Bring marriage license?

i stupidly put my plane tickets in my married name even though my passport is in my maiden name, so i'll be bringing our marriage certificate with me to prove i'm me. i hate that it's just one more thing to carry that could get lost, but continental wouldn't/couldn't change the name on the tickets so c'est la vie.

Leah: If you have time to do it before your trip, have you considered getting your passport changed to your married name so that it will match the name on your tickets? I mean, have you been assured that TSA will let you board, with the name difference? If you're not sure of that, and there's time to get your passport changed, it's one less thing to worry about?

Leah, I'd suggest you look into this carefully.

I have a friend who has always gone by the name "Chris Smith" (not his real name). His legal name (apparently as a result of some parental divorce and remarriage many years ago) was "Chris Smith Jones". That's what was on his passport. He bought his ticket online for an international flight in the name of "Chris Smith." He showed up at the airport, presented his ID and was refused boarding. He had a wallet full of ID and passport, with various combinations of Smith, Jones, Smith-Jones, etc. He was was told his ticket was not valid without a matching passport, amd if he wanted to get on that plane he would have to buy a ticket (four digits worth) on the spot. He did. It was a very expensive "technicality."

Bottom line: especially for an international flight, expect them to insist that the name on the ticket EXACTLY matches the name on the passport. Others may have gotten away with it, but I wouldn't count on that. I also would not count on any airline/security/gate agent to listen to reason.

Good luck!

Oh for goodness sake,, why on earth would a passport not be enough,, Susan, even here they don't make you show a birth or marriage certificate in such a situation,,names are the same on passport right?

Your friend sounds like she read that somewhere in cyberspace,.,,LOL

PS Taking all your id with you ,, well you are WAY more likely to lose it or have it stolen then be in a serious accident and need .

You aren't required to show those items in the U.S., are you? So I don't see why you would be required to show them overseas.

I can happily now say that I've heard everything!

As the saying goes, "Don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you read."

Enjoy your trip with one less thing to worry about.

Reg

That is so true! I wonder why she made such a point of telling me this.

This actually came from someone who has traveled the world, and someone I don't don't really know, just met her.

If you and your husband share the same last name, and your child is on either of your passports, or has his/her own passport with the same last name, you're fine.

In the U.S., if one parent travels outside the country with the child, you are supposed to have signed authorization from the other parent (to prevent kidnappings in custody cases, things like that). But traveling as a family, you're fine.

I wonder how many other ridiculous things we're told about travel that aren't true.

Well, it might not be quite as crazy as it sounds, at least in some circumstances. Not every woman changes her last name after marrying. My wife kept her family name, so if you look at our ID, the only thing that even implies we're married is that we share the same address (on our drivers licenses). One's address does not appear in one's passport. If you share the same last name then I wouldn't worry about it, but I actually will be taking a photocopy of our marriage license. The world's a crazy place at times and weirdness happens, so I don't mind carrying one more piece of paper to avoid a problem.

there was no time to change the passport before we leave but i called continental as soon as i realized what happened and they made a notation of my maiden name in their system and told me to bring my marriage cert.

you guys had me worried so i just called again and thankfully they told me the same thing. ;)

I'm like David, I have heard that if your name on the ticket doesn't match the name on your passport, then they will permit you to fly.

Not to be doom boy but I know if you die it can be a real challenge . The paper work.

I have my husband's name and our wedding date engraved in my wedding band and a verse from the Bible. It matches his wedding band which has my name in it, the same Bible verse, and our wedding date. I always think this would be handy (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) if such a situation ever arose. Of course, we always wear them, so no need to carry something extra! ;)

Juillette, I don't think your matching wedding bands will make even the tinest difference to an agent bent on things being by the book. I mean why else would they refuse passage to someone with " Kathy" on their airplane ticket and " Katherine" on their passport,,I will tell you why, they are anal nit pickers...
We all know Bill could be William, and Christine could be Chris, and the likelyhood of a terroist simply buying a ticket with a shortened name or nick name is next to 0%, yet still some people are hassled about tickets and passports not matching exactly.. so the wedding bands,, well you and I know it makes perfect sense, but to a person who is obsessed about going strictly by the absolute letter of the law,, well they could care less. I bet they would refuse 1/2 a co joined twin if ones paperwork wasn't perfect and the others was!! LOL

John, if you die, the paperwork is the least of your problems.

Leah, I did the same thing many years ago, definitely before the increased security since 9/11. We were going to Germany and I inadvertently made plane reservations in my married name, but my passport was in my maiden name. I called the airlines and they told me to bring our marriage certificate and I'd be just fine. We got out of Austin just fine, but when we tried to get on our connecting flight at Washington Dulles, they almost didn't let me on the plane. Two gate agents became involved and brought over a supervisor. I had my marriage certificate (and told them that their airline had said that would be fine!), driver's license (with all names listed), credit cards, and all other manner of identification. Finally, they let me board (whew!).

I was worried that they may not be as generous for the return flight home and I might never get out of Germany. So I went to the American consulate in Munich and had them add an amendment to my passport. Oh yikes, I just googled the name change amendment, and it looks like the US government no longer issues amendments to passports -- the passport must be replaced: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/correcting/correcting_2654.html

Well, just remember that you have to travel twice with the mismatched passport and airline ticket -- to get over there, and then to get back home! Good luck!

AS long as all the names are correct, there is no reason to carry marriage certificates or birth certificates over here. Hospitals are not freaky about stuff like that here like they are in the States.

Having correct names is not just for security purposes. If you arrive in a foreign country, and are not allowed in for having improper documents, the airline that transported you will get fined--and then have to fly you back for free.

no, I hardly think my ring is going to get me on a plane, ahem, but when I travel in a developed country such as those in Europe, or back State-side, I am not carrying my marriage license around with me, that is silly and I'm not paranoid. We know where we keep our copies, so if something were to happen and we needed it, then it would be easy for somebody to get it to us pronto.

were I traveling in say, the Sudan, then yes, paperwork would be a good thing.

I think you've got it backwards. In any of the "developed" countries (i.e. those with relentless and inflexible "security" policies), your wedding bands will do exactly nothing, other than setting off the metal detectors. The gate/security staff checking things aren't going to give a hoot what your jewelry looks like, and I suspect they would refuse to even look at it. But if your name is misspelled on your ticket or your ID doesn't match, odds are you will not be getting on that plane. Seriously, they are specifically told not to take into account anything that's not on their Official List Of Things To Scrutinize. They do not deviate from the procedures. You could have the priest who married you there, along with the local bishop, the pope and God him/herself there to vouch for you, but if the name on your ticket doesn't match the name on your passport, I wouldn't count on going anywhere.

Since the original post was about bringing one's marriage license for medical/accident purposes and NOT about plane tickets and names.... yeah, that's why I mentioned the whole ring thing folks. Obviously they're not legally recognized items, but in terms of ID-ing in a pinch, they COULD help in a medical/accident situation. Sheeeesh.