Ask the judge who is presiding over your divorce process to include an order restoring your birth name or the name you had before the marriage. This court order will assist you in proving the name change when obtaining your new Social Security card, driver's license and passport.
File a request to the court for your divorce decree to be amended if it does not include the name-change order. Use your county clerk's website to see if your state allows a divorce decree to be amended after the divorce so that it includes a name-change order. Present the court clerk with your birth certificate or the passport you were using before marriage as proof of your birth name or former name. You will receive a certified copy of the name-change order.
Access government name-change forms from the county clerk's website; you need these forms to change the name on your passport, Social Security card and driver's license. This information is transferred to the United States Passport Office, the Social Security Administration Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles, respectively. You will receive your new Social Security card, driver's license and passport with your new name on them.
Notify institutions such as banks, creditors, service providers (telephone, satellite TV, private security providers), your previous schools and your employer about the name change. Sometimes you may be required to show a copy of the name-change court order for your name to be changed by these institutions.