After the Wedding: How to Change Your Last Name

Changing your last name is one of the most exciting parts of the wedding...at least it was for me! I changed my last name on Facebook the night of the wedding I was so excited!

But regardless of whether or not you're THAT excited, it's something that must be done. And believe me, it is a LONG PROCESS that must be done in a very particular order in order to work!

To make it a little easier on you, I've made a chart of the steps to changing your name on all of your important documents. Between each step, is a waiting game. You have to first wait for your marriage license to come, then your social security card with your new last name, and finally your new driver's license in order to complete the checklist.

So follow these steps carefully and make sure you have all of the necessary documents to prevent frustration and time wasted.

BIG HINT

Make appointments BEFORE heading over to complete each of the steps. It will save hours of your life! Believe me, I learned the hard way :/

Now we want to hear what your new last name is going to be! Comment below :)

Changing My Last Name

Although it sounds like a daunting task, changing your name is really not that bad! Yes, I have been married for five months now and still have one last name to change, but all in all it only took a couple of weeks to get everything officially changed!

Changing your name needs to go in a specific order so you can submit the needed documents. So here is what you need to do:

1. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc - I was so excited that I changed my name on Facebook the night of the wedding!

2. Wait for your marriage license - Without this, you cannot change your name on anything! This did take a couple of weeks so be patient and it will get there :)

3. You social security number - You will need to change your last name on your social security number before you change it anywhere else! In order to do this, you need your marriage license and photo ID. And I would HIGHLY recommend making an appointment or this may take a couple of hours of waiting!

4. Your license - Again, I would recommend making an appointment so you don't have to wait in line. You will need to wait for your social security card to come in as well to provide this, your marriage license, and your old driver's license in order to make the change.

5. Bank Information - Now this is the one I still have not changed! If your husband/wife is already connected to your account (or anyone else for that matter), you will need everyone connected on the account to be present in order to make the change on your debit card. Don't ask me why, but I presented my social security card, marriage license, and new driver's license and they wouldn't change it without my husband present. Strange, right? As for your credit card, this is a simple change over the phone!

If you need any help at all with this or it still sounds overwhelming, you can get everything changed for you with a name change service: