The Social Security Office moved from Newark Avenue, not Newkirk several years ago. The office is across from the Miss America Diner (Culver and West Side.)

I luckily changed my name when I got married. On a sidebar note, once you get your legal document saying you can change your name, the first thing to do is go to the Social Security Administration office on Newkirk Avenue. It was incredibly efficient though the wait room is quite an awful experience. I was there only about 15 minutes but the best part, I got my new ss card in the mail in 2 business days!

Good luck!

Pretty much what Jerseymom said.

Think I used legalzoom or one of the other online sites like http://www.newjerseynamechangelaw.com/. Well worth the few additional dollars to navigate the process.

If you're already married, you missed the boat on the free name change which you can do when you're getting your marriage license. You must do a name change as a legal process. You can do it yourself.

Think long and hard about the name change. You have to change your names on EVERYTHING with EVERY ENTITY you do legal business with (credit cards, banks, passport agencies, social security, professional licenses, DMV (oh so much fun), mortgages, leases, wills, estates, trusts, advanced directives, credit reporting agencies etc.). And when you renew items at the DMV, you have to have proof of your name change EVERY TIME you visit. Be also prepared to explain the new name change which occurred after marriage. It's a major pain.



Keep that legal name change document in a very safe and accessible place. You will need it a lot.

From LSNJ Law:

How do I change my name?

You may apply to the court at any time for a court order to change your name. In considering a request for a name change, the main concern of the court is that you are not asking to change your name in order to commit fraud or avoid the consequences of a pending legal action. Although most requests for name changes are granted without question, you should explain in your application why you want to change your name.

To get a court order giving you permission to change your name, you must file a complaint for name change in the Law Division of the Superior Court. To begin the process of having the court consider your case, you must give the court clerk the necessary forms and a filing fee of $200. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may apply to the court to be allowed to file without the fee.

The documents that you must file are:

?Civil Case Information Statement. This summarizes your case for the court.

?Verified Complaint for Name Change and Certification. The complaint tells the court what your name is, what name you want to change it to, why you want it changed, and whether or not you have ever been convicted of a crime or have criminal charges pending against you. In the certification attached to the complaint, you certify or swear that all information in the complaint is true to the best of your knowledge. It is important to include only accurate, truthful information in any documents that you file with the court. If you knowingly misrepresent a fact to the court, you may be charged with a crime of the fourth degree.

?Order Fixing Date of Hearing. You leave this document partially blank when you file it with the clerk. A judge then reviews it, completes it, and sends it back to you with directions to come back to court to have your case heard on a date that is 30 days or more from the date that the judge signs the order. The judge will also direct in the order that you publish notice of this hearing date in a specific newspaper.

Source & Expanded Information

Does anyone have experience with the process when both partners in a couple want to change their name after getting married (i.e. both hyphenate or both adopt a new last name)? Government websites are suggesting that it may be treated the same as a name change outside of marriage - which requires a $200 fee, court appearance, and multiple notices in a newspaper declaring the change (?). That seems insane and I am hoping there is some info I am missing.