.S. Passport

Which form you use depends on when your current passport was issued and when your name legally changed.

Form DS-5504 if your passport was issued less than one year ago and your name changed less than one year ago. No fee unless you want expedited processing, which is $60. Submit by mail.⁷
Form DS-82 if it’s been more than one year since either your passport was issued or your name changed. You may be eligible to renew by mail with standard renewal fees.
Form DS-11 if your passport is expired or if you can’t provide your marriage certificate as proof. This requires an in-person visit to a passport acceptance facility and full application fees.

If you have international travel coming up, start this early. Even the free DS-5504 route takes several weeks for standard processing, and expedited service isn’t always fast enough for a last-minute trip.

Update Your Voter Registration

Under Delaware’s automatic voter registration law, when you change your name on your driver’s license at the DMV, the Department of Elections processes the voter registration update automatically. You don’t need to file anything separately.⁸

If you updated your name through some other route, or you want to update your registration on its own, you can do it through the Delaware Voter Portal, by contacting a Department of Elections office, or by submitting a voter registration application by mail, email, or fax. Handle it before any upcoming election deadlines so your name matches at the polls.

Handle Taxes If You Married Late in the Year

The name on your tax return must match what the IRS has on file through the Social Security Administration. A mismatch can delay processing and hold up your refund.⁹

If you married late in the year and haven’t updated your name with the SSA before filing, use your former name on that return to avoid the mismatch. Once the SSA has the new name, use it on all future returns. If a W-2 or 1099 arrives in your old name after you’ve already updated with the SSA, ask the issuer for a corrected form.

Update Banks, Employer, and Professional Licenses

With your Social Security card, driver’s license, and passport updated, use those documents to work through everything else. Banks, credit card companies, insurance providers, and healthcare systems all need your new legal name, and most accept your updated driver’s license or Social Security card as proof. Notify your employer promptly so payroll, tax withholding, and benefits records reflect the new name.

If you hold a Delaware professional license (nursing, real estate, cosmetology, and so on), update your name through the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation’s online portal, DELPROS. Requirements vary by profession, so check your licensing board’s page for specifics.

When You Need a Court-Ordered Name Change Instead

The marriage certificate route covers straightforward surname changes. If you want a name that doesn’t match anything on the certificate, or you’re reverting to a prior name after divorce and the decree doesn’t authorize it, you’ll need a court order. Delaware handles these petitions through the Court of Common Pleas in the county where you live.¹⁰

The filing fee is $85, which includes the original signed order and eight certified copies. Additional certified copies are $10 each. You’ll submit a verified petition, a notarized affidavit, your birth certificate, a photo ID, and documentation of any previous name changes, and you must have been a Delaware resident for at least six months before filing. After the paperwork is in, the court schedules a hearing before a judicial officer. Once approved, the court order replaces the marriage certificate as your proof for all the same agency updates above.¹¹

1
Social Security Administration. Change Name with Social Security
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Social Security Administration. Application for a Social Security Card
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Social Security Administration. Just Married? Need to Change Your Name?
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Division of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s License and ID Requests/Changes
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Division of Motor Vehicles. Changing Your Name/Address
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Division of Motor Vehicles. Drivers License/Identification Cards
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U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport
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Department of Elections – State of Delaware. Voter Registration
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Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
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Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 10 Chapter 59 – Change of Name
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Courts of Delaware. Change of Name Petitions