Change Your Name on Your Social Security Card in Mississippi

In Mississippi, as everywhere in the U.S., your Social Security record is the anchor many agencies check against. If you visit the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau 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 mail the signed form with your original documents (they're mailed back), or take it to a local Social Security office, where the SSA asks you to make an appointment.

Mississippi is not on the Social Security Administration's list of states for its online marriage name change, which turns on where your marriage certificate is from. If you were married in one of the participating states (the SSA last published that list in August 2024), you may still be able to do it online from Mississippi. Otherwise you'll file the paper SS-5 with your documents.

To update your Social Security card you'll generally need:

• A certified copy of your marriage certificate (order yours from the Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records & Statistics)
• Proof of identity (your current Mississippi driver's license or ID)
• A completed Form SS-5

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.

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