How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Pennsylvania
Here's exactly how to change your name after marriage in Pennsylvania: the right documents, the right order, and the official Pennsylvania links you'll need.
Checked against official Pennsylvania and federal sources in August 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
The Pennsylvania order of operations
The winning sequence in Pennsylvania is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 24–48 hours → Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.
Every Pennsylvania step, in the right order
This page covers name change after marriage. Your free checklist puts it with the other agencies, sequenced for Pennsylvania, so nothing gets done out of order.
Step 1: Your certified marriage certificate
Order 3–5 certified copies from the County Clerk of Orphans' Court / Register of Wills (in the county where the marriage license was issued); NOT the PA Department of Health, which only handles birth and death records. Photocopies aren't accepted.
Good to know for Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania does not issue marriage certificates at the state level. Certified copies must be ordered directly from the Clerk of Orphans' Court in the specific county where the marriage license was issued; the linked pacourts.us page is the official statewide directory of all 67 county Clerk of Orphans' Court offices with their contact information.
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 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services (typically the standard license fee (confirm the amount with the agency)). Bring:
- Certified copy of marriage certificate (from the county Clerk of Orphans' Court, not a decorative copy)
- Current Pennsylvania driver's license or photo ID
- Completed form DL-80 (Application to Renew/Replace/Change/Correct a Non-Commercial Driver's License)
- Proof of Social Security number update (recommended to update SSA record first)
- Two proofs of PA residency and additional identity documents if upgrading to/maintaining a REAL ID-compliant license
Step 5–6: Passport, voter registration & everyone else
Update your passport, then your Pennsylvania voter registration (Name-change updates can be submitted online, by mail, or in person anytime. Changes submitted more than 15 days before an election take effect for that election; changes submitted 15 days or less before an election take effect starting with the next election.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.
Pennsylvania 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 agencyPennsylvania: ordering a certified marriage certificate
- State agencyPennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services: name change on a license or ID
- State agencyPennsylvania official voter registration page
- The lawPennsylvania Election Code § 1231 (Act 77 of 2019)A valid registration application must be received not later than 15 days before the election.
- 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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