Do you have to tell the Post Office about a name change?
The Postal Service delivers to an address, not to a name, so there is no name change to file. What to do about Informed Delivery, and when a change of address is a separate thing.
There is nothing to file with the Postal Service when your name changes.
The Postal Service delivers to an address, not to a name, so mail addressed to your former name keeps arriving.
If you use Informed Delivery, update the name on that account so it matches your ID. Verification can fail later if it does not.
Moving is a separate filing. A change of address has nothing to do with a change of name.
What U.S. Postal Service requires
| What | Value | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | None | USPS Informed Delivery | |
| Fee | Free | USPS Informed Delivery | |
| Time | Minutes, if it applies | USPS Informed Delivery | |
| Order | Any time | USPS Informed Delivery |
Informed Delivery is the only piece that matters
Informed Delivery is an identity-verified account, so the name on it should match your photo ID.
If you re-verify later under a name the account does not hold, verification can fail and the account can be locked.
What people expect to have to do, and do not
There is no mail-in form for a name change, and no fee.
Mail forwarding does not apply — it forwards from an old address, not from an old name.
Mail addressed to your former name is still deliverable to you indefinitely.
This one does not differ by state
The Postal Service is federal and there is no filing to make, so there is nothing a state page could say that this page does not.
Everything above is free. Doing it everywhere else 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.
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