name changing?

lisab613

for the married ladies on the board: did you need certified copies of your license to change your name, and what did you need them for? i wasn't able to get them before we moved out of state and i'm wondering if i can just show people the original, or if they're going to need the official copies. thanks!

LauraT25

I wouldn't say I needed them, exactly, but I did have to mail out either a certified copy or the original for a few things, and I personally preferred the idea of sending a copy.  That also meant that I didn't have to wait for the original to be returned to me before moving on to the next name change.

I needed to mail a certified copy or the original for: credit card, passport, and my employer/health insurance.  I needed it on-hand for social security (which had to be done first), MVA, my bank, and my car/home/life insurance - so I wouldn't have been able to do those things while waiting to get the original back, which took 2 weeks for the CC, and about 6 weeks for the passport. 

Everyone has different experiences depending on what accounts they have and where, but I think it's worth it to get at least one copy, and they're something like $3.  I sent out the form for copies the day after we got married, and they'd arrived by the time we got back from our HM.

smange10.10

I haven't changed my passport yet, but I believe that you do need to send a certified copy of your ML.  Other than that, I didn't need one.  I made photo copies for my health insurance and credit cards.  They were both okay with that.  And I showed the original to the social security office and MVA.

jflanigan

They key is to make sure the version you have in your hand has a raised seal and signatures. If it has both, you can use it. If it doesn't, you'll need a certified copy.

For what it's worth, I would never mail my only copy of any identity document for any reason. If you're mailing, have another on hand just in case. No one absolutely promises you'll get it back. They only promise to do their best. Something could always go wrong.