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

A name change in Massachusetts runs through federal forms and Massachusetts 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 Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS), Massachusetts Department of Public Health. 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 Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) license application. This is the Massachusetts-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 Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) 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 Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). Details on the Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified marriage certificate (proof of legal name change)
• Current Massachusetts driver's license or ID card
• Proof of Social Security Number (SSA card, W-2, or 1099)
• Completed RMV license/ID application form
• Proof of residency (only if address also changed)

REAL ID note: Name change requests must be completed in person at an RMV Service Center by appointment; online/phone options only cover address changes, not name changes. For a REAL ID where the current name doesn't match lawful presence documents, you must prove the legal name change with an acceptable document. For a Standard (non-REAL) ID, name may be changed with no documentation absent fraud.

Good to know for Massachusetts: State copies are ordered through the RVRS via Mass.gov; alternatively, order directly from the city/town clerk where the marriage was registered (e.g. Boston or Cambridge city clerk).

Many Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a Massachusetts appointment.

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

Form SS-5. Take or mail it to a local Social Security office. There is no central address for the SS-5, so use the SSA office locator to find the one that serves you.

Passport forms. This is where Massachusetts matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. Massachusetts is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from Massachusetts
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 (Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)): $25 (Driver's License/ID Amendment Fee)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $55–$280 in Massachusetts: 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 Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Massachusetts does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.