Changing Your Name After Marriage

To update your family name on documents such as your driver licence, passport and bank accounts, contact those organisations. For example, this might include VicRoads, the Australian Passport Office or your bank. You'll need to give them either:

• A marriage certificate, or
• A change of name certificate.

This will depend on whether you married in Australia or married overseas.

Married in Australia

Change your family name to your spouse's

If you married in Australia:

• You can take your spouse's family name
• Both partners can hyphenate their family names.

You don’t need to apply for a change of name. Just give the relevant organisations a copy of your Australian marriage certificate. Get a marriage certificate. The commemorative certificate you got on your wedding day isn't the 'official' (legal) marriage certificate. Most organisations will only accept the BDM-issued legal certificate as evidence.