Birth Certificate ???

[Acklander]

When my 20 year old son turned 18 he legally changed his name, so now his name says one thing on his Driver's license but something else on his birth certificate. He was sent a letter from the courts letting him know when the name change took effect. Does anyone know if this is this good enough for travel ?

 

[Lynderella]

That is an interesting question, but at the same time, it also applies to any of us wives who married and took our husbands last name.

Did he change his first and last name?

We were never even asked for our birth certificates or passports, but you never know when you will need them when out of the country.

I would suggest talking to a TA or calling DCL direct. My guess is you are covered, but it is one of those things you don't want to find out you needed more when it is too late.

 

[Yelosnow]

Your son should also be able to go to the office of the clerk of court for the court where the name change took place. The clerk should be able to provide a notorized copy of the document ordering the name change from name "A" to name "B".
By doing this your son would be able to show his birth cert. with his given name and then the court order for showing the change to his current name.

 

[mickeyfan1]

If he is worried about traveling, he should get a passport. He will need a certified copy of his Birth Certificate and the court order showing the name change. When he gets his passport back in the mail, he can file the BC and court order in a safe place and use his passport as ID. I use my passport for all travel, it's easy to use and there is no question as to it's validity.

If he doesn't want to get a passport, his DL can be used for air travel, but he would need to bring all the paper work for a cruise.

Honestly, a passport may be a big expense, but they last 10 years, they are easily replaced if lost (MAKE 2 copies of it, one to keep with you and one to keep at home), and can be renewed very quickly.

 

[Acklander]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. He only changed his last name, not his first name. His birth father wandered off when he was 2, so when he turned 18 he wanted to honor the man who raised him and legally changed his last name to dh's. I think we'll get him a passport "just in case".

 

[LissafromSJ]

Defintely, definitely get a passport. My driver's license had a typo for the day of my birth (not even the year, just the actual day was two days off) and I was boarding our plane when I was stopped at the gate and could not fly with my children. Talk about a disaster! I flew down ten hours later after running to Motor Vehicles and getting a new license. Everything must match up and all names must be tied into each other - they even asked me for a marriage certificate, which I went home and got. Funny thing is, my husband had a typo on his driver's license with his birthday too (and boy did I let MV know how much they had really caused us a problem) but, because he had a passport it didn't matter at all! He could have flown with no problem, but stayed with me while I got my mess sorted out. Argh! Now I have a passport just to leave the house (just kidding. Sort of.) Melissa