Changing your last name after marriage in Pennsylvania
Get your name change done. Enjoy being married.
For a Pennsylvania marriage record, start with the county that issued your marriage license, even if you held the ceremony somewhere else. Here’s what to prepare and how to choose the help you want.
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 Pennsylvania 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.
Compare the optionsThe Pennsylvania details
Start with the right PennDOT form.
Your Pennsylvania driver’s license or photo ID determines which PennDOT form you’ll need. Your plan uses that information, including whether you’re renewing, to put the application and preparation together.
Correcting your vehicle record and ordering a newly printed title are different choices. Your plan shows what to prepare and what to confirm with PennDOT before you send anything.
PennDOT credential applications and vehicle name change options.
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.
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 serviceWhat 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)Product source review: .
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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.
If you have Pennsylvania vehicle records but no Pennsylvania driver license or photo ID, your plan provides a request to help you confirm an alternative with PennDOT. A complete vehicle filing route for that situation has not been verified.
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.
What should I know before my PennDOT visit?
For a noncommercial license, PennDOT lists DL-80, or DL-143 for renewal within six months of expiration. Photo IDs use DL-54B. Bring the completed form and original marriage certificate to a Driver License Center. License and ID holders must provide written notice of a name change within 15 days. That is a notice deadline, not a deadline to receive a replacement card. Check the credential instructions and the notice requirement.
Which county has my marriage record?
Start with the Pennsylvania county that issued your marriage license, even if you held the ceremony or now live in another county. Its Register of Wills or Clerk of the Orphans’ Court keeps the record. Ask that office for its certified copy request and current fee. For a marriage recorded outside Pennsylvania, use that jurisdiction’s record office. Find Pennsylvania’s marriage record guidance.
Do I have to order a new vehicle title?
Not always. For an eligible marriage name change, MV-41A Side A can correct the registration card of a currently registered vehicle without a new title or a fee. Read its separate electronic lien conditions. If you or your lienholder want a corrected title certificate, use Side B. Attach your updated Pennsylvania license or photo ID copy, and confirm the fee and mailing address with PennDOT before sending. Read both sides of MV-41A.
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 $48Your 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.
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