Name change in Kentucky
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Kentucky, 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.
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Step 1: Get a court order for your name change
- In Kentucky, a person at least 18 years old may have their name changed by the District Court of the county where they live. If you live on a United States Army post, military reservation, or fort, the District Court of an adjacent county may do it instead.
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- Once the court orders the name change, a copy is certified to the county clerk, who keeps an alphabetical index of every name change for that county. The Kentucky Court of Justice's self-help portal does not publish its own instructions for this process; it points people to a third-party guided-interview website instead.
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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.
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- 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
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Step 3: Update your driver's license or state ID
- To change the name on a Kentucky driver's license or ID card, first update your name with the Social Security Administration. Then bring your updated Social Security card and legal documentation, such as a court order, to a Driver Licensing Regional Office in person.
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- Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet says name changes must be completed in person and cannot be done online or by mail. You receive a temporary credential right away, and your permanent card typically arrives by mail within 10 to 15 business days.
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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.
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- 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.
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Where to get help
- Fairness Campaign — A Kentucky LGBTQ+ civil-rights organization publishing know-your-rights information and organizing statewide, including Kentucky Pride events.
- KYJustice — Self-help legal information site that the Kentucky Court of Justice's own self-help portal links to for civil legal topics, including name changes.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Kentucky identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Kentucky 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.