Changing your name with the companies you deal with
What named banks, insurers, airlines and payroll systems actually require — taken from the page on their own site where they say it, with the date we checked.
Every company holds your name separately, and none of them find out from the government.
Most banks want to see a certified document plus photo ID in the new name.
Several will not do it online at all — Wells Fargo and Costco both require you to turn up in person.
Airlines matter more than people expect, because the name on a ticket has to match the ID you travel on.
Your credit file is a separate job again, and each of the three bureaus does it differently.
Banks and credit cards
- Ally BankAlly requires a completed Name Change Request form plus one proof document, submitted by secure message, mail, or fax.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- American ExpressAmerican Express lets US cardmembers submit a name change entirely online by attaching a copy of a government-issued ID showing the new name.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Bank of AmericaBank of America requires an in-person visit to a financial center with a government-issued photo ID plus documentation matching the reason for the name change.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Capital OneCapital One asks you to update your name with Social Security first, then submit a supporting document through a branch, by phone, by fax, or by mail.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Charles SchwabCharles Schwab requires a completed ‘Change Your Legal Name’ form with supporting documentation, submitted through the Message Center, at a branch, or by fax.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- ChimeChime handles a legal name change in the app under Personal Info. The new name has to match a valid government-issued photo ID.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- E*TRADEE*TRADE publishes a Name Change Authorization Form that can be signed electronically or printed and mailed.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity handles a legal name change online, verifying identity with a text to the mobile number on file plus an ID upload and a selfie.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Navy Federal Credit UnionNavy Federal requires its Change of Information form with proof documents, submitted by mail, fax, secure message, or at a branch.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- PayPalPayPal allows one free correction of up to two characters through Settings. A full legal name change needs ID uploaded for review.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- PNC BankPNC asks you to bring a marriage license or court order, along with updated photo ID, into a PNC branch.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- RobinhoodRobinhood takes a legal name change through a support chat, with a photo ID in the new name, and completes most within five business days.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- SoFiSoFi handles a legal name change through member services by in-account chat or phone, and asks for a government ID plus a court-issued document.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- U.S. BankU.S. Bank requires either a branch visit or a phone call, with a government-issued ID and legal name-change documentation, to change the name on an account.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Vanguard 529 College Savings PlanVanguard's 529 plan requires an Account Information Change form carrying a signature guarantee from a bank or broker officer. A notary is explicitly not enough.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- VenmoVenmo has no self-service route. A legal name change goes through Venmo Support in the app with documentation.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Wells FargoWells Fargo requires you to meet a banker in person at a branch to change the legal name on a personal account. There is no online route.Checked 25 Jul 2026
Payroll and HR
Insurance and health plans
- GEICOGEICO does not edit the policyholder's name on an existing policy. The policy is canceled and rewritten under the new name instead.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- State FarmState Farm handles a policy name change through your own agent rather than through a self-service form, and asks that you update Social Security and your license first.Checked 25 Jul 2026
Phone, internet and utilities
Memberships and subscriptions
- Costco membershipCostco handles a legal name change in person only. Bring your new government-issued photo ID to a membership counter and a new card is issued there.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- NetflixNetflix holds no legal name. The profile name is a free-text field you can change yourself at any time, with no documents involved.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- SpotifySpotify holds no legal name. The display name is a free-text field you can change yourself, and it is separate from your username.Checked 25 Jul 2026
Airlines and travel
- American Airlines AAdvantageAmerican does not allow a name change through self-service. You have to contact American and send the documents it asks for.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Delta SkyMilesDelta requires a copy of the legal document — a court order, marriage certificate, or divorce certificate — submitted through an online identity verification form.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- JetBlueJetBlue allows one free name correction per reservation, by chat or phone, to make the ticket match your government-issued ID.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- Southwest Rapid RewardsSouthwest requires a written request with photocopies of the legal documentation, sent online or by mail.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- United MileagePlusUnited takes a MileagePlus name change through your profile, with supporting documentation, and says it can take up to two weeks to process.Checked 25 Jul 2026
Federal programs
Everything else
- EquifaxEquifax changes the name on a credit report through its online Dispute Center: dispute the former name and upload one document showing the new one.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- ExperianExperian takes a name change online or by mail, and asks you to mark it explicitly as a name change rather than a dispute.Checked 25 Jul 2026
- TransUnionTransUnion is mail only. Supporting documentation has to be mailed in to change the name on file.Checked 25 Jul 2026
What this list is, and what it isn’t
There are 33 companies here, not a thousand. Each one is on this list because we found the page on that company’s own site where it states what it requires, and each page carries a link to that page and the date we read it.
That is the trade we have made deliberately. A longer list assembled from second-hand summaries would rank sooner and be worth less, and the first time one of its numbers was wrong it would take the rest of the corpus down with it.
What almost all of them want
Do the government agencies first. Nearly every company on this list asks for photo ID in the new name, which means your license has to be done before the bank will help — and your license needs Social Security done before that.
A certified document
The original or a certified copy of whatever authorized the change. Photocopies are refused nearly everywhere.
Photo ID in the new name
Which is why the license comes first. Several companies ask for both the old and the new ID.
A signature they can match
Banks re-do the signature card. Several ask you to sign in both your old and new names.
Everything above is free. Writing to every one of them is the work.
You can do all of this yourself with the links on this page — every underlying form is free. What we sell is the evening back: the official forms filled in from your answers, the steps in the order that works, and a written letter for every bank, employer and insurer you have to tell.
Two questions about your situation first, because there is one answer that means we can’t help — and we would rather tell you that before you pay than after.
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