Wanda L. De Coteau

Notes on who to notify about name changes

I generally recommend to my couples that the obtain at least 1 more Official Certified copy of their Marriage Certificate
from the Clerk’s office.
( this is Not the Marriage License that your Officiant has just signed- it is a Certified Copy of the document the State Records;
in Connecticut – it is the original marriage license with the last section completed , this is completed by the clerks office when they record the license. One or more Copies of this are made and a seal is embossed (for a fee of course)

In Connecticut there is no issue with a name change if one spouse takes the last name of the other or the last names become hyphenated ( eg Mr Smith marries Miss Osten they take the last name Osten-Smith)
[If you want a Totally different last name that is a whole other situation]

Notifications
with this Official Record of Marriage you can make name changes for ID’s (Driver’s License eg), Social Security

the other notifications are Insurance, Employers, Banks, Credit Cards
what many folks forget is the Post Office

when I mail a Commemorative Certificate it is frequently one of the first pieces of mail received under the new name
some Postal carriers/Post Offices will return the envelope to me as undeliverable as addressed because the name is different (this generally happens if the couple is moving into the residence of the spouse whose last name was changed) this seems to happen more in larger municipalities than the smaller ones.

Do not forget to let t your Mail Carrier know you just got married- so yo get your mail without delay
the return for the undeliverable mail may take a Month or more