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Certified copies of your marriage license/certificate in Cuyahoga County

K ByteK Byte member
First Comment First Anniversary
in Ohio-Northeast
So I'm just about ready to legally change my name after getting married last month. I know you need a few copies of either your "marriage license" or your "marriage certificate" for bringing to the Social Security office and the DMV and possibly some other places ... what is the difference between these two things if any and where/how do I get them? I'm so lost because all the websites seem to say different things. Is it worth using one of those name change services that is sometimes advertised on theknot and other wedding sites?
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Re: Certified copies of your marriage license/certificate in Cuyahoga County

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    jaylii9jaylii9 member
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    edited December 2011
    You should have obtained your marriage license from the county before you got married. The marriage license is signed by your officiant within 60 days of issue and mailed back to the county offices. Once the county offices receive your signed marriage license, they will issue a marriage certificate. Once that happens you can request copies of your marriage certificate in person or by mail. 

    Note: When we got our marriage license (Cuyahoga county) they gave us instructions for requesting copies of the marriage certification by mail, so you can probably call the office if you can't go down there. 

    Once you have copies of your marriage certificate, go to a social security office and request a new SS card. Once you get that in the mail, you can go to the BMV and other places to change your name using certified copies of your marriage certificate.

    I have no idea if those name changing services are worth it! I won't be using one because my name changing process could be more complex because this is the second time I am changing my name in my life so I would rather do it myself.

    Hope this helps!
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    K ByteK Byte member
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    edited December 2011
    How do you know when they issue you a "marriage certificate?" We just moved so did they send it to our old address or something?
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    jaylii9jaylii9 member
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    edited December 2011
    I'm not sure where your certificate has ended up. A marriage certificate is a different document than a marriage license so that's how you would know it's been issued.

    Why don't you try calling the probate court tomorrow? Here's that information:

    http://probate.cuyahogacounty.us/marriage.htm


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    JKohioJKohio member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Definitely call the Probate court to see if they sent a copy. Typically, a copy is only sent if you request it, which you should have done initially when you and DH applied for your license. If you don't recall filling out anything regarding a request, you can still get a copy.

    Directly from the Cuy. County's web site FAQ regarding copies:
    Where Can I Obtain a Certified Copy of My Marriage License?
    To obtain a certified copy of your Marriage License the court needs to know the first and last names of the Groom, the first and Maiden (or name prior to marriage) names of the Bride, and the date of marriage. (If the exact date is not known, give an approximate year.) The cost of a certified copy is $1.00 for a short form or $2.00 for a long form, both qualify as certified copies. You may either come to the marriage department in person with cash, or send a request through the mail accompanied by a money order or check for the number of copies. Be sure to include the address where you would like the copy to be mailed.  Click here for the court address and Marriage Department Location.

    And, no, it's not worth spending $$ on a name change 'kit' for something so simple that you can do for FREE by yourself. Once you change your name with the Social Security Admin. (various offices -- choose one close to you) and the BMV, take your time contacting your banks, insurance companies, etc. Each company/organization will have their own way of handling a name change. There's no single 'magic' form that changes your name everywhere. IIRC, it was all very easy to do. The most annoying for me at least -- were the frequent flyer mileage clubs and PayPal. The rest were cake. Make a list of every organization/company you can think of that you regularly deal with. Do a few a day and check 'em off the list as you go. It's really not that hard, and there's no certain time limit when it all has to happen.
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    l337Jacquil337Jacqui member
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    edited December 2011
    we live in portage county, but i assume it would be the same for cuyahoga county. we just called the office to see if the pastor had mailed in ours yet. pastor did all the paperwork the day of the wedding, then mailed in the certificates (you get to keep the big "licence" one, the 8.5"x11" one as a keepsake). so, i called our portage office and asked them if they received them yet from the pastor. they checked, said yep, so we went in to the office to get the certified copies to start the name change process. i also was able to do the BMV and the SS office in one day. didnt need the SS card at the BMV, just my old driver's license and the certified marriage certificate copy (but i called in advance to see what i would need). 

    btw, we got 2 copies of our marriage certificate (i think they were $1.25 each) and still have both copies lol...sometimes they say the SS office or BMV keeps them, but in our case they didnt. so when the probate office asks how many copies you need, just get a few just in case places keep them (for example, my student loans wanted me to mail them one), but know that places may not keep them and then you just have them haha

    and those name change kits/website scare me. what would happen if the website got hacked or something??? you have literally sent over ALL YOUR INFORMATION lol...so i would not do anything like that.

    good luck!
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    K ByteK Byte member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Yeah they didn't say ANYTHING to us when we got our marriage license about getting a certificate in the mail so I'm super mega confused! I think my H is going to call them tomorrow and see what we're supposed to do. We were married in Cuyahoga County and reside in the county too so I guess we'd have to go to the courthouse again for anything UGH! I hate the courthouse. And yeah we thought that the marriage licensed signed by our pastor was just a keepsake and didn't really do much. SO annoying, I wish they would communicate this stuff better! I'm going to have to do it right away when we come back from the honeymoon I think.
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    jaylii9Wed199459jaylii9Wed199459 member
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    edited December 2011
    The marriage license has a big part to it, which is a keepsake for you. The two removable sections on the bottom should be mailed back to the courthouse. I was given instructions to request copies of the certificate by mail from the courthouse so I think you may not even have to go back down to the courthouse. I would just call. The ladies that we worked with when we applied for our marriage license were very nice and helpful.

    Good luck!
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    starshine985starshine985 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was married a year ago (Cuyahoga County and still residing there) and never received a copy of anything from the courthouse.  It's something that you need to request, but I never did.  I did, however, change my name very easily without their copies.  I simply went to the social security office with my original driver's license and the marriage license signed by the officiant.  They changed my name and ordered a new card to be sent to me within 7 days.  I did not, however, need to wait to receive the new card in order to get a new driver's license (in fact, I did it all on the same day!).  I took my marriage license, receipt from the SS office and old license to the BMV and they took care of the rest! 

    Trust me, I felt just as you did when I started the process and couldn't believe how easy it actually was.  If you have specific questions on what you need to bring (because let's face it, the websites are confusing and seem to all say different things!), call the offices directly.  The people there are more than willing to help and they've been through this a million times.  I would call them before worrying about getting anything from the courthouse -- that's such a hassle and wasn't even necessary for me!

    HTH!
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