Yes. Your SSN and any filled government forms never hit our servers. We store only the minimum needed to build and track your plan — things like your selected path, institution list, and progress — so the product can guide you without holding your most sensitive form data.

We’ve built a California-first database of the institutions people most commonly need to update after a name change — from SSA and DMV to banks, insurance, employers, subscriptions, and more. Our guided discovery walks you through those categories step by step, and you can add custom entries for anything unique to your situation.

Yes — and this is one of the biggest reasons people waste time and money. In California, SSA needs to update first, and DMV verification can still fail until the usual SSOLV refresh window clears, which often takes about 24–48 hours. Renamely is built to reflect that launch sequence so you are less likely to make wasted trips or force a step too early.

The full process still depends on SSA timing, DMV availability, mail, and how many institutions you need to update. Without a plan, it often drags on for months. With the right sequence, the core California path can move in weeks instead of months, but Renamely does not promise the same finish time for every user.

It depends on your situation, but typically you’ll need your marriage certificate, divorce paperwork, or court order, plus your current government-issued ID. Renamely focuses on the documents and prep that matter most for each step and links out to official sources when an institution has its own current requirements.

Yes. The California launch supports marriage, divorce, gender-identity court orders, and general court-order paths. We do not flatten those into one generic checklist — we adjust the early sequence depending on whether you already have the legal name-change proof in hand or still need court work first.

That is exactly the kind of edge case Renamely is built to catch. In California, some divorce paths move straight into SSA because the decree already restores the prior name, while others still need a separate restoration order first. Renamely asks that question up front so the rest of the sequence stays accurate.

You can go through onboarding for free and see your personalized sequence, your first blocker, and the shape of the work ahead. The paid unlock gives you the full dashboard, detailed institution guidance, progress tracking, notes, and reminders so you can actually work the plan without losing your place.