Identification documents for a Social Security Name Change

In addition to showing Social Security a legal document proving your name change reason, you must provide an identity document, in the event of a name change caused by marriage, divorce, or annullment. That document must show your old name, as well as other identifying information or a recent photograph. (An expired document can be accepted as evidence of your old name.)

In teh event of a name change caused by adoption, nationalization, or a court change of name, you will need to provide two identity documents, one of which should be in your old name (can be expired), and one in your new name (cannot be expired). Both of these documents must show identifying information or a recent photograph.

If you are a U.S. citizen born outside the United States and the records do not show you are a citizen, you will need to provide proof of your U.S. citizenship. If you are not a U.S. citizen, Social Security will ask to see your current immigration documents.

Official Social Security Name Change Steps

In order to change your name on your Social Security card, you need to complete an Application For A Social Security Card form (SS-5); show proof of citizenship/immigration status, legal name change, and identity; and take or mail your application and documentation to your local Social Security office.

Link for form SS-5

Link for local Social Security offices

Same Sex Marriage Social Security Name Change Recognized

According to a memo posted in the Program Operations Manual online, people who are married in a same-sex civil union in New Jersey may legally implement a social security name change, without incurring the costs of a court ordered name change:

You asked us to determine whether an individual who enters into a civil union in the State of New Jersey may legally change his or her name based solely upon the civil union event or whether a court order is required to effectuate the proposed name change. Recently enacted New Jersey legislation legalizing civil unions specifically allows for the right to change surnames based upon a civil union event without a court order. Accordingly, an individual who enters a civil union in the State of New Jersey may legally change his or her name without a court order.

By way of background, the New Jersey Supreme Court noted in Lewis v. Harris that “without the benefits of marriage, some plaintiffs have had to endure the expensive and time-consuming process of . . .legal surname changes.” ... The Court mandated that New Jersey legislature either amend the marriage statute to include same-sex couples, or create a separate statutory structure, such as a civil union. Id. at 457, 221.

New (July 2007) Policy for Social Security Name Change Without Documentation

Do you not have all the documentation that Social Security requires for your official name change? There are new requirements under this new policy - "While we always ask for evidence of identity in the old name, when needed, the applicant is not required to submit evidence of identity in the old name if he or she meets the documentation requirements under this new policy."

Sue Johnson has been married for over 30 years. Recently, she learned she never changed her last name on her Social Security card to her husband’s last name (the name she has been using since marriage) when the DMV was unsuccessful at electronically verifying her name and SSN. In addition, Ms. Johnson had recently applied for spouse’s benefits and SSA confirmed her name had never been changed on her SSN. Further, she alleges not having any evidence of identity in the old name (as shown on the latest Numident record- her maiden name of Sue Davis). All of her identity documents are in her married name including her driver’s license. Under the identity guidelines for a name change in EM-06064, Ms. Johnson would need to submit evidence of identity in her old name in addition to her marriage document because she married over 30 years ago. While it’s possible that she may obtain identity documents such as school records that were issued to her when she was a child, it is not required because Ms. Johnson does not have an identity document in the old name with her at the time the SSN application was filed and she meets the documentation requirements under this new policy as shown below.

In name change situations where there is no evidence of identity in the old name because the person has been going by the new married name for years (at least two years) and the name on the SSN card was never changed to the married name, accept the following documentation to process the name change:
1. Marriage document showing the old name that agrees with the name on the latest Numident record (in this case, marriage document shows Sue Davis married Al Johnson and the NH’s latest Numident record is in the name Sue Davis), and

2. Evidence of identity in the new name to be shown on the SSN card (driver’s license is in applicant’s married name, Sue Johnson), and

3. Applicant’s identifying information (SSN, names on prior records, date of birth, place of birth, parents’ names) from the latest Numident record (propagated into the SS-5 Assistant/MES application path) agrees with applicant’s allegation and data shown on the SS-5. In this case, all of the identifying information except the mother’s maiden name matched. Since under this policy an incorrect or unknown mother’s maiden name is considered a minor discrepancy, the identifying information was considered verified.

More information ...

This should make some Social Security Name Changes somewhat simpler...

Social Security - Name Change and Popular Names

Are you looking to change your first name? Or decide on a name for a child?

If so, you may be interested in the Social Security Administration's list of popular baby names. Not only does this have the most used baby names for the previous year, it will also show the popular names for your year of birth, dating back to 1879!

My name appears as #78 in the year of my birth - you know, there's a lot of familiar names in there... Plus, you can look at how popular it has been in a number of different years: I had no idea just how popular my name had been in the 1990s.

Here's the site - http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

Scads of interesting information here, this information provided by Social Security, may be of use for your name change.

Not Social Security - Name Change in Canada

In Canada, it's difficult to get a sense of what women are doing. In most provinces, women can still simply assume their husbands' surnames and no one keeps track. However, in Quebec, women must retain their names when they marry. In Ontario, women may still assume their husbands' names, but if they wish that name to show up on a credit card or driver's licence, they must legally change it. Of 67,644 marriages in Ontario in 1993, 12,758 women legally adopted their spouses' names. If you look ahead to 2,000, of the 65,395 marriages, 3,535 decided to change their names.

From those statistics, it might appear that the majority of Ontario women are bucking the trend in the States and keeping their names. However, bearing in mind the Wedding Bells survey, perhaps they're simply assuming their husbands' names to the world, and not bothering to change the documents because of the time and expense.

I haven't found any statistics for the US - anyone know of people who don't do a social security name change, or passport name change, or DMV, just due to the time and expense?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_binks/20040113.html

Marriage and Name Changes

Are you looking for a social security name change because of marriage?

According to a Harvard University study of college-educated Massachusetts women that was published last year, retaining one's maiden name - a popular choice for grads from the 1970s and 1980s - is falling out of favor. The proportion of brides keeping their names 10 years after graduation dropped from 23 percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2000.

Maybe the pendulum is swinging back because hyphenated names don't fit on ATM cards. Or maybe it's because women of my generation just feel so darn equal, we don't need our own names to prove it. Of my married friends who have taken their husbands' names, most say they did so for reasons of simplicity. They didn't want to saddle themselves or their children with hyphens, they didn't want to have a different name from their kids, they didn't want to constantly have to explain their marital status to hotel clerks and HMOs. The decision was one of convenience, they assured me. It was totally neutral and nonpatriarchal.

Or is it?

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/10/30/the_same_name_game/