What is the checklist?

The checklist is the spine of the kit and the thing most people use first. It is not a generic list of forty tasks: it is built from your state and your situation, so the agency names, the form numbers and the fees are the ones that apply to you.

1. Ordering certified copies, first, because everything else waits on them.
2. Social Security, which is free and which every other agency checks against.
3. Your state license or ID, with your state’s own fee and deadline.
4. Your passport, on whichever of the three forms your dates put you on.
5. Your vehicle title, your voter registration and the IRS position.
6. Every organization you listed, with its letter.

The order is the part that matters. Social Security first is not a preference — state license agencies check the new name against the Social Security record, so an application made too early is a wasted morning at a counter.

You can see the checklist for your own situation before you pay. It is built from your answers at the end of the interview and shown to you in full.