North Carolina Name Change Forms: Every Form and Where to File It
There is no single North Carolina name change form. There are four or five, they come from three different places, and this page links each one directly.
Official link
Download Form SS-5 (free, ssa.gov)Every form you need in North Carolina
A name change in North Carolina runs through federal forms and North Carolina 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 NC Vital Records (NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health) or the county Register of Deeds where the marriage license was issued. 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 North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) license application. This is the North Carolina-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 North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) 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 North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV). Details on the North Carolina 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.
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Documents the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) asks for
Filling in the form is half of it. North Carolina also wants supporting documents at the counter:
- Certified marriage certificate or license (original court/Register of Deeds documentation of the name change)
- Notarized DL-101 form (obtained at a DMV office)
- Current/existing driver's license or state ID
- Updated Social Security Administration record (verified electronically by NCDMV via the SSA Online Verification System)
- Proof of NC residency and legal presence documents required for REAL ID compliance if not already on file
REAL ID note: Must notify NCDMV within 60 days of the name change. Bring a notarized DL-101 form plus court/Register of Deeds documentation. NCDMV verifies the change via the Social Security Online Verification System, so visit a Social Security Administration office 24-36 hours before the DMV visit to update your SSA record first.
Good to know for North Carolina: Certificates for marriages 1962-present can be ordered online/phone/mail via VitalChek (state fee $24 plus VitalChek processing fee ~$13.95), or same-day in person at the county Register of Deeds office where the license was issued.
Where to send each form
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 North Carolina matters, because routine DS-82 service is split by state. North Carolina is routed to the Pennsylvania processing center.
DS-82, routine service from North Carolina
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.
What these forms cost in North Carolina
- Certified marriage certificate (3 copies): $30–$90
- Social Security card (Form SS-5): Free
- Driver's license update (North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV)): about $16.75 (confirm with the agency)
- Passport (only if you update it): Free–$165
- Voter registration: Free
Most people spend roughly $47–$272 in North Carolina: 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 North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) fee, and a passport renewal if you need one. Passport pricing changes independently of anything North Carolina does, so check the current State Department fee schedule on the day you file.
North Carolina FAQs
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