Change Your Name on Your Social Security Card in Connecticut

In Connecticut, as everywhere in the U.S., your Social Security record is the anchor every other agency checks against. If you visit the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (CT DMV) before the SSA has processed your change, the names won't match and you'll be turned away. That's why Form SS-5 is always step one.

The SS-5 is completely free. Never pay a third party just to file it. You can complete it by mail or at a local Social Security office.

Connecticut is one of the states where the SSA supports a fully online marriage name change. Sign in to (or create) a my Social Security account and follow the name-change prompts. You'll need a Connecticut driver's license or state ID and your marriage certificate; there is nothing to mail, and you keep your documents.

Prefer paper, or changing your name after divorce? The mail-in and in-person SS-5 route still works everywhere.

To update your Social Security card you'll generally need:

• A certified copy of your marriage certificate (order yours from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Vital Records Office (or the town clerk/vital records office where the marriage occurred))
• Proof of identity (your current Connecticut driver's license or ID)
• A completed Form SS-5

Good to know for Connecticut: Order online via VitalChek (additional service fees apply), or mail a completed application to the State Vital Records Office (410 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06134) or to the town where the marriage took place. Requester must be at least 18.

Your new card arrives in about 5–10 business days, but your record updates within roughly 24–48 hours, and that's what unblocks your Connecticut driver's license. Read the Connecticut DMV name change steps next, and mind the sync wait.