How can I keep my maiden name?

[qingqing 0]

hi guys...I passed the road test and went to get the license issued. The clerk there insisted that I should follow my husband's last name or they couldn't issue me a license. Both my hubby and I were really pissed off as the hassel of GC was already too much and now we had to take DMV nonsense. I showed her my SSN, AP, passport and EAD (GC is in MSC waiting to be corrected) with my maiden name and told her I did not want to change my surname. Hubby told her under no law was I forced to take his surname. However, she wouldn't listen. She said I had to get a court order indicating I could keep my maiden name.

I came back hoping I could find some info regarding the women's right to retain their maiden name but so far nothing has happened.

If any of you who has similar experience or relevant knowledge, pls let me know. I really appreciate it. Thanks.

[sjoefl01 1]

If you had all of this identification ( SS, AP, EAD ) with the name you wanted I don't see how they even knew that there was a name problem. DId you present your marriage license also?

YOu need to tell everybody what state your are applying in. You might get more help.

[Garfield fan 0]

I keep my maiden name on all docs, have no problem with DMV. Maybe you can try to go to another DMV ?? Some DMV offices are more fussy than others...

[sukimi 0]

I bet if you go back to a different DMV or on a different day, you won't have this problem. It sounds like this lady didn't know what she was talking about.

[KarenCee 3]

OR you could insist to speak to the supervisor. What state are you applying in? Maybe go onto the DMV website and check out their requirements...if there's nothing that states you HAVE to take your husband's name, print out the relevant information and take it to this person and show it to them. Just a thought.

[desert_fox 32]

Read the state vehicle code and see what it sez. Ask her for her source of authority for this issue. In every state that Im aware of, a married woman can use either her maiden neame or married name or a hyphenated name.

[I'm Gone 60]

hi guys...I passed the road test and went to get the license issued. The clerk there insisted that I should follow my husband's last name or they couldn't issue me a license. Both my hubby and I were really pissed off as the hassel of GC was already too much and now we had to take DMV nonsense. I showed her my SSN, AP, passport and EAD (GC is in MSC waiting to be corrected) with my maiden name and told her I did not want to change my surname. Hubby told her under no law was I forced to take his surname. However, she wouldn't listen. She said I had to get a court order indicating I could keep my maiden name.

Since all your documents are in your maiden name and you are applying with that name how/why did being married even come up?

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Motor_Vehicles.shtml

[qingqing 0]

hi guys...I passed the road test and went to get the license issued. The clerk there insisted that I should follow my husband's last name or they couldn't issue me a license. Both my hubby and I were really pissed off as the hassel of GC was already too much and now we had to take DMV nonsense. I showed her my SSN, AP, passport and EAD (GC is in MSC waiting to be corrected) with my maiden name and told her I did not want to change my surname. Hubby told her under no law was I forced to take his surname. However, she wouldn't listen. She said I had to get a court order indicating I could keep my maiden name.

Since all your documents are in your maiden name and you are applying with that name how/why did being married even come up?

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Motor_Vehicles.shtml

Thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions. I'll definitely keep looking for info and go back armed with more info.

I live in Arkansas and the married name came up because they didn't require any other document but passport and marriage license. When I got my permit, I confronted another lady on using my husband's name as my last name but she refused to write down my maiden name. That was how the problem started.

[scy 0]

hi guys...I passed the road test and went to get the license issued. The clerk there insisted that I should follow my husband's last name or they couldn't issue me a license. Both my hubby and I were really pissed off as the hassel of GC was already too much and now we had to take DMV nonsense. I showed her my SSN, AP, passport and EAD (GC is in MSC waiting to be corrected) with my maiden name and told her I did not want to change my surname. Hubby told her under no law was I forced to take his surname. However, she wouldn't listen. She said I had to get a court order indicating I could keep my maiden name.

Since all your documents are in your maiden name and you are applying with that name how/why did being married even come up?

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Motor_Vehicles.shtml

Thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions. I'll definitely keep looking for info and go back armed with more info.

I live in Arkansas and the married name came up because they didn't require any other document but passport and marriage license. When I got my permit, I confronted another lady on using my husband's name as my last name but she refused to write down my maiden name. That was how the problem started.

What name is on your marriage certificate? If you took your husband's name on the marriage certificate, then that is your legal name. You must use it on all your legal documents, including the driver's license. If your maiden name is on your marriage certificate, then the DMV is wrong and you should tell them to go to hell.

[I'm Gone 60]

What name is on your marriage certificate? If you took your husband's name on the marriage certificate, then that is your legal name. You must use it on all your legal documents, including the driver's license. If your maiden name is on your marriage certificate, then the DMV is wrong and you should tell them to go to hell.

Most states want the DL name to match the SSN record and her SSN record has her maiden name. If it was me I would just go back and not say anything about being married.

[canucker18 0]

I would suggest going back armed with your knowledge and ask to speak to a supervisor if necessary.

I had a similar issue this week. I went to get my Canada license converted, (in Mass.) and they did not want to give me my Mass. license. They wanted a green card, and of course I don't have it. My K1 was expired, and to make matters worse, I don't have an I94 in my passport because I used my AP and on the way back in they only gave me a stamp.

I had every piece of ID they could want, and I was prepared for them. It took till closing time, but I walked out with my temp. and the card's in the mail!

Be persistent. Know your stuff and speak with a supervisor.

[ceriserose 1]

I found this information but I'm not sure how much it will help. The second one is from the California DMV; I looked for Arkansas but their website didn't provide much meat, just a series of links for contacting their office directly.

The irony is, most of the time the issue is proving the married name, not proving you are who you've always been! I wish you luck.

***************

Legal status and criticisms

Laws respecting married names vary. In areas whose legal systems derive from the English common law—such as most parts of the USA, Canada, and the UK—a name change usually does not require legal action, because a person can choose to be known by any name (except with intent to defraud); this is why authors, actors, and step-children, as well as married women, can adopt new names without taking any legal action. In many jurisdictions whose legal systems derive from the civil law—such as France, Spain, the Canadian province of Quebec, and the U.S. state of Louisiana—however, the default position is for a woman's "legal name" to remain the same throughout life: Citizens there who wish to change their names legally must usually apply to do so via a formal procedure.

Source

************

BD = Birth Date

LP = Legal Presence

What is a True Full Name?

Your true full name appears on your BD/LP document. If you change your name, then you must provide one of the following documents to verify your name change:

* Adoption documents that contain the legal name as a result of the adoption.

* A name change document that contains the legal name both before and after the name change.

* Marriage certificate (issued from a local or state Office of Vital Statistics).

* Dissolution of marriage document that contains the legal name as a result of the court action.

This document must be issued by a government agency within the United States or a foreign jurisdiction that is authorized to issue such documents. The document must be a legible and unaltered original or certified copy with a government seal, stamp or other official imprint. You will need to surrender your current driver license and/or ID card.

Source

What name is on your marriage certificate? If you took your husband's name on the marriage certificate, then that is your legal name. You must use it on all your legal documents, including the driver's license. If your maiden name is on your marriage certificate, then the DMV is wrong and you should tell them to go to hell.

Most states want the DL name to match the SSN record and her SSN record has her maiden name. If it was me I would just go back and not say anything about being married.

This is true of Washington, although I hadn't changed my SSN to my married name until after the DL was issued and the woman at the DOL was able to do "something" in their system to put it in my married name first. My DL was the first piece of "formal" ID I had with my married name.

[scy 0]

What name is on your marriage certificate? If you took your husband's name on the marriage certificate, then that is your legal name. You must use it on all your legal documents, including the driver's license. If your maiden name is on your marriage certificate, then the DMV is wrong and you should tell them to go to hell.

Most states want the DL name to match the SSN record and her SSN record has her maiden name. If it was me I would just go back and not say anything about being married.

SSN record should be in a person's legal name. If her legal name has changed, she should change her SSN record. I currently have an a different name on my SSN card than on my driver's license. In California, SSN alone is not enough proof of legal name, you must provide something else. The DMV wouldn't accept the SSN name as the name on my driver's license. They used the name on my citizenship certificate and passport.

Arkansas doesn't even accept a SSN card as identifying document. You have to provide something else. That list is here: http://www.arkansas.gov/dfa/driver_services/ds_license.html

Sounds to me like this person changed her legal name on her marriage certificate.

[ceriserose 1]

Sounds to me like this person changed her legal name on her marriage certificate.

I'm confused by this statement. My marriage certificate shows my maiden name (my name as the party entering into the marriage) and as such, I signed it with my maiden name. On the notarized copy of the marriage certificate it shows the same information as described above (i.e. not designating which name I use in practice).

Is my marriage certificate not the norm from the 'usual'? (I've only been married the once so have no basis for comparison. )

Anyway, it's still weird to me, as my maiden name is still my legal name, and the married name I use is also legal (through the legal marriage). I can and have used both. To make my maiden name 'defunct' as a legal name I would have to have my birth certificate amended and go through a legal name change in Canada.

And the OP isn't changing her name, simply using the one she's had all along. So why does she lose the privilege to use it?

(I know that's what she's asking. I'm sleepy still. LOL)

[scy 0]

Sounds to me like this person changed her legal name on her marriage certificate.

I'm confused by this statement. My marriage certificate shows my maiden name (my name as the party entering into the marriage) and as such, I signed it with my maiden name. On the notarized copy of the marriage certificate it shows the same information as described above (i.e. not designating which name I use in practice).

Is my marriage certificate not the norm from the 'usual'? (I've only been married the once so have no basis for comparison. )

Anyway, it's still weird to me, as my maiden name is still my legal name, and the married name I use is also legal (through the legal marriage). I can and have used both. To make my maiden name 'defunct' as a legal name I would have to have my birth certificate amended and go through a legal name change in Canada.

And the OP isn't changing her name, simply using the one she's had all along. So why does she lose the privilege to use it?

(I know that's what she's asking. I'm sleepy still. LOL)

In the US, there are no laws that say you have to use a certain name. Hence many people take pseudonyms and professional names. But you only have one legal name at any given time. There are several ways to establish a legal name. One is obviously the name you were given on your birth certificate.

Other ways to establish one's legal name is to get married and change one's name on the marriage certificate, get divorced/marriage anulment/legally separated and change one's name with the judgment, become naturalized as an US citizen and change one's name at the naturalization ceremony, obtain a citizenship certificate with a new name, or goto court and get a legal name change through a court order.

In your case, your legal name is your maiden name if that is the name on your marriage certificate. Unless you have changed it through the methods above, then that is your legal name. You are of course free to use any names you wish, but on your legal documents like passports, driver's license, SSN card, tax returns, etc. you should really use your legal name.

My wife's legal name is her maiden name, which is the name on our marriage certificate. She can use my last name anytime she likes at work, on credit cards, bank accounts, etc.. She can be known as Mrs.XXXX but that is NOT her legal name. Her legal name remains her maiden name until she changes it.