Changing Your Name

Notify the State

Changing your name in New York requires more than ordering new return address labels and donating monogrammed sweaters to Goodwill. You must also notify New York's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Changing Name on License or ID Card

This is one of the few DMV requirements that cannot be completed online or through the mail. Instead you must visit your local DMV office in person.

When you arrive you will be asked to:

• Provide either your New York State driver license or ID card that displays your former name.

• Provide a marriage certificate, divorce document, or court papers that prove your name change.

• Complete another Application for Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card.

• Pay a $15 fee.

Your new license will arrive in the mail within four weeks.

You do not need to present an updated Social Security card, unless you plan to use it as an additional proof of identity. Visit Social Security Online for more information about affecting that name change.

Registration and Title Name Change

The processes to change your name on your New York registration and title are the same, and you must complete both in person at your local DMV office.

When you arrive be prepared to:

• Provide either your New York State driver license or ID card that displays your former name. Or, if not, provide some other form of acceptable identification.

• Provide a marriage certificate, divorce document, or court papers that prove your name change.

• Provide your registration certificate and title.

• Complete another Vehicle Registration/Title Application.

There is no fee or waiting for your new registration. The DMV will immediately process it.

Your new title is free, too; however, you will have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.