To change your marital status with Social Security, file Form SS-5 with proof of your new legal name and your identity if your name changed, and report the marital status change within 10 days of the end of the month if you receive Supplemental Security Income. There is no fee, no separate marital-status form, and your Social Security number stays the same.
The Social Security card itself does not show whether you are married, divorced, or widowed. It shows only your name and your number. So the reason to contact SSA after a marriage, divorce, or annulment is usually one of two things: your legal name is now different, or you receive SSI and the agency needs to know about the change regardless of your name.
When Social Security Needs to Hear From You
If you kept your existing legal name through the marriage or divorce, and you do not receive SSI, you generally do not need to file anything with SSA about the event itself. Your future benefit eligibility may still shift (see below), but no paperwork is due today.
You do need to update your record when your legal name changes. That covers taking a spouse’s surname, reverting to a prior surname after divorce, or adopting a hyphenated or new name by court order. The tool for all three is the same: Form SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card.1Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card
The SSI Reporting Rule Is Different
If you receive Supplemental Security Income, you must report any change in marital status to SSA whether or not your name changed. Marriage affects both SSI eligibility and the amount of your monthly payment. The deadline is strict: no later than 10 days after the end of the month in which the change happened. Missing a report can cost you a penalty of $25 to $100, and intentionally withholding the information can lead to benefit suspensions of 6 to 24 months.2Social Security Administration. Reporting Responsibilities for Supplemental Security Income
Documents to Gather Before You File
A name-change update needs two things: proof that your name legally changed, and proof of who you are today.
Proof of the Name Change
SSA accepts a marriage certificate, a final divorce decree, or a court order approving a legal name change. The document has to link your prior name to your new one and carry enough identifying detail to match you to your existing Social Security record. If the event happened more than two years ago, or if the document is thin on identifying information, SSA will also ask for an identity document in your prior name.1Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card
Proof of Identity
You need a current, unexpired identity document showing your legal name. SSA prefers a U.S. driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, or a U.S. passport. If none of those is available or obtainable within 10 business days, the agency may accept a backup like a military ID, an employee ID, a health insurance card, or a certified medical record. A birth certificate, hospital souvenir certificate, or your old Social Security card will not work as identity proof.1Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card
Originals Only
Every document you submit must be an original or a copy certified by the issuing agency. SSA does not accept photocopies or notarized copies under any circumstances. If you don’t have your original marriage certificate or divorce decree, order a certified copy from the vital records office in the county or state where the event took place. Non-citizens must also submit current U.S. immigration documents (an expired document or an application receipt will not do); the specific documents accepted depend on your status.3Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
Filling Out Form SS-5
Form SS-5 is free. You can download it from ssa.gov or pick one up at a local office.4Social Security Administration. Social Security Forms The form asks for your current Social Security number so SSA can find your record, your full name at birth, and the new legal name you want on the card. It also asks for your exact date and place of birth and both parents’ full names including birth surnames; those biographical details act as a secondary identity check that protects your earnings record from unauthorized changes.1Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card Include a daytime phone number so staff can call you to resolve a discrepancy rather than mailing the whole application back.
Three Ways to Submit
Online
SSA has opened online name-change requests to some applicants. The agency does not publish a full eligibility list and directs you to begin the process to find out whether you qualify. If you don’t, the system will point you to an in-person appointment.5Social Security Administration. Change Name with Social Security
In Person
Going to a local Social Security office is the most common route and has one clear advantage: you hand your originals across the counter, staff verify them on the spot, and you walk out with them. Find your nearest office through the locator on SSA’s website. Booking an appointment ahead through your my Social Security account or by calling 1-800-772-1213 usually shortens the visit.
By Mail
You can mail the completed Form SS-5 and your original documents to your local office; SSA returns the originals by mail after verification.1Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card That means your marriage certificate or passport is out of your hands for a few weeks. Use a trackable shipping method and keep copies for your own reference. SSA also accepts submissions by fax and through its online document upload tool.6Social Security Administration. Submit Forms and Upload Documents
After You File
Once SSA approves the application, your new card arrives by mail in roughly 5 to 10 business days. High-volume periods can stretch that a little. Your Social Security number does not change; only the name on the card does.7Social Security Administration. Request Social Security Number for the First Time
Why the Update Matters
Your future retirement and disability benefits are built from your lifetime earnings record. If your employer files wages under your married name while SSA still has your maiden name, those earnings may not post to your record. SSA lists an unreported name change as a common reason for missing earnings.8Social Security Administration. How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record A few missing years can quietly shrink your monthly check decades later.
The same mismatch shows up at tax time. The IRS checks the name on your return against SSA’s file, and a mismatch can delay or reject your return. Until SSA processes your update, the IRS advises filing under the former name still on your Social Security card, not the new married name.9Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
How Marriage and Divorce Change Your Benefits
Marital status affects what benefits you can claim. These rules run off SSA’s records, so they only work in your favor if SSA has the current picture.
Spousal Benefits
A married person can claim a spousal benefit on their spouse’s earnings record. The marriage must generally have lasted at least one year, and the claiming spouse must be at least 62. If you also qualify on your own record, SSA pays the higher of the two amounts, not both.10Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Social Security Benefits
Divorced Spouse Benefits
If your marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce was final, you can collect on your ex-spouse’s record without affecting their benefit. You must be at least 62, currently unmarried, and not entitled to a higher amount on your own record. If your ex has not filed yet, you can still claim as a divorced spouse once you have been divorced for at least two years and your ex is at least 62.11Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse If you married and divorced the same person more than once, SSA can add those periods together toward the 10-year threshold, provided you remarried within the calendar year following the divorce.12Social Security Administration. More Info – If You Had a Prior Marriage
Survivor Benefits
A surviving spouse can collect on a deceased spouse’s record starting at age 60, or as early as 50 with a qualifying disability. Full survivor benefits are available at the survivor’s full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1962 or later. A surviving spouse caring for the deceased’s child under 16 can collect at any age. The 10-year marriage rule also applies to surviving divorced spouses. Remarrying before age 60 generally ends survivor eligibility; remarrying after 60 does not.13Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits
SSI Couples
Marriage has the sharpest financial effect on SSI recipients. In 2026, the maximum federal SSI payment is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 for a married couple where both spouses receive SSI, roughly 75% of what two individuals would receive separately.14Social Security Administration. What’s New in 2026 – The Red Book The countable resource limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.
When only one spouse receives SSI, SSA applies a process called deeming: a portion of the non-SSI spouse’s income counts against the recipient’s eligibility. If household income crosses SSA’s thresholds, the SSI payment shrinks or ends. Deeming applies only when the couple lives together; separation ends it.
Other Records to Line Up After SSA
Update Social Security first, because other agencies verify names against SSA’s file. Once your SSA record is current, work through the rest:
- Give your employer your new card so future W-2s match SSA’s records. If a W-2 already went out under your old name, ask for a corrected W-2c.9Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
- You do not need to file a separate form with the IRS. Updating SSA handles it. Just make sure the name on your next return matches the name on your Social Security card at the time you file.
- Update your driver’s license or state ID. Most states set a deadline after a legal name change; the specifics vary.
- Update your U.S. passport using Form DS-5504 if your passport was issued within the past year, or Form DS-82 for a standard renewal.
- Update your banks and financial institutions with the new card and name-change document, since mismatched names can trigger fraud alerts.
Handling SSA first and your employer second heads off the quietest and costliest problem: wages posted under a name SSA does not recognize, chipping away at benefits you have already earned.