Name Change After Divorce in New York

The judgment provision: get it even if undecided

The provision costs nothing at the moment of judgment and preserves the option for years afterward, so it belongs in the judgment even for a spouse who expects to keep the married name. The statute requires the judgment to contain the provision, with the parties' Social Security numbers, as part of the judgment itself. With a certified copy of the judgment in hand — order several from the court when the divorce finalizes — the certified judgment is the proof document for the same agency sequence as the marriage route: form SS-5 with the certified judgment and proof of identity at Social Security, then the DMV on form MV-44NC by mail for a standard document or form MV-44 in person for a REAL ID or Enhanced document, with divorce papers that indicate a name change among the accepted proofs. Civil Rights Law section 65 confirms the election: any person may, upon divorce or annulment, elect to resume the use of a former surname or middle name under section 240-a, and the state may not impose a fee solely to change the surname or middle name on a license, permit, registration, or other identifying document for a person who has assumed a new name or resumed a former surname because of a change in marital status. This page states no DMV fee for the divorce route, because the general amended-document fee and the section 65 no-fee provision sit side by side on the pages read and their interaction is not resolved there — confirm the fee with the DMV.

If the judgment is silent

A divorce already final without the provision still leaves options. In some cases the divorce court can amend the judgment, which is worth asking about before filing anything new. Otherwise, the formal name-change proceeding under the Civil Rights Law — the petition, proposed order, proof of birth, and court fee in the New York name-change guide — produces a court order every agency accepts, and courts grant post-divorce resumptions readily. The child's surname is a separate legal process with its own standards: a divorce judgment's name provision covers the adults only, and changing a child's name follows the minor name-change procedure. Nothing in this page is case-specific guidance, and nothing here addresses whether a particular name should be resumed — only how the paper routes work.

Source

Judgment provision from Domestic Relations Law section 240-a (NYSenate text), opened via search 2026-10-30. Election and no-fee provision from Civil Rights Law section 65 (statute mirror), opened via search 2026-10-30. Agency sequence and proofs from the NY DMV Change Information page and form MV-44NC, opened 2026-10-30. DMV fee interaction with section 65: unresolved on the pages read, not stated. This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.