Changing your last name after marriage in Virginia
Get your name change done. Enjoy being married.
If your marriage was recorded in Virginia, you can request a certified copy at DMV. Bring the application and accepted ID, and check the separate search fee. A certificate is not guaranteed during that visit.
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 Virginia 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 Virginia details
Have the details ready before your DMV visit.
Virginia lets you begin your DMV name change online. Your confirmation email goes with you to the office, where you complete the change.
Your plan connects that visit to the preparation around it, including the Social Security update that comes first. You can gather the documents while keeping the next step clear.
Virginia DMV name change requirements
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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.
For Virginia vehicle updates, confirm the current forms and separate title and registration handling with DMV before applying.
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.
Does starting online finish my Virginia name change?
No. Bring the confirmation email to a DMV customer service center. If you hold a valid Virginia license or ID, you surrender it, take a new photo and provide an updated signature. Change your name with SSA before the visit, and bring the required marriage evidence and fee. Read Virginia DMV’s visit instructions.
Can I get my marriage certificate at Virginia DMV?
Yes, for a marriage recorded in Virginia. DMV customer service centers offer certified copies with the vital record application, accepted identification and a separate search fee. If DMV cannot find or print your record, it forwards the request to Virginia Vital Records for research. A certificate is not guaranteed during that visit. Check the certificate requirements. If you married elsewhere, request the record from that jurisdiction.
What if my vehicle title still has my former last name?
Virginia uses a substitute title after your name has changed with DMV. The name change route lists VSA 67 signed by all owners, your existing title and a $15 fee. Contact your lienholder first if there is a lien. DMV provides separate instructions for a lost or stolen title; ask about any registration update you also need. See the substitute title requirements and our free Virginia reference guide.
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