How to Change Your Name After Marriage in North Dakota
Here's exactly how to change your name after marriage in North Dakota: the right documents, the right order, and the official North Dakota links you'll need.
Checked against official North Dakota and federal sources in August 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
The North Dakota order of operations
The winning sequence in North Dakota is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 24–48 hours → North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.
Every North Dakota step, in the right order
This page covers name change after marriage. Your free checklist puts it with the other agencies, sequenced for North Dakota, so nothing gets done out of order.
Step 1: Your certified marriage certificate
Order 3–5 certified copies from the County Clerk of Court / County Recorder (varies by county); marriage records are issued at the county level, not by the state Dept. of Health and Human Services. Photocopies aren't accepted.
Step 2–4: Social Security, then the DMV
File the free SS-5 with Social Security first, wait 24–48 hours, then update your license at the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) (typically about $3 (confirm with the agency)). Bring:
- Certified marriage certificate (or divorce decree / court order with seal showing new legal name)
- Current North Dakota driver's license or state ID
- Valid proof of identity/residency documents if REAL ID compliance is being obtained at the same visit
- Payment for the $3.00 name-change duplicate fee
Mind the clock: North Dakota asks you to update your license within 10 days of your legal name change, so don't park this step for later. The law: N.D.C.C. § 39-06-20.
Step 5–6: Passport, voter registration & everyone else
Update your passport, then your North Dakota voter registration (North Dakota is the only U.S. state with no voter registration. There is no registration or name-update deadline; voters just need a valid, current form of ID (showing current legal name/address) when voting, and must have resided in ND for at least 30 days before Election Day.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.
North Dakota FAQs
Sources
We checked the details on this page against the official sources below in August 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm anything you are about to act on at the agency's own page. The legal citations were last re-read against their sources in October 2026. How we verify.
- State agencyNorth Dakota: ordering a certified marriage certificate
- State agencyNorth Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT): name change on a license or ID
- The lawN.D.C.C. § 39-06-20Notify the director within 10 days of a name change, by marriage or otherwise.
- State agencyNorth Dakota official voter registration page
- The lawN.D.C.C. § 16.1-01-05.1North Dakota does not require voter registration; voters must have lived in the precinct 30 days (§ 16.1-01-04).
- FederalSocial Security Administration: change your name
- FederalSocial Security Administration: Form SS-5
- FederalU.S. Department of State: change or correct a passport
NameWright is not a government agency and this is not legal advice. We prepare your paperwork; you file it.
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