On December 31, 2016 the snow poured here in Vancouver, a
rarity even though we are in Canada, rain is normally what happens in the Lower
Mainland. But lucky for me my winter
wonderland wedding dream became reality and our day went off without a
hitch. Our wedding was flawless, nothing
that mattered went wrong and I believe this is because I surround myself with
amazing people. A huge thank you to my
parents, maid of honour, bridesmaids, groomsmen, groomswomen, family and friends
for making our day so special!
It’s really hard to describe how I feel after our big day,
it was an emotional day and lots of happy tears, but afterwards the feeling I
felt and still feel, is indescribable, besides happy and joyful its comfortable
and confident. I felt this way before but I feel it even more now, a secure comfort knowing that I married the man of
my dreams, someone I can talk to every day and who understands me and loves me
for all my faults and my strengths. It’s
a really neat feeling.
And don’t get me wrong, you can still have these feelings
even if you don’t get married; this is just me talking about me.
And now I have to think to myself, I’m married, now what?
For some, they keep their last name, but not this girl; I
have been looking forward to this day my whole life! And now the real work begins, and so do the
bills, it’s not cheap to change everything but for me, it’s worth every penny!
I thought it might be nice to share, all in one place, all
the ID’s that need to be changed once you decide to change your name in BC:
- Your Employer
- B.C. Health Services Card
- B.C. Driver’s License
- Car Insurance (ICBC)
- Canadian Passport
- Social Insurance Number
- Bank Account
- Credit Cards
Your Employer
Each employer is
different, so contact your HR department or your boss for the proper paperwork
to fill out.
B.C. Health Services Card
If you are employed your name change for this will go
through your employer and they will send it in for you. If you are not, contact Health Insurance BC
at 604.683.7151 or 1.800.663.7100 to change your name on your BC Services Card.
After you’ve received your confirmation letter via mail, you can visit an ICBC
driver license office to officially change your name on your services
card. Don’t forget to bring your
confirmation letter.
B.C. Driver’s License
If you moved in with your husband after the wedding for
the first time, you will need to change the address on your license. You can do
this online or in person but going in person will allow you to change your name
at the same time (although this can be done with the above). Don’t forget to bring marriage
certificate, two pieces of ID in both your old or new name and money to pay for
the new license. (Looking for the closest office near you? Click
here.)
Car Insurance
When you have your new married name temporary license (usually
a yellow piece of paper until the real thing is mailed to you 2 weeks later)
you can change your name on your insurance. There are a lot of small Autoplan
insurance agencies in each city and anybody can do it for you. Don’t forget to bring your
temporary driver’s license, your marriage certificate and obviously, your
insurance papers from your car.
Canadian Passport
If you have a lot of flights scheduled I would hold off and
leave this as the last piece of ID you change as you don’t want to risk booking
flights in the wrong name and running into issues. You can stay you’re your maiden name and
shouldn’t have any issues flying with it at all. I’ve heard you could book a
ticket with your maiden name and fly with a passport in your married name, if
you carry your marriage license with you at all times. But that is hear say so
make sure you look into that before flying.
For any name change, you have to apply for a new passport.
You cannot use a passport renewal process for a name change;
unfortunately it needs to be a new Adult General Passport Application form.
You’ll need proof of Canadian citizenship (birth certificate or citizen
certificate), two supporting pieces of ID in your new name, two photos, one
signed by a guarantor and required fees. You will also need your marriage
certificate (original or a copy.)
Social Insurance Number
You will need to change your name attached to your Social
Insurance Number with the Canada Revenue Agency. You must do this change in
person (There are exceptions, if you live more than 100km from a Service
Centre, classic Canada, wide open spaces) at a Service Canada Office. Don’t forget to bring: your social insurance number, if
you haven’t memorized it, your marriage certificate and another piece of ID.
You can also change your marital status and link your account to your spouse’s
number.
Bank Account
If you’re opting for a joint account you will need to go
into the bank with your spouse and will need to bring your marriage certificate
to change my last name and then your spouse will need ID to add them to your
new joint account.
Credit Cards
The procedure for this will vary from company to company.
Some credit cards will be fine with a phone call and providing your new married
name, others will want a copy of your marriage certificate mailed in with a
copy of your ID.
The items listed above are the major things to change
after your wedding, I’m sure as time goes on I will find my maiden name popping
up here and there to be changed!
I hope this list helps you as it has for me and enjoy being
married as much as I do!
I’m also looking forward to blogging more, so I hope you
will come back from time to time and read what I have to say.
Happy Wednesday my friends
Xoxo Lindsay
Photo credit: Roxana Albusel Photography
