How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Colorado

The winning sequence in Colorado is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 24–48 hours → Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.

Order 3–5 certified copies from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Vital Records Section. Photocopies aren't accepted.

Good to know for Colorado: Colorado marriage licenses are issued and held by county clerk and recorder offices, so the issuing county is often the fastest source; CDPHE offers statewide marriage/civil-union verifications by mail, in-person appointment, or via authorized online vendors linked from the CDPHE page.

File the free SS-5 with Social Security first, wait 24–48 hours, then update your license at the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) (typically an amount that depends on your situation (confirm with the agency)). Bring:

• Certified copy of marriage certificate (or state verification) or divorce decree/court order
• Current Colorado driver's license, permit, or state ID card
• Updated Social Security card / proof SSA record already reflects the new name
• Proof of Colorado residency (two documents) if also upgrading to a REAL ID-compliant credential
• Completed DMV name-change application at the office visit

Mind the clock: Colorado asks you to update your license within 30 days of your legal name change, so don't park this step for later. The law: C.R.S. § 42-2-119(1)(a).

Update your passport, then your Colorado voter registration (You may register or update your registration online at GoVoteColorado.gov (or by mail/at a voter registration agency) through the 8th day before Election Day to be guaranteed a mailed ballot; after that you must register/update in person at a Voter Service and Polling Center through Election Day itself. Per the Secretary of State's Voter Registration FAQ, a legal NAME change on an existing registration specifically must be submitted via a signed paper form (mailed, faxed, emailed, or delivered in person to your county clerk and recorder) - name changes are not one of the fields editable purely online. Colorado law also lets a registered voter with a legal name change update the name on Election Day by giving the state's form to an election judge.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.