Update Your Voter Registration After a Name Change (2025)

Election Day is November 4, 2025, and these tips apply to any election cycle. If you’ve changed your name due to marriage, divorce, or court order, here’s how to update your voter registration. 

HitchSwitch also provides step by step guides for changing your name across key documents. 

Step 1: Check deadlines

Start by reviewing your state’s voter-registration deadlines—updates generally can’t be processed after the cutoff. Vote.org offers a helpful, state-by-state overview of registration and Election Day registration deadlines guide. Before updating your voter registration, plan to update your name on your Social Security card and your driver’s license or state ID.

Step 2: Update core identity documents

Our guides on changing your name after marriage or divorce cover the full process, but here’s the quick order of operations:

1. Social Security Administration (SSA): Update your legal name using your marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.

2. Driver’s license or state ID: Update your ID so it matches your SSA record.  You can often update your voter registration at the same time you change your license/state id.

3. Other essentials: Keep everything consistent by updating your Passport,bank accounts, travel and loyalty programs, insurance, and more.

Tip: If a registration deadline is approaching, vote under the name currently on your voter record. Afterward, complete your SSA and ID updates, then update your voter registration.

 

How to Update Your Voter Registration After A Name Change?

It’s important to ensure your voter registration reflects your current legal name (and, if applicable, your address and party affiliation) so you don’t run into issues at the polls.

Depending on your state, common options include:

• During your license/ID update (fastest, where available): Ask the DMV to update your voter registration name change with your license/ID update, or select the voter-update checkbox on the DMV form.
• Online: Many states offer an online portal with options such as “Change my name” or “Update registration” options.
• By mail:  Complete your state’s voter-registration form (complete the name-change section/update box if provided) and mail it to your local election office. Some states may request a photocopy of your updated driver’s license or state ID.
• In person: Visit local election office to submit the update.

*Some states may require a new voter-registration application to reflect a name change.

 

FAQs

1. Can I update my name and address together?
   Yes—most portals and paper forms let you update both in one go.
2. Do I need to re-register?
   Usually, you update your existing voter record rather than re-registering from scratch.
3. How long until I see the change?
   Online changes can appear quickly; mailed updates vary by county. Many states say to expect a new card in about 2 weeks.