Social Security and Marriage Licenses

Apparently the Social Security Administration has for months now had a policy that it wouldn't recognize marriage licenses as ID for name changes, not only from New Paltz, but also from Asbury Park, NJ, Multnomah County, OR, and Sandoval County, NM - all the hotbeds of contested same sex marriage events this year. The nonrecognition applies to ALL marriage licenses, regardless of the parties involved.



But now the SSA has withdrawn their exclusion of licenses as ID from Multnomah County and New Paltz. Asbury Park and Sandoval County, however, are still on the no-go list.



Apparently it's no problem for Massachusetts couples, but it won't get you anything but a name change since Social Security is a federal benefit, and federal agencies are barred from recognizing same sex couples.



An earlier story revealed that SSA publicly issued a directive regarding not recognizing San Francisco marriage licenses, but this new article doesn't mention what became of that order. A Philadelphia Inquirer article today reports that SSA will accept San Francisco issued licenses that list "Groom" and "Bride" but not those that list "First Applicant" and "Second Applicant."