Voter Registration Name Change in Colorado

A voter registration name change in Colorado is free and usually takes about five minutes. You will likely need to submit an updated paper registration form through the official Colorado voter registration page.

Update your registration after your Colorado driver's license shows your new name, since most registration forms ask for your current license number and the name on it.

Under the National Voter Registration Act ("motor voter"), updating your license at the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) usually offers to update your voter registration at the same time. Say yes and you may not need a separate step at all.

One warning: don't assume it worked. Confirmation can lag by weeks, and a mismatch between your ID and the poll book is exactly the kind of surprise you don't want on election day. Verify on the official Colorado page a couple of weeks after your DMV visit.

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. The law: C.R.S. § 1-2-201 and C.R.S. § 1-2-218. Update well ahead of any upcoming election so your registration reflects your new name at the polls.

If an election is close and you've missed the update window, call your county election office. In many places you can still vote under your former name with your current registration, and some states offer same-day corrections. The rules vary, so ask before you skip voting.

• Your Colorado driver's license or state ID (ideally already showing your new name)
• Your current residential address
• The last four digits of your Social Security number (some forms)

There is no fee to update voter registration in any state. This step is also a good prompt to update your name with your county property records and jury-duty notices, which pull from the same rolls.