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

A name change in Mississippi runs through federal forms and Mississippi 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 Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records & Statistics. 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 Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau license application. This is the Mississippi-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 Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau 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 Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau. Details on the Mississippi 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. Mississippi also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified/original marriage license (only original or certified copies accepted, no photocopies)
• Current Mississippi driver's license or ID card
• Original or certified birth certificate
• Social Security card
• Two proofs of Mississippi residency

REAL ID note: Only original or certified legal documents are accepted for a name change (marriage license, divorce decree, adoption order, or court order); no photocopies. Applicants must also present proof of identity/citizenship, Social Security card, and two proofs of residency, consistent with REAL ID documentation requirements.

Good to know for Mississippi: Certified marriage certificates cost $17 (search + first copy; $6 each additional copy at same time). Order online/by phone through VitalChek (state-authorized vendor, https://www.vitalchek.com/vital-records/mississippi), by mail with a cashier's check/money order, or in person at the Ridgeland office (222 Marketridge Drive). Records for July 1938-Dec 1941 marriages are held by the county Circuit Clerk instead of MSDH.

Many Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a Mississippi 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 Mississippi matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. Mississippi is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from Mississippi
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 (Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau): a standard replacement-license fee (not published; confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Your total in Mississippi depends mostly on the DMV fee and whether you update a passport. Skipping the passport keeps it under about $100 for most people; a paid passport renewal adds $130–$165.

The forms themselves cost nothing. What you pay for is certified copies, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Mississippi does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.