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

A name change in Georgia runs through federal forms and Georgia 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 Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office of Vital Records. 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 Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) license application. This is the Georgia-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 Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) 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 Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). Details on the Georgia 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. Georgia also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified marriage certificate (name-change document)
• Current Georgia driver's license or ID card
• Updated Social Security card showing new name (update SSA first, then wait 24-48 hours before visiting DDS)
• Two proofs of Georgia residency (for REAL ID compliance)
• For hyphenated surnames: certified copy of the marriage license application showing the hyphenated name selection

REAL ID note: Name changes must be completed in person at a DDS Customer Service Center within 60 days of the marriage; bring proof of Georgia residency documents consistent with REAL ID verification requirements.

Good to know for Georgia: Statewide marriage records covered are from June 9, 1952 to present. Process is primarily mail-in (complete and mail the Request for Search of Marriage form or Marriage Verification Request form); $10 search fee plus $5 per additional copy. For marriages before June 1952 or for faster/in-person same-day service, contact the Probate Court in the county where the marriage license was issued.

Many Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a Georgia appointment.

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

Form SS-5. Georgia 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 Georgia matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. Georgia is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from Georgia
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 (Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS)): about $32 (confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $62–$287 in Georgia: 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 Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Georgia does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.