How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Arkansas
Here's exactly how to change your name after marriage in Arkansas: the right documents, the right order, and the official Arkansas links you'll need.
Checked against official Arkansas and federal sources in August 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
The Arkansas order of operations
The winning sequence in Arkansas is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 24–48 hours → Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Office of Driver Services → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.
Every Arkansas step, in the right order
This page covers name change after marriage. Your free checklist puts it with the other agencies, sequenced for Arkansas, so nothing gets done out of order.
Step 1: Your certified marriage certificate
Order 3–5 certified copies from the Arkansas Department of Health, Vital Records (Slot 44, 4815 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205). Photocopies aren't accepted.
Good to know for Arkansas: Order online, by mail, by phone (866-209-9482), or walk-in. Fee is $10 per copy (online orders add a $5 processing fee plus $1.85 identity verification fee and optional expedited shipping). Processing 7-14 business days plus shipping; same-day service available for walk-ins arriving by 4:00 PM with required ID.
Step 2–4: Social Security, then the DMV
File the free SS-5 with Social Security first, wait 24–48 hours, then update your license at the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Office of Driver Services (typically $5–$10 (varies; confirm with the agency)). Bring:
- Current Arkansas driver license or ID card
- Certified marriage certificate (or court order/divorce decree) proving legal name change
- Proof of Social Security Number
- Proof of Arkansas residency (may be requested for REAL ID compliance)
- Completed Affidavit of Legal Name Change form (if applicable)
Step 5–6: Passport, voter registration & everyone else
Update your passport, then your Arkansas voter registration (Arkansas does not offer online voter registration updates. To report a name change, complete the name-change portion of the voter registration application and submit it to your county clerk. The state's pages give no separate cutoff for a name change, so send it well before an election. New registrations are due 30 days before an election, and a move to a new county has its own cutoff of 4 days before an election.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.
Arkansas FAQs
Sources
We checked the details on this page against the official sources below in August 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm anything you are about to act on at the agency's own page. The legal citations were last re-read against their sources in October 2026. How we verify.
- State agencyArkansas: ordering a certified marriage certificate
- State agencyArkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Office of Driver Services: name change on a license or ID
- State agencyArkansas official voter registration page
- State agencyArkansas Secretary of State: voter registration informationThe state's page: submit your application no later than 30 days before an election.
- FederalSocial Security Administration: change your name
- FederalSocial Security Administration: Form SS-5
- FederalU.S. Department of State: change or correct a passport
NameWright is not a government agency and this is not legal advice. We prepare your paperwork; you file it.
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