Change Your Name on Your Social Security Card in Delaware

In Delaware, as everywhere in the U.S., your Social Security record is the anchor every other agency checks against. If you visit the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (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.

Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware Office of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health (Jesse S. Cooper Building, Dover))
• Proof of identity (your current Delaware driver's license or ID)
• A completed Form SS-5

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).

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 Delaware driver's license. Read the Delaware DMV name change steps next, and mind the sync wait.