Just married: change your name and civil status with SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR
Congratulations. The paperwork part is four government records — SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR — that each need your new civil status, your spouse, and (if you take it) your new surname. Each agency has its own form, and every one of them asks for the same document first.
First: do you have to change your surname?
No. Taking your husband's surname is a choice. Under the Civil Code, a married woman may use her maiden first name and surname and add her husband's surname, or use her maiden first name and her husband's surname (Civil Code, article 370). The word is *may*.
If you keep your maiden name, you still update your civil status and add your spouse (and, for SSS, your beneficiaries) — but your name stays the same everywhere.
Get the marriage certificate first
All four forms list the marriage contract or certificate as the supporting document — SSS's E-4 list of documentary requirements, the BIR 1905 under "Change in civil status", and PhilHealth's PMRF instructions ("supporting documents"). The PSA copy reaches PSA weeks to months after the wedding; while you wait, the local civil registrar where you married can issue a certified copy.
The four updates
Agency · Form · Tick · Bring; SSS · E-4 Member Data Change Request · Change of civil status: *Single to Married*; change of name; update beneficiaries · Marriage certificate + ID; PhilHealth · PMRF · Purpose: *Updating/Amendment*; civil status; your spouse's full name (and as a dependent, if eligible) · Marriage certificate; Pag-IBIG · Member's Data Form · New name, civil status *Married*, spouse · Marriage certificate; BIR · Form 1905 · Item 9, *Change of Civil Status: From Single to Married*; your new name · Marriage contract (1 photocopy)
The order does not matter legally, but people who do SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR first — before their IDs and passport — find the rest easier, because later IDs are checked against these records.
If you are employed, HR usually files the BIR 1905 and forwards your SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG updates. Give them the filled forms and a copy of the certificate.
How to write the new name
- Taking his surname: your *middle name* becomes your maiden surname, and your *last name* is his. Example: Maria Santos Reyes marries Juan Cruz → Maria Reyes Cruz (first: Maria, middle: Reyes, last: Cruz). - Write it the same on all four forms, with the same spelling and spacing. A single difference (a hyphen on one form, none on another) is how records end up mismatched and need correcting later. - Pag-IBIG's form says it outright: for married women, the middle name is your father's last name — your maiden surname.
Questions
Do I need to change my name with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG at all?
Only if you will use your married name. Your civil status and spouse should be updated either way, so that your spouse can be your beneficiary or dependent.
Can I keep my maiden name after marriage?
Yes. The Civil Code (article 370) says a married woman may use her husband's surname — it is optional.
What document do all four agencies ask for?
Your marriage contract or certificate. The PSA copy can take weeks to months; ask the local civil registrar for a certified copy in the meantime.
My husband is also changing something. Does he file too?
If he updates his civil status or adds you as a beneficiary or dependent, yes — the same four forms, with his own details. In the just married pack each of you types your details once and every form opens filled.
Last checked 2026-10-11. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.