Changing your name after marriage in New Jersey
What New Jersey asks for, where your marriage certificate comes from, and the order that works. Every figure below is dated and linked to the agency that publishes it.
To change your name after marriage in New Jersey you need a certified marriage certificate, then Social Security, then New Jersey MVC.
Social Security comes first. Every state checks your new name against its record before issuing a license.
In New Jersey, a certified marriage certificate comes from the state vital records office.
The marriage certificate New Jersey wants to see
This is the part that differs by situation. Everything downstream of it is the same sequence whichever document you hold.
| What | Value | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where to get it | The state vital records office New Jersey maintains marriage records from 1951 onward at state level. Orders go through the state's vendor or the walk-in center in Trenton. | New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics and Registry | |
| What a copy costs | We could not locate New Jersey's published certified-copy fee. | New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics and Registry | |
| What New Jersey MVC charges | $11.00 $11 — the Changes/duplicate column of MVC’s License and Permit Fees chart, on the auto-license row. New Jersey publishes no separate name-change fee. | New Jersey MVC |
If you married in another state, order from that state instead. The record sits where the license was filed, not where you live now.
What after marriage changes about it
- In New Jersey, a certified marriage certificate comes from the state vital records office — New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics and Registry.
- We could not locate New Jersey's published certified-copy fee.
- New Jersey maintains marriage records from 1951 onward at state level. Orders go through the state's vendor or the walk-in center in Trenton.
- The license is the permission to marry and is issued before the wedding. The certificate is the record of it and is issued afterward. Agencies want the certificate.
- Social Security accepts a certified marriage document as evidence of the new name on form SS-5.
Source: New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics and Registry · checked
The sequence in New Jersey
- Get a certified marriage certificate. Order more than one — several agencies want to see it and not all return it quickly.
- Submit form SS-5 to Social Security. It is free, and it has to be first.
- Apply at New Jersey MVC once the Social Security record has updated.
- Update your passport, then your vehicle title, then your voter registration.
- Tell your bank, your employer, your insurers, your utilities and your subscriptions.
Questions people ask
- What does New Jersey accept as proof of a name change after marriage?
- New Jersey MVC asks for: Your 6 Points of ID documents; A certified marriage or civil union certificate, a divorce decree, or a court order linking your new name with your previous one; A completed BA-208, which is in your kit with your answers already in it.
- Is a marriage license the same as a marriage certificate?
- No. The license is the permission to marry and is issued before the wedding. The certificate is the record of it and is issued afterward. Agencies want the certificate.
- Can I go to New Jersey MVC before Social Security?
- Do Social Security first — it’s the record most agencies check against, so getting it done first is what keeps the rest in step. A few states require it outright and say so on their own page.
All New Jersey name change requirements · The national guide to changing your name after marriage
Everything above is free. The rest of the list 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 New Jersey 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.
One payment. No subscription.