Arizona Name Change Forms: Every Form and Where to File It

A name change in Arizona runs through federal forms and Arizona agencies at the same time. Here is the whole set, and where each one actually comes from.

• Certified marriage certificate or divorce decree. Not a form you fill in, but the document everything else depends on. Order certified copies from the Clerk of the Superior Court in the Arizona county where the marriage license was issued (Arizona marriage records are kept at the county level, not by the state Dept. of Health Services Bureau of Vital Records, which handles only birth/death records). Get two or three, since several agencies each want to see one.
• Form SS-5 (Social Security card). One national form, identical in every state, and always free. Download it straight from the SSA (PDF), or see it filled out field by field.
• Your Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) license application. This is the Arizona-specific piece. The agency supplies the form, and most locations hand it to you at the counter or post it on their site rather than publishing a standalone name-change form. Start from the official Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) page.
• A passport form, if you hold a passport: DS-5504 (free, passport under a year old), DS-82 (renew by mail), or DS-11 (in person). Which one is yours is a short test: compare all three.
• Voter registration update. Free, and often handled for you at the Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD). Details on the Arizona voter registration page.

Watch for sites charging a fee to "provide" the SS-5 or the passport forms. Every one of them is a free download from the government, linked above.

Filling in the form is half of it. Arizona also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified Arizona marriage certificate/license (or other legal name-change document)
• Current Arizona driver license or ID card
• Proof name was already updated with the Social Security Administration
• Identity/proof-of-residency documents if replacing a REAL ID-compliant license
• Payment for the $12 replacement license/ID fee

REAL ID note: Update your name with the Social Security Administration first and wait at least 2 business days before visiting MVD; name change must be reported to MVD within 10 days of the legal change. Bring ID showing both old and new names.

Good to know for Arizona: Example given is Maricopa County (largest AZ county, clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov); certified copy costs about $35.50-$43.50 depending on request method. Residents must request from the specific county Clerk of Superior Court where their license was issued, not a single statewide office.

Many Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a Arizona appointment.

Two of these go in the mail, and they do not go to the same place.

Form SS-5. Take or mail it to a local Social Security office. There is no central address for the SS-5, so use the SSA office locator to find the one that serves you.

Passport forms. This is where Arizona matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. Arizona is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from Arizona
National Passport Processing Center
PO Box 90155
Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155

Routine service (no fee)
National Passport Processing Center
Post Office Box 90107
Philadelphia, PA 19190-0107

Expedited service uses different addresses again and costs extra, and the instructions ask you to write "Expedite" on the outside of the envelope. Use a trackable mailing service: that envelope holds your passport and your certified certificate.

• Certified marriage certificate (3 copies): $30–$90
• Social Security card (Form SS-5): Free
• Driver's license update (Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD)): about $12 (confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $42–$267 in Arizona: on the low end if you skip the passport, on the high end with a full passport renewal and extra certificate copies.

The forms themselves cost nothing. What you pay for is certified copies, the Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Arizona does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.