Update Voter Registration and Passport After Divorce in Mississippi

Updating Your Voter Registration

If you changed your name or moved to a new address as part of your divorce, your Mississippi voter registration needs updating. An outdated registration can cause problems at the polls — your name on the voter roll will not match your current ID, which Mississippi's voter ID law requires for in-person voting.

You have two options:

Online or by mail: Complete a new Mississippi Voter Registration Application (available from the Secretary of State's website) with your current legal name and address. Mail it to your county Circuit Clerk's office at least 30 days before the next election. There is no fee.

In person: Visit your county Circuit Clerk's office with your updated driver's license reflecting your post-divorce name and address. The clerk will update your registration on the spot.

If you only changed your address (no name change), you can also update by completing the change-of-address section on the back of the voter registration card or by notifying your county Circuit Clerk in writing.

Mississippi does not automatically update voter registration when you change your driver's license — these are separate state systems maintained by different agencies (DPS vs. Secretary of State). Do not assume the update happened.

Updating Your U.S. Passport

A passport in your former married name is still technically valid for travel — U.S. Customs and Border Protection matches passports to your booking name, not your current legal name. But carrying a passport in a name you no longer use creates complications with airline bookings, visa applications, and international car rentals.

If both your passport was issued and your name was legally changed within the past year: Submit Form DS-5504 (Application for a U.S. Passport — Name Change, Data Correction, and Limited Passport Book Replacement) by mail. Include your current passport, a certified copy of the divorce decree showing the name change, and an updated photo. No fee.

If more than one year has passed since either your passport was issued or your name was legally changed: Submit Form DS-82 (Application for Passport Renewal by Mail) if it is not expired or expired within the last five years. Include your current passport, the certified decree, a new passport photo, and the standard renewal fee ($130 for a book, $30 for a card). If your passport has been expired for more than five years, you must apply in person at an acceptance facility using Form DS-11 ($165 for a book).

Mississippi acceptance facilities include post offices, county clerk offices, and some public libraries — search for the nearest location at travel.state.gov.

The Right Sequence

Both updates should come after you have already completed the upstream identity changes:

1. Social Security Administration (Form SS-5 — first)
2. Mississippi DPS driver's license (in person, after SSA)
3. Voter registration and passport (in any order, after DPS)

Our Mississippi After-Divorce Checklist maps this full identity-update sequence with the forms and agencies you need at each step.

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