After the Name Change: updating identification in Pennsylvania | Law Office & Mediation Services of Elissa C. Goldberg

You’ve completed a Name Change in Pennsylvania. Now, it’s time to update your identification to reflect the change.

Here’s a checklist to help remember what to do and where: note that most organizations or government agencies also require that you keep your address up to date.

Update your name with the Social Security Administration:

Go to the Social Security Administration as well as any systems that cross-reference their data with the SSA’s, such as:

1. Pennsylvania.’s Department of Revenue (you can change your name on your Pennsylvania income tax account on the Department of Revenue’s website), and
2. Contact your financial institutions which also cross reference with the SSA, including your banks, investment accounts and any other financial account holders. Contact information is usually on the first page of your latest statement.

Update your name on your driver’s license in Pennsylvania:

See the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles to update your name on your license/ID and auto registration on your car.

Update your name on your retirement and pension accounts:

You will need to contact each 401(k) plan, IRA account, pension administrator, or other retirement account directly to determine the name change process.

Change your name on your U.S. passport:

Contact the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Update your name on your U.S. Armed Forces service record:

Current military personnel must write a letter to their branch of service requesting the name change and stating the reason why. In divorce: the person must have asked the civil courts to reinstate their maiden name so that they have a Name Change Decree, as well as a Divorce Decree, to submit with the letter. Military personnel that have completed the civil court name change process for other reasons and have a Name Change Decree must also write a letter requesting the change, attaching the Civil Court Order.
Veterans benefits are overseen by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which has various forms for changing your name and address on different portions of your benefits.
Military Service Records (DD-214) are kept by the National Archives and Records Administration, but changes to past records can only be affected by the review board of each branch of the military.

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Update your name on your Will.

At the very least, put your name change decree in storage next to your Will. Ideally, the Will should be re-drafted to reflect the name change.

GOING FORWARD: Other records to update (not comprehensive): The following list of identifications or legal documents should easily be changeable with your Court-signed Decree of Name Change

Medical records – handle directly with your medical providers
Voter registration card – you need to completely resubmit your voter registration, including any change of address, using Form DSBE-600
Bank accounts – handle directly with your financial institutions. Call first to determine what paperwork and identification they need.
Specialized savings or investment vehicles, such as 529s, special needs trusts, brokerage accounts, etc.
Mortgages, equity lines, credit cards – see above
Firearm permits – handled by your County Sheriff, check with your County’s website.
Utilities – Contact each utility individually to determine the process for name change
Selective Services – visit website for details to change name.

When all the legal and paperwork is completed, don’t forget to notify your friends and family of your new moniker. Some people send out postcards or letters in the style of a birth announcement or an address change. It was Shakespeare who said “What’s in a name?” For a client who has gone through the time and expense of a legal name change, the answer is obviously: A new identity.