Name Change
Changing Your Name
It starts on the license application and finishes at Social Security and DDS.
On The Application
Choose The Surname First
Each of you names the surname you will use after the marriage on the application. Georgia allows your given surname, a surname changed by superior court order, a surname from a previous marriage, your spouse's surname, or a combination of your spouse's surname with yours. Council of Probate Court Judges.
Your license and certificate will still show the names you had when you applied. Glynn County puts it simply. That is who you were at the time of application.
The Order
Name Change In Four Steps
Order Certified Copies
Get your certificate, and a certified copy of the application too if you are hyphenating.
Social Security
Fulton County says to take your marriage certificate to the Social Security office to change your name. Fulton County Probate Court.
Georgia Driver's License
DDS accepts marriage certificates for a name change, and says license name changes must be done within 60 days. Married in Georgia after 1982 and hyphenating, bring a certified copy of the marriage license application. Georgia DDS.
Everyone Else
Cobb lists the rest. Insurance, employer, banks and anywhere else that has your name on file.
A Small Tip
Travel Plans
If you are flying for your honeymoon, book the tickets in the name on your current ID. Your name only changes on your passport once you update it, and the marriage certificate takes a few weeks to arrive.
Your Options
Surname Choices In Plain Words
Say Ana Souza marries Ben Carter. Under the Georgia options, Ana can stay Ana Souza, become Ana Carter, or combine the names, and Ben has the same choices in reverse. If Ana was married before, she could also keep the surname from that marriage. Whatever each of you writes on the application is the surname the court records as your choice.
Hyphenated Names
Hyphenating takes one extra document. Fulton County and Georgia DDS both say a hyphenated name needs a certified copy of the marriage license application, not just the certificate, because the application is where your choice is written. Order one when you order your certificates and save yourself a second request.
Keep A Folder
Keep your certified certificate, the certified application if you hyphenated, and your new Social Security card together in one folder. Every office in the chain asks to see the document behind the change.
Questions
Questions Couples Ask
Does marriage change my last name automatically?
No. Cobb County says the court does not share your information with any other agency, so changing your name on your driver's license, Social Security card, insurance, employer and bank accounts is up to you.
Why does my marriage certificate show my old name?
Because the record shows the names you had when you applied, and always will. Fulton and Glynn both explain this.
Where do I start?
Fulton County says to take your marriage certificate to the Social Security office to change your name. Then update your Georgia license at DDS.
How long do I have to update my driver's license?
Georgia DDS says driver's license name changes must be done within 60 days of the name change.
What if I want to hyphenate?
DDS asks anyone married in Georgia after 1982 who wants a hyphenated name to bring a certified copy of the marriage license application showing the hyphenated name.
