Question about names matching on my DL and Passport

[GetGlowing]

Does anyone have experience with getting the names on your drivers license/ passport changed so that they match -- specifically anyone in Tennessee? I have been married for 18 years and this has been a problem ever since!! The (blankety-blank) Tennessee DMV would not change my name to match what I wanted my married name to be. I had absolutely no problem with my passport, SSN, bank accounts, anything else. As a result, the names on my passport and DL do not exactly match. (I go by my middle name, and thus dropped my first name when I got married and picked up my maiden name as a middle name. Tennessee refused to do that on my drivers license, so I made them put all four names on there!) At the time all this happened, matching IDs was not an issue -- heck, they never even asked for ID when you flew (I know friends who flew on someone else's ticket and were never checked -- that would never happen now -- you get penalized if your name is misspelled along the way! anyhoo ...)

I don't fly often but know this may be a problem the next time I do. Or should I just use my passport for official identification purposes?

 

[NMAmy]

When I fly overseas, I have never been asked for more ID than my passport. Last trip was in May--unless it's changed since then which is certainly possible!

 

[uva185]

Well unless you really care about frequent flyer miles it is not an issue. Use your "passport name" when you go internationally and your "drivers license name (maybe just 2 out of 4 names) when you fly domestically.

If you do care about frequent flyer miles the name you use for domestic travel must be the same as the one for international travel.

 

[DebbieB]

You can use your passport as ID for domestic travel.

 

[uva185]

You can use your passport as ID for domestic travel.

Actually that reminded me, you could just get the passport card. That way you wont have to carry around your passport book on domestic trips and can just use the passport card, which is the same size as a drivers license.

 

[GetGlowing]

I haven't looked into the passport card. Is it good for all travel, or just to/from Canada and Mexico?

I think our passports expired .. ugh. Gotta get that taken care of.

 

[uva185]

I haven't looked into the passport card. Is it good for all travel, or just to/from Canada and Mexico?

I think our passports expired .. ugh. Gotta get that taken care of.

Well the Passport card is a government ID so it is valid on all domestic travel and travel to Mexico and Canada.

It is not valid for any other international travel.

EDIT: Just to add the new passport application forms offer the option to get a regular passport and a passport card at the same time. Just check that option at the top of the form.

 

[MAH4546]

Well the Passport card is a government ID so it is valid on all domestic travel and travel to Mexico and Canada.

It is not valid for any other international travel.

It is valid for all travel within North America that does not involve flying, except Greenland.

And, consequently, it is not valid for flying to Mexico and Canada.

 

[kreed]

To make things easier in your everyday life, you should be able to go to your local county clerks office and get a change of name form. This is what my state requires if you go by your middle name. This will change your name legally and you should have no other problems with your driver's license. For those of us that have always gone by our first names we don't realize how easy it was when we got married.

 

[GetGlowing]

What do they have against Greenland. LOL

Thanks for the info everyone.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

To make things easier in your everyday life, you should be able to go to your local county clerks office and get a change of name form. This is what my state requires if you go by your middle name. This will change your name legally and you should have no other problems with your driver's license. For those of us that have always gone by our first names we don't realize how easy it was when we got married.

I would guess that this varies significantly by State. I live in CA and have thought about legally changing my name to eliminate my first name, so I can fell the OP's pain. The cost in filing fees to get the needed Court order was over $500, so I decided to pass! -- Suzanne (Mary, but only to my substitute teachers in grade school)

 

[ParrotBill]

I agree you just have to carefully choose your name when buying plane tickets.

My passport has my full middle name, my driver's license has my middle initial.

I used my passport for domestic travel once - never again. The jerk at the airport decided to do a background check using my passport's pages, going through them one at a time, studying them like each stamp was a record of drug running. I wanted so badly to should "that's not your job, jerk, just confirm my identify and hand it back!"