How to Apply for Credit After a Name Change

When you are applying for new credit, creditors will run your social security number to yield a credit report. The credit report will reflect your current name as well as any names that you have used in the past. For this reason, if you have legally changed your name, you must ensure that all databases have your new name on record. This will help requests for future credit go smoothly.

Instructions

1

Make a visit to your local social security administration to get your name changed on your social security card. This will ensure that your social security number is connected to your new name when the number is run for a credit check. You will have to provide the social security administration with a certified copy of the documentation that reflects your legal name change.

2

Contact current creditors that you may have. Advise the creditor of your legal name change. Request that the name on your account be changed to reflect your new name. The creditor may require you to fax or mail documentation to prove that your name change is legal. This will vary by creditor. By reporting your new name to current creditors, it will be reported on your credit report.

3

Write a letter to each of the three credit reporting bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, to advise them of your new name. Be sure to alert the bureaus of your previous name as well as your current name. Request that your name be changed in their reporting database to reflect your new name. Include with the letter a certified copy of your legal name change documentation. The bureaus should honor your request within 30 days.

4

Complete the application for a new credit account. Enter your social security number on the application. Use your new legal name in the primary name fields of the application. Enter your former name in the fields that are designated for previous names or aliases.