Name change in Delaware
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Delaware, in order. Each links to its official source and the date we last checked it. When you're ready, build a personalized checklist that covers every document at once.
This is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change, so always confirm with the official source linked on each step, and talk to a lawyer or legal-aid organization about your specific situation.
Build my personalized checklist →
-
Step 1: Get a court order for your name change
- To legally change your name as an adult in Delaware, you file a Petition for Change of Name in the Court of Common Pleas for the county where you live. Filing costs $85, and you must also file a notarized Affidavit of Petitioner.
- An adult name-change petition in Delaware goes to the Court of Common Pleas sitting in the county where you reside. Family Court only has jurisdiction over a name change that's part of a divorce case, part of a parentage case, or a name change for a minor.
More detail
- Bring your birth certificate and a photo ID, plus — if a previous name change or a divorce led to this one — the related court paperwork. After you file, the court sets a hearing date; you must check in with the bailiff 30 minutes before your scheduled time, and proper dress is required in the courtroom. You receive the signed order plus eight certified copies; additional certified copies cost $10 each.
- Delaware no longer requires you to publish notice of your name-change petition in a newspaper — the statute's publication section was repealed.
Sources
- Delaware Court of Common Pleas — Change of Name Petition Packet — We cannot check this source automatically for changes. Check it yourself before you file.
- Delaware Code, Title 10, Chapter 59 — Change of Name —
-
Step 2: Update your Social Security record
- Social Security still changes the legal name on your Social Security record. A valid court order for a name change is one of the events Social Security recognizes as changing your legal name, and you apply with Form SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card.
More detail
- Social Security's policy manual defines your legal name as your first name and last name — the name you use to sign legal documents. For a person born in the United States, that is generally the name shown on the birth certificate, unless the name changed through an event such as a marriage or a valid court order for a name change. The sex marker on your record is handled separately and under a different rule — see the Social Security sex marker step.
📝 Get the official form: Form SS-5 — Application for a Social Security Card
Sources
-
Step 3: Update your driver's license or state ID
- Within 30 days after legally changing your name, you must personally go to a Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles office to update your driver's license or ID. Update your name with the Social Security Administration first and allow 72 hours before going to the DMV.
More detail
- Bring your old license and your name-change documents — such as court documents, a divorce decree, or a marriage certificate. This is an in-person transaction only; it can't be done online or by mail.
Sources
-
Step 4: Update your U.S. passport
- To update the name on your U.S. passport, submit a passport application with an original or certified copy of the document that legally changed your name, such as a court order.
More detail
- If your name changed within 1 year of your most recent passport being issued, mail Form DS-5504 with the name-change document — you will not have to submit any fees for this service. If it has been more than a year, renew by mail with Form DS-82 and a certified name-change document, or apply in person with Form DS-11. If you have no legal documentation of the change, you apply in person with Form DS-11 plus Form DS-60, Affidavit Regarding a Change of Name.
📝 Get the official form: Form DS-82 — U.S. Passport Renewal
Sources
- U.S. Department of State — Change or Correct a Passport — We cannot check this source automatically for changes. Check it yourself before you file.
Build my personalized checklist →
Where to get help
- Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) — Delaware's oldest and largest civil legal-aid organization, providing free civil legal services to low-income Delawareans, including help with family-law filings such as a name-change petition.
- ACLU of Delaware — Delaware's statewide civil-rights organization, publishing know-your-rights information relevant to transgender residents and advocating on state policy.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Delaware identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Delaware documents. Their staff write and update it. Read it alongside this checklist.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — National advocacy organization (formerly the National Center for Transgender Equality) with plain-language guides to updating federal identity documents (Social Security, passport) after a name or gender-marker change.
- Lambda Legal Help Desk — National LGBTQ+ legal organization offering a free legal help desk for questions about discrimination and legal name/gender-marker changes.