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Changing your last name after marriage in Colorado

Get your name change done. Enjoy being married.

In Colorado, a driver license update does not take care of your car. Most personal vehicle title and registration work belongs with the motor vehicle office in your county of residence. Plan for those records separately from your license.

Already know you’d like a personal plan?

Doing it yourself.

Follow the official instructions, prepare the applications and keep track of the updates yourself.

Our free Colorado guide gives you a place to begin.

With Name & Next

A head start on the paperwork.

Which application applies to you? What documents should you have beside you? Does another update need to happen first?

Name & Next asks about your situation and brings the relevant guidance together, so you can start with more of those questions answered. Have what you’ll need in front of you, including the details worth checking before you submit.

Other kinds of help.

Some services fill selected applications or provide printed materials and mailing supplies. Check what’s included and what you still complete yourself.

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The Colorado details

Prepare for your county’s vehicle requirements.

For your car, Name & Next brings the official materials together with questions to settle with your county about the title, registration and any lender involvement before you submit.

Our Colorado reference guide explains the state and county responsibilities in more detail.

State guidance checked .

See the help before you decide.

Here’s one update from the plan, with the next action, what you’ll need and the official link together.

Inside Name & NextA Social Security example

Request your Social Security name update

Open SSA's name-change service to start the request or arrange the appointment it requires.

SSA name-change service

What you’ll need

Original or issuing-agency certified marriage record; an ordinary photocopy or notarized copy is not enough.

See the rest of this preparation
  • Current identity evidence accepted by SSA. If the marriage was more than two years ago or the marriage document cannot establish identity, SSA may also require identity evidence in the prior name.
  • Citizenship or immigration evidence if SSA needs to establish or update that status. Enter identity numbers only with SSA.

The SSA service determines whether your request can be completed online or needs an appointment. SS-5 is a paper companion when that route calls for it.

Paper application, if SSA directs you to use it (SS-5)

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Selected content from Name & Next. The sample opens with a fictional New York plan; your own plan uses your state and answers.

Words you can make your own

Even the email is started.

When you’re ready to tell your employer, you have a place to start. Make the message your own.

“I'd also like to check whether benefits, retirement, my work email or the staff directory need separate requests.”

From the employer request in Name & Next. You adapt and send it.

Pick it up when you have a moment.

Your answers and progress stay together, so you can return to what’s next in the same browser. Keep track of what you’ve submitted and what’s finished, including work you started before buying.

Is Name & Next right for me?

For adult U.S. citizens living in Colorado and taking their spouse’s current last name unchanged after a marriage recorded in the United States. You can also buy before a planned U.S. wedding and use the same purchase afterward.

Check the full fit before buying

Any state credentials or vehicle records you want to update must already be Colorado records, with vehicle owners staying the same. Having no state credentials or vehicle records is fine. Interstate and ownership transfers, hyphenated or newly created names, divorce, court ordered changes and immigration routes are outside this plan. Read the full eligibility details.

You can prepare before the wedding or while waiting for your certified marriage certificate. Official updates still depend on the recorded marriage and each agency’s requirements.

Can the same Colorado office handle my license and vehicle updates?

Check the service before choosing an office. State driver license offices handle credentials; county motor vehicle offices handle most personal vehicle title and registration work. For county vehicle services, use your county of residence. Another county generally cannot handle them for you. The state and county office guide explains the distinction, including online and kiosk options for eligible transactions.

Where do I get a certified Colorado marriage certificate?

Request it from the clerk in the county where your license was issued. Colorado’s state health department offers index verification, but it does not provide certified marriage copies. The official vital records directory explains the difference. Check the county’s ordering requirements before paying. If your marriage was recorded outside Colorado, request the record from that jurisdiction.

Does changing my license also take care of my Colorado car?

No. Arrange the vehicle correction with your residence county. Boulder County, for example, changes the registration name only when the title name changes. Its title instructions call for a visit with the title, accepted secure and verifiable ID, and name change evidence. If financed, contact the lender first. Elsewhere in Colorado, confirm how your county coordinates both records and any lender involvement. Keep the same vehicle owners under this plan.

Your personal plan for changing your last name.

Preparation for your records, links to official forms and services, and messages you can make your own.

$48 USD once. No subscription.*

Agency and institution fees are separate.

Get my plan for $48

Your complete digital plan opens after purchase confirmation. Nothing is shipped. Official forms and information are free; you’re paying for the personal plan and preparation.

Purchases are generally final. If something in the product isn’t working as described, contact us within 14 calendar days of purchase. We review material product issues under the purchase terms.

Name Day · The gift of Name & Next

A thoughtful gift for life after “I do.”

Add Name Day to your registry and let someone you love give you a personal plan for changing your last name. A little less to figure out after the wedding, with the details already thought through.

Name Day’s ivory botanical card and forest green envelope, shown on linen.

Your complete Name & Next plan, with a personal digital card from your guest.

$48, paid by your guest.*

Digital delivery. Print at home if you like. Nothing is shipped.

Add Name Day to my registryBuying for someone else? Give Name Day.

Your plan, answers and progress stay private from the giver.

Have the help ready for your next step.

When you make time for your next update, have the preparation and official links ready, with messages you can make your own.

$48 USD once. No subscription.*

Get my plan for $48