New Hampshire Name Change Forms: Every Form and Where to File It

A name change in New Hampshire runs through federal forms and New Hampshire 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 NH Department of State, Division of Vital Records Administration (DVRA) - or any local City/Town Clerk. 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 New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH DMV) license application. This is the New Hampshire-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 New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH 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 New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH DMV). Details on the New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire also wants supporting documents at the counter:

• Completed and signed Record Change Request form (DSMV 30)
• Current New Hampshire driver license
• Certified marriage certificate (or divorce decree/court order) showing prior and new legal name
• Proof of residency/identity documents if applying for REAL ID upgrade at the same time
• Photo ID (for the separate vital-records certificate request, if ordering the marriage certificate yourself)

REAL ID note: RSA 263:9 requires written notification to DMV within 30 days of a legal name change. Applicant must appear in person at any DMV office with a signed Record Change Request (DSMV 30), current NH driver license, and legal documentation of the name change. A 60-day temporary paper license is issued on the spot; the permanent (and REAL ID, if eligible) license is mailed afterward.

Good to know for New Hampshire: Complete the Certificate Application form and mail/submit it with payment ($15 per certified copy, $10 for additional copies of the same record at the same time) and photo ID to DVRA (9 Ratification Way, Concord, NH 03301-2455), or visit your local City/Town Clerk. Applicant must show a "direct and tangible interest" in the record.

Many New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH DMV) locations let you skip the line by booking ahead: book a New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. New Hampshire is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.

DS-82, routine service from New Hampshire
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 (New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH DMV)): typically free (confirm with the agency)
• Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
• Voter registration: Free

Your total in New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (NH DMV) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything New Hampshire does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.