How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Delaware
Here's exactly how to change your name after marriage in Delaware: the right documents, the right order, and the official Delaware links you'll need.
Checked against official Delaware and federal sources in August 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
The Delaware order of operations
The winning sequence in Delaware is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 48–72 hours → Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.
Every Delaware step, in the right order
This page covers name change after marriage. Your free checklist puts it with the other agencies, sequenced for Delaware, so nothing gets done out of order.
Step 1: Your certified marriage certificate
Order 3–5 certified copies from the Delaware Office of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health (Jesse S. Cooper Building, Dover). Photocopies aren't accepted.
Good to know for Delaware: Certified marriage certificates ($25/copy, payable to Office of Vital Statistics) can be ordered in person at three county offices (New Castle, Kent, Sussex), by mail, or online via third-party vendors GoCertificates.com or VitalChek (additional fees apply for online orders).
Step 2–4: Social Security, then the DMV
File the free SS-5 with Social Security first, wait 48–72 hours, then update your license at the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) (typically the standard license fee (confirm the amount with the agency)). Bring:
- Current driver license or state ID
- Original or certified copy of marriage certificate (or divorce decree/legal name change document)
- Proof from the Social Security Administration confirming the name change (update SSA records first, wait 48-72 hours)
- Payment for license replacement fee
Mind the clock: Delaware asks you to update your license within 30 days of your legal name change, so don't park this step for later. Source: Delaware DMV: general information, changing your name.
Step 5–6: Passport, voter registration & everyone else
Update your passport, then your Delaware voter registration (Delaware lets you register or update at your polling place on Election Day itself, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and state law says registration deadlines do not apply to changes of name. Updates can also be made online at ivote.de.gov, by mail, phone or in person.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.
Delaware 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 agencyDelaware: ordering a certified marriage certificate
- State agencyDelaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV): name change on a license or ID
- State agencyDelaware official voter registration page
- The law15 Del. C. § 2036The last date to register is the day of the election, at your polling place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- The law15 Del. C. § 2048(d)Deadlines for registering to vote do not apply to changes of name.
- 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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