Name change in Pennsylvania
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania, you file a petition for a name change in the court of common pleas of the county where you live. The court sets a hearing between one and three months after you file, and unless it waives this for your safety, you must publish notice of the petition in two newspapers of general circulation before the hearing.
Varies by court/clerk.
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- The court sends your fingerprints to the Pennsylvania State Police for a criminal history record check. At the hearing you present proof that you published the notice, plus an official search — from every county you have lived in during the past five years — showing there are no judgments, decrees of record, or similar matters against you. If publishing the notice would endanger you or a child, the court can waive it and seal the case file. People convicted of certain violent or sexual offenses cannot get a name change this way, and people convicted of other felonies must wait at least two calendar years after completing their sentence.
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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 your Pennsylvania driver's license or photo ID, complete Form DL-80 and take it to a Driver License Center in person. If your name changed by court order, bring a Certified Copy of the Court Order; to use your spouse's surname, bring your marriage certificate.
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- All documents must be original — PennDOT does not accept photocopies. If you're using a name for another reason, bring your Social Security card plus two other documents issued in that name, such as tax records, a passport, or voter registration.
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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
- Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network — Pennsylvania's statewide network of nonprofit legal aid programs, which can help connect low-income residents to free legal help for a name-change petition.
- Mazzoni Center — Philadelphia-based LGBTQ health and legal services organization that has run legal clinics helping Pennsylvanians with name and gender-marker changes.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Pennsylvania identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Pennsylvania 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.