Arizona Address & Name Change

By Javier Marín, Editor·Last reviewed September 2026·How we check this

Arizona MVD requires every licensed driver to notify the agency of a new address within 10 days of the move. Name changes have no formal deadline but require an updated license and registration before any other transaction (renewal, title transfer, ID upgrade) can be processed under the new name. The address change is free; the name change requires a license replacement fee.

Address change — the 10-day rule

Under ARS § 28-3168, every licensed Arizona driver must report a change of residence address to MVD within 10 days. The report can be filed online through AZ MVD Now in under two minutes, by mail with a written notice, or in person at any state MVD office or ATP. Reporting the new address through AZ MVD Now is free and automatic; the database updates immediately.

Reporting the new address does not automatically replace the printed license card. Arizona drivers can carry a license that shows the old address as long as MVD has the new address on file — and most drivers do. If a current card with the new address is needed (for example, to satisfy a job's I-9 verification or a TSA Travel ID requirement), a replacement card costs $12.

Vehicle registration address

The registered address on every Arizona-titled vehicle must also be updated within 10 days of the move. AZ MVD Now handles both the license and the registration in the same workflow, but a driver who only updates the license should explicitly select "update vehicle records too." Failure to update the registration address means renewal notices, photo-radar notices, and toll-road notices will continue to mail to the old address — one of the most common reasons drivers end up with FTA suspensions on tickets they never received. Any owner who suspects unreceived correspondence should pull a current Motor Vehicle Record to check for outstanding holds.

Address change for a Travel ID

Arizona's Travel ID (REAL ID) credential includes the address as a federally verified data element. Updating only through AZ MVD Now is sufficient for non-Travel ID licenses, but a Travel ID requires re-presentation of the two qualifying residency documents to MVD or an ATP for the new address to print on a replacement card. Most Travel ID holders make this update at the same visit as a 12-year photo update or a senior renewal — see Arizona license renewal.

Name change after marriage

To update a license to a married name in Arizona, bring:

The current Arizona driver license.
A certified copy of the marriage certificate (court-issued original or county-recorder certified copy — not a souvenir certificate from the wedding).
An updated Social Security card showing the new name. Social Security must be updated before MVD will issue a license in the new name — this is a federal requirement under SSA matching.
Completed Form 96-0236 with the new name printed.
$12 replacement license fee.

The replacement is processed at any state MVD office or ATP. The name change cannot be completed online — AZ MVD Now does not accept supporting documents for name changes.

Name change after divorce

The required documents are similar but include either:

The certified divorce decree showing the legal name restoration ordered by the court.
OR a certified court order specifically authorizing the name change (some Arizona divorce decrees do not address the name; in those cases a separate name-change petition under ARS § 12-601 is required).

Plus the current Social Security card in the restored name and the standard Form 96-0236 plus $12 fee.

Name change for any other reason

For a name change unrelated to marriage or divorce — gender transition, religious change, court-ordered name correction — the supporting document is a certified court order from an Arizona Superior Court (or equivalent out-of-state court) authorizing the change. The name change petition under ARS § 12-601 is filed in the county of residence; once the order is signed, the certified copy goes with the standard Form 96-0236 to MVD. Social Security records must be updated first.

Updating vehicle title to a new name

An Arizona vehicle title with the old name must also be updated when the registered owner's name changes. Arizona MVD will reissue the title with the new name at no additional title fee if the change is processed within 30 days of the license name change; otherwise the standard $4 title fee applies. Title-to-title transfers between spouses, or following divorce, may also need to be processed as a formal title transfer if the original ownership shared the title with someone else. Be sure the policy on the vehicle insurance is updated to the new legal name within the same 30-day window so claims are not delayed.