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

A name change in Michigan runs through federal forms and Michigan 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 Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), 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 Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State) license application. This is the Michigan-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 Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State) 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 Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State). Details on the Michigan 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. Michigan also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified copy of your marriage certificate
• Your current Michigan driver's license or state ID
• Proof your Social Security record is updated (wait 24–48h after SSA)
• Proof of Michigan residency for a REAL ID

REAL ID note: Update your name with the Social Security Administration first, then visit a Secretary of State branch in person.

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

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

DS-82, routine service from Michigan
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 (Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State)): $9 (operator license; $18 chauffeur)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $39–$273 in Michigan: 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 Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Michigan does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.