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

A name change in Nevada runs through federal forms and Nevada 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 Nevada marriage certificates are issued at the County Recorder level (not the state Office of Vital Records), which only handles birth/death records and can help locate which county holds a marriage record. 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 Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (Nevada DMV) license application. This is the Nevada-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 Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (Nevada DMV) 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 Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (Nevada DMV). Details on the Nevada 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. Nevada also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Certified marriage certificate filed with the county (the pre-ceremony marriage license is not accepted)
• Current Nevada driver's license or state ID
• Proof that your name has already been updated with the Social Security Administration (SSA record must show new name, 48-hour wait after SSA update)
• Proof of Nevada residency document (for REAL ID compliance, e.g. utility bill or bank statement) if not already on file
• Proof of identity/lawful presence documents if original ones do not match new name

REAL ID note: Nevada DMV requires you to first update your name with the Social Security Administration and wait at least 48 hours for SSA records to update before the DMV will process the name change; the name change itself cannot be done online and requires an in-person DMV appointment.

Good to know for Nevada: The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Office of Vital Records confirms marriage/divorce records are held at the county level; order certified copies from the applicable County Recorder (e.g., Clark County, Washoe County, or Carson City) where the marriage occurred. If the county is unknown, the state office can search for it for a $10 fee (phone 775-684-4242, vitalrecords@health.nv.gov).

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 Nevada matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. Nevada is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from Nevada
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 (Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (Nevada DMV)): $7.50–$12.50 (varies; confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Most people spend roughly $38–$268 in Nevada: 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 Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (Nevada DMV) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything Nevada does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.