Change Your Name in Delaware

Whether you’ve recently married or divorced, are tired of people misspelling your name, or just feel like you’ve gone as far as you can in life as “John Smith,” you may be interested in changing your name. In the state of Delaware, you have several options to complete this process. After legally changing your name, however, you also have to remember to update your various forms of identification, financial and insurance accounts, and so on.

Steps

Changing Names by Court Petition

  1. Know the benefits and requirements of a legal name change. It may seem like too much trouble to go through all the paperwork, fees, and a court appearance in order to change your name, but it is worthwhile to make the change you prefer official.
    • Delaware, like many other states, permits you to change your name simply by consistently using that new name, but that type of change won’t likely be accepted by the Social Security Administration, your financial institutions, or even the state Department of Motor Vehicles for your driver’s license. Official, certified documentation of a name change is they way to go.
    • In order to use the standard process to petition for a name change as an adult in Delaware, you must be at least 18 years old and reside in the county where the petition is filed. Your petition can be denied if you have been convicted or currently charged with a felony, are a registered sex offender, or are deemed to be attempting to avoid creditors or debts.[1]
  2. Procure the necessary forms. This is a government process, so expect some paperwork, fees, and waiting time in order to make your name change official. The two forms you need, which are available online or from your county courthouse, include:[2]
    • Petition for Name Change. This is in essence your application form, in which you provide information about yourself, your reason for desiring a name change, and the new name you wish to have. The attached Affidavit must be signed and stamped by a state-licensed notary public who witnesses your signature. Notaries can be found at bank branches, car dealerships, standalone offices, and at various other businesses.
    • Notice of Name Change for Publication. This form provides information to be published, by your request and at your expense, in a local newspaper that circulates within (or barring that, nearby) your county of residence. This may seem quaint, but advertising the proposed change in a newspaper is required by law.
  3. Publish notice in a local newspaper. Contact a newspaper in your county, or, if your county lacks one, a paper nearby. The county clerk should have information on available papers. Provide the paper a signed, completed copy of the Notice of Name Change for Publication.[3]
    • The notice must appear in the newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks, prior to the scheduling of your hearing.
    • Publication fees are your responsibility.
    • Once your notice has run three times, make sure the newspaper provides you with an Affidavit of Publication. Staple it together with your Petition and Notice for filing at the courthouse.
  4. File the paperwork at your county courthouse. Fill out each of the forms as indicated (but not areas specified for the clerk and/or judge) and file them with the Court Clerk’s Office of the county in which you reside.[4]
    • To recap, your stapled packet should include the Petition (with notarized affidavit); the Notice; and the Affidavit of Publication provided by the newspaper.
    • The clerk will give you a hearing date and sign the relevant forms.
    • You will be required at this time to pay a filing fee, currently $85 in New Castle County, for example.[5] You may also apply for a fee waiver at this time, however, if you have a financial hardship.
  5. Attend your court hearing. Arrive early just in case, confirm your room number, and wait for your name and case to be called.[6]
    • Bring a photo ID with your current name, and any additional documents related to your request, such as evidence regarding your current status on the sex offender registry, if relevant.
    • You may be questioned under oath by the judge, so answer truthfully.
    • The judge will sign your request whether it is granted or denied. It it is granted, you can request additional copies of the Order from the clerk for a small fee. Obtain at least two copies now, because you will use them to change your Social Security card and driver’s license.
  6. Know the minor differences in the process if you are a minor. If you are under age 18, the name-change process itself is quite similar, but the paperwork is different. Also, at least one parent or guardian must approve of the change.[7]
    • The same forms for an adult name change must be completed, along with an additional Questionnaire, and, if only one parent signs off on the change, a Form Letter for Parent of Minor Child. Both forms are available, like the others, at the courthouse or online.
    • If one parent does not consent, he/she must be sent the Form Letter by certified mail. The consenting parent must bring a copy of the Form Letter and the green receipt (that proves the letter was delivered) to the hearing, or the request may be denied.
    • A non-consenting parent has the right to attend the hearing.

Changing Names by Marriage or Divorce

  1. Don’t assume your name has changed through marriage or divorce. While becoming less common for a variety of reasons, the tradition of one spouse taking another spouse’s last name is still the expectation for many after marriage. This (or any other) type of name change after marriage is not automatic, however, and requires some relatively simple but necessary actions on your part.
    • Likewise, divorce does not automatically revert a changed last name to the pre-marriage last name in Delaware. Again, a simple but necessary process must be taken.
  2. Use your marriage license as valid proof for a name change. An official, certified copy of your marriage license is sufficient cause in Delaware to undergo a name change. No separate decrees or court orders are required.
    • You are required to file for a marriage license together in person, with valid government-issued photo ID. Both parties must be 18 or have state family court authorization. The license is valid for 30 days and must be issued at least 24 hours before the marriage ceremony. The license costs $50, plus a $20 recording fee (in New Castle County, for example. Fees may vary.)[8]
    • According to the Social Security Administration, a certified Delaware marriage license is sufficient for either spouse to change his/her name to a) the other spouse’s last name, or b) a hyphenated combination of both.[9]
    • Unlike some other states, it does not appear that a marriage license alone can be used to change a last name to one that is not a) or b) above. See Method One of this article for that process.
  3. Change your name as part of your divorce decree. In Delaware as in most states, the easiest way to change your name due to divorce is to make it a part of the divorce decree itself. When done this way, no separate legal actions or fees are necessary.
    • Divorce in Delaware requires, among other particulars discussed in official packets available online,[10] a separation period of at least six months (barring claims of misconduct); the filing of a Petition for Divorce (the listed filing fee is $150);[11] and a hearing before a judge when the divorce is contested (or upon request).
    • On general divorce decree forms that are valid in most if not all U.S. states, there is normally a section (at number nine on the example cited here) that authorizes a name change as part of the decree.[12]
    • This process, however, entitles you only to revert to your maiden name or another former legal name. Otherwise, you will have to undertake a separate legal process, as described in Method One of this article.
  4. Use your official marriage license or divorce decree as your legal authorization to make additional name-change measures. One of these documents, along with proof of your previous legal name, should be all that is required to change your name on your Social Security card, Delaware driver’s license / ID card, and other such changes.
    • See Method Three in this article for useful information on making these changes.

Changing Identification Documents

  1. Change your name on your Social Security card first. First, that is, after you possess a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. Taking this step before moving on to your driver’s license and other identity documents makes the process much easier.
    • Visit a Social Security Administration office, and bring the following: completed Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Card, available at the office or online);[13] a certified name change document (marriage license, divorce decree, or court order); a valid, government-issued photo ID; and proof of citizenship (birth, citizenship, or naturalization certificate). The full list of acceptable documents is available online.[14]
    • You can also complete the process by mail, if you send certified copies of the certificates (not just photocopies of them).
  2. Change your driver’s license or state ID card. This can be done only in person at a Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office. Bring the following:[15]
    • Your current license / ID card.
    • Your certified name-change document (same as in previous step).
    • Your new Social Security card (with your new name), or papers from the SSA that show you processed a name change application, if you have yet to receive your new card. (You must apply for your new Social Security card at least two-to-three days before applying for a new driver’s license.)
    • A form of payment (the fee is $1.15).
    • You can also find information about changing your voter registration card and your vehicle title and registration at the DMV office or online.[16]
  3. Change your name on your bank accounts, then move on to credit cards, utilities, and so on. With a certified name-change document, a new Social Security card, and a new driver’s license, the process should be simple — if likely more time-consuming than you’d prefer.
    • You should be able to change your name on bank accounts by providing your certified name-change document and new driver’s license; you may also need your new Social Security card as well, so bring it along.
    • The list of notifications you need to make after this point depends upon the particulars of your life. Lists of common stops on the name-change parade are available online.[17]
    • Also available online are numerous sites that offer to do the name-changing drudgery for you, usually for about $30 and above.



Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  2. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  3. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  4. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  5. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  6. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  7. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=16858
  8. ↑ http://www.nccde.org/126/Marriage-Licenses
  9. ↑ https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/1502712009
  10. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=53648
  11. ↑ http://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=27108
  12. ↑ https://www.ilrg.com/forms/divorce-nc-setag/us/de
  13. ↑ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10513.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.dmv.de.gov/services/driver_services/other/dr_oth_change.shtml
  16. ↑ http://www.dmv.org/de-delaware/changing-your-name.php
  17. ↑ https://www.theknot.com/content/name-change-101
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