Changing Your Name in Michigan

Driver License and ID Card

To change your name on a driver's license or state ID card, head for a Secretary of State (SOS) branch office, equipped with your license or ID card and certified marriage certificate, divorce certificate, or court order signifying the name change.

Michigan requires current Social Security information before issuing a license, so it's best to update those records beforehand. Visit Social Security Online for more guidance about affecting a name change on your Social Security card.

Corrected licenses (with a new picture) are issued for $9.

Registration

To change your name on your registration, take the legal name change document, current registration, and proper identification to a SOS branch office. You'll be issued a corrected registration for free.

Title

Changing your name on a title means going to a SOS branch office with your wedding or divorce certificate or a court order. All owners listed on the title should be present, each with proper identification such as a driver license or state ID card to sign the title application.

If that's not possible, complete a Appointment of Agent form. This allows the person named on the form to act as an agent and sign on behalf of the title holder.

Corrected titles cost $15.

Vehicle Heirs

Spouses wishing to change the name on a title following the death of the vehicle owner should also visit a SOS branch office. Take the title, a certified copy of the death certificate, a completed Heir to a Vehicle form, and the registration card (or license plate number).

If there was a lienholder listed on the title, a termination letter will need to be produced.

Titles listed in only the surviving spouse and deceased's name with a "Full Rights To Survivor" stamp may be easily transferred to the spouse by showing the copy of death certificate and the title.

If probate is involved, the Probate Court representative will need to assign the title to the spouse, who will then need to produce the title and the Letter of Authority from the representative to complete the transaction.

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