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

A name change in Colorado runs through federal forms and Colorado 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 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Vital Records Section. 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 Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) license application. This is the Colorado-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 Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) 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 Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Details on the Colorado 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. Colorado also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• 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

REAL ID note: Colorado does not allow online name changes on a license/ID; you must visit a DMV office (appointment strongly recommended via mydmv.colorado.gov). Report the change within 30 days of the marriage. If also upgrading to a REAL ID-compliant credential at the same visit, additional proof of identity, SSN, and two documents proving Colorado residency are required.

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.

Many Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a Colorado appointment.

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

Form SS-5. Colorado is one of the states where the SSA supports a fully online marriage name change, so you may not need to mail anything at all. Start at my Social Security. If you would rather use paper, take or mail the SS-5 to a local office: find your nearest one.

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

DS-82, routine service from Colorado
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 (Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)): $28–$30.87 (varies; confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $58–$286 in Colorado: 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 Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Colorado does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.