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Marriage and Name Change: the full process, step by step

You just got married and you are taking a new last name. This pack updates the three places that matter most: your Social Security card (SS-5), your passport (DS-5504), and a sworn name-change statement (DS-60) for everything else.

The order matters. Do Social Security first, because banks, the DMV, and your employer all check your name against it. Then the passport. Then use the affidavit anywhere a record still shows the old name.

By the end of this guide you will know exactly what to sign, what to copy, and where each paper goes.

Before you start

  • Your marriage certificate. Most places need the original or a certified copy from the county clerk, not a photocopy of a photocopy.
  • Your current passport, if you have one and want the name updated.
  • A photo ID with your old name: driver's license or state ID.
  • Your Social Security number. You do not need the physical card, but have it if you can.
  • Ten minutes where nobody interrupts you. Names must match everywhere, letter for letter.
  1. 1

    Create your free account

    Click the sign-up button and enter your email. We send you a magic link. Click it and you are in.

    There is no password to remember and nothing to install. Everything runs in your browser.

  2. 2

    Fill your profile once

    Your profile holds the basics every government form asks for: your name, date of birth, addresses, phone, and immigration details if you have them.

    You only enter this once. Every form you buy later reuses it, so a form that takes an hour by hand takes minutes here.

    Sensitive items like your Social Security number are encrypted and only used inside the form you are working on.

  3. 3

    Answer the interview in your language

    Instead of the confusing government form, you get simple questions in English, Spanish, Chinese, or Hebrew. Pick your language at the top of the page.

    Each question explains what it means and where to find the answer on your documents. If you are not sure about something, the help text tells you exactly what to do.

    Most questions are already answered from your profile. You only confirm or fix them.

  4. 4

    Check the free watermarked preview

    Before you pay anything, we place your answers on the official form and show you every page with a watermark on top.

    Read it like a proof. Check every name, date, and address. If something is wrong, go back and fix it for free. You pay only when it looks right.

  5. 5

    Pay once, no subscription

    Payment runs through Stripe, the same processor big stores use. We never see or keep your card number.

    The price on the page is the whole price. There is no subscription, no per-month charge, and no upsell after.

    This payment is for our service. The government has its own filing fee, which you pay separately when you file. The guide lists it for every form below.

  6. 6

    Download, print, and sign

    Right after payment, your finished form appears in Documents. Download the PDF as many times as you want, forever.

    Print it on plain white letter paper, single sided. Do not shrink it to fit.

    Now the part only you can do: sign and date every signature box in black ink, exactly like the name printed under it. Government forms reject digital signatures and blue ink is sometimes rejected too.

  7. 7

    File it with the government

    WhyFill prepares your paperwork but never files it for you. Filing is always you, and it is easier than it sounds.

    Every form below has its own card: where to send it, how much the government charges, what to include in the envelope, and how to track it after.

    If the form offers online filing, you can upload or copy your answers there instead. The Prep Sheet and the filled PDF both work for that.

Filing it with the government

First stop: your Social Security card (SS-5, free)

Where to file
  • File at your local Social Security office, in person or by mail. Find the closest office at ssa.gov with the office locator.
  • In person is fastest: no appointment needed at most offices, and the clerk hands your original documents right back.
  • By mail: send the signed form with your original or certified marriage certificate and your ID to that same office. They mail everything back to you.
Government fee
Free. A new or corrected Social Security card never costs anything.
How to pay
No payment of any kind. If a website asks you to pay for an SS-5, it is a scam.
Photos
No photo needed. The new card has no photo on it.
What to include
  • The signed SS-5 form (black ink).
  • Your marriage certificate: original or certified copy. It comes back to you.
  • Your photo ID, like a driver's license, with your old name.
  • Nothing else. No fee, no photo.
How long it takes
The new card arrives by mail in about 7 to 14 days. Your Social Security number does not change, only the name on it.
How to track it
  • There is no online tracking for SS-5. If 14 days pass with no card, call your local office with the date you filed.
  • When the card arrives, update your employer's payroll and your bank before anything else. They match against SSA records.

Second stop: your passport (DS-5504, free within 1 year)

Where to file
  • Mail everything to the corrections address printed on page 1 of your DS-5504 form, at the National Passport Processing Center in Philadelphia. It is printed on the form itself, so you cannot get it wrong.
  • Use an envelope that protects the passport book, and consider tracking. You are mailing your actual passport.
  • If your passport was issued more than 1 year ago, you renew with DS-82 instead. Our Passport Renewal pack covers that exact flow.
Government fee
Free if your passport was issued less than 1 year ago. Expedited return is optional for about $60, plus about $20 for 1 to 2 day return delivery.
How to pay
Only if you want the faster service: check or money order made out to U.S. Department of State. Otherwise nothing.
Photos
One recent color photo, 2x2 inches, white background, no glasses. Drugstores and shipping stores take passport photos for a few dollars.
What to include
  • The signed DS-5504 form.
  • Your current passport book (they mail it back to you).
  • Your marriage certificate: original or certified copy. It comes back too.
  • One passport photo, loosely attached, not stapled to the form.
  • The fee only if you chose expedited service.
How long it takes
Usually a few weeks door to door. Your old passport comes back canceled, and the corrected one arrives in a separate envelope. Do not book international travel until the new book is in your hand.
How to track it
  • Track the application at travel.state.gov with your last name and date of birth.
  • If you used tracking on your envelope, you know the day it arrives. Processing starts after that date.

For everything else: the name-change affidavit (DS-60)

Where to file
  • The DS-60 is not mailed anywhere. You sign it in front of a notary and show it wherever a record still needs your new name: banks, schools, insurance, utilities.
  • Notaries work at most bank branches, shipping stores, and courthouses, usually for a small fee.
  • Make a few notarized copies at the same visit. Each place that asks keeps one.
Government fee
The form itself is free. The notary charges their own small fee, usually under $15 per signature.
How to pay
Cash or card at the notary's counter.
Photos
No photo. Bring your photo ID so the notary can confirm it is really you signing.
What to include
  • The printed DS-60, not signed yet. You sign it in front of the notary, not before.
  • Your photo ID with either name on it.
  • Your marriage certificate, in case the notary asks to see it.
How long it takes
Instant. You walk out with a notarized affidavit the same visit.
How to track it
  • Nothing to track. Keep the original in a safe place and hand out copies.
  • Update your driver's license at the DMV next. Every state wants the marriage certificate and the new Social Security card first, so do those before the DMV line.

The mistakes that come back

  • Signing the DS-60 before the notary tells you to. It only counts if you sign in front of them.
  • Sending photocopies of your marriage certificate. Send the original or a certified copy. It comes back to you.
  • Paying a website for a free Social Security card. The SS-5 is always free.
  • Booking flights on the old passport name. Tickets must match the passport exactly, so wait for the corrected book before you buy.

That is the whole process: Social Security first, passport second, affidavit for everything else. One afternoon of signatures and your new name is official everywhere.

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