Minnesota · State reference
How to change your name after marriage in Minnesota
For adult U.S. citizens taking their spouse’s current surname unchanged after a marriage recorded in the United States.
Have one or more certified copies of your marriage certificate from the office that recorded the marriage. Prepare a certified marriage name link and an office visit for your existing credential. If you have an SSN, wait for SSA to process the name update first.
Before updating your state credential
If you have an SSN, wait for SSA to process your name before the credential visit. Use its actual confirmation; no fixed interval is specified here. If no SSN has been assigned, follow the applicable DVS application instructions.
Before you begin
- If you have an SSN, confirm SSA processed your name before the credential visit. No fixed waiting period or universal physical SSA card requirement is added here. Without an assigned SSN, follow DVS’s applicable application instructions.
- Apply for the duplicate credential within 30 days of the legal name change. Replacement, renewal, permit, enhanced and commercial services can have different documents and charges; confirm the actual service.
- A credential change does not automatically correct the vehicle title. Request title and registration corrections at a motor vehicle deputy registrar and verify each actual result. No automatic registration card delivery is assumed.
- For a lien, joint owners or an unavailable title, obtain the specific signing and title access instructions. Without the specified photo credential, the name change rule provides primary and secondary identity alternatives. Keep ordinary renewal on time.
- Ordinary paper voter registration supports the appropriate Minnesota credential number, SSN last four if there is no credential number, or a truthful neither number choice. The reviewed Spanish form has different eligibility wording; use the current English form with county language assistance.
- Advance voter registration closes 21 days before an election; Election Day options have their own rules. Safe at Home uses a separate private process. Verify acceptance through the appropriate authority and keep private addresses out of this plan.
Which marriage certificate do I need?
Have one or more certified copies of your marriage certificate from the office that recorded the marriage. Later steps in this plan generally ask for a certified copy, so it is the first thing to have in hand.
What to have ready
- The jurisdiction where the marriage was legally recorded
- A method of payment that office accepts
- Any identification that office asks for
How do I update Social Security?
Update your Social Security record, which employers, banks, and agencies check your name against. This record is referenced by several later steps, so many people handle it early in the sequence.
What to have ready
- Certified marriage certificate
- Current identity documentation
- Anything the agency’s own instructions list
Which license or ID instructions apply?
Prepare a certified marriage name link and an office visit for your existing credential. If you have an SSN, wait for SSA to process the name update first. Gather the documents while SSA processes your request. The duplicate application deadline concerns the legal name change, and the actual service determines the charge.
Preparation details are not listed in this public guide.
When should I update my passport?
Review the current official passport guidance and decide when to update. Passport timing interacts with any travel you have planned, so it is worth reviewing alongside your other identity documents rather than last.
Preparation details are not listed in this public guide.
Read the passport name change guideHow do I update my vehicle title?
Prepare the corrected title application for the same owners. Use a motor vehicle deputy registrar, with specific arrangements for a lender held, electronic or missing title. A credential name update does not automatically correct your vehicle title. Prepare the vehicle and name evidence, then confirm the actual record separately from title delivery.
Preparation details are not listed in this public guide.
How do I update my vehicle registration?
Ask the deputy registrar to correct your existing registration and identify any separate application or card request. Verify its result independently of the title. Address both records at the deputy visit while retaining separate results. Keep an ordinary registration renewal on time even if title correction is pending.
Preparation details are not listed in this public guide.
How do I update voter registration?
Choose the ordinary online or paper route, or Safe at Home’s separate private process if you participate. An existing state credential is not required for every voter route. Reregister after a name change and check election timing. Submission does not establish acceptance, and Safe at Home participants should use their program’s instructions.
Preparation details are not listed in this public guide.
Requirements, timing and costs
Use the details below to identify the instructions that apply to your records.
Before you begin
Does Social Security need to come first?
Required if you have a Social Security number Check the conditions for your route.
When was this guide reviewed?
State profile reviewed . Each source retains its own review date. A design update does not mean the sources were reviewed again.
More context
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