USA.gov
Name Change
Unifying government name change applications
Overview
Problem
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2.3 million people legally change their names each year due to marriage, divorce, or gender transition, but updating their name across multiple government agencies remains a fragmented and frustrating experience. The public spends 35 million collective hours annually navigating redundant government paperwork and agency-specific requirements, —often facing confusion, delays, and frustration.
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Approach
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To solve this, we designed a service on USA.gov that allows individuals to report a name change once and shared it with relevant government agencies.
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Impact
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By streamlining this process, we aimed to save the public between $305M - $790M in lost time annually, improve accessibility, and set a precedent for efficient digital government services.
Role
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Lead researcher,
product designer
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Team
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2 product managers, 1 researcher,
2 engineers.
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Skills
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Figma, UserTesting,
Lean Canvas methods
Agencies
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10x Federal Incubator,
USA.gov
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Project Context
Innovating
Government Services
USA.gov serves as the federal government’s “front door” for public information. They brought my 10x federal incubator team to help them evolve beyond information delivery to provide service delivery—consolidating multi-agency processes into one streamlined experience. "How to Change Your Name" is a content page on USA.gov, visited by 30-40,000 monthly users. Our team explored the viability, feasibility, and desirability of offering a centralized name change application service on that page.
Discovery
Understanding User Pain Points
I conducted:
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User Interviews: Engaged individuals who changed their name due to marriage and gender transition.
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Journey Mapping: Identified high-friction areas such as understanding required steps, submitting multiple applications, and proving identification repeatedly.
I learned:
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Users struggle to determine where and how to change their name.
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The process is time-consuming, expensive, and fragmented.
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Many turn to USA.gov for guidance, highlighting a natural opportunity for intervention.
Market Analysis
I analyzed private-sector companies offering name change services, revealing:
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The demand for simplified name changes is high.
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Users are willing to pay up to $130 to ease the burden.
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Private services primarily exist to compensate for government inefficiencies—inaccessible forms, poor UI, and lack of inter-agency data sharing.
This confirmed a key opportunity: As a government entity, USA.gov could offer a secure, official, and free alternative.
Outcome
A Unified Name Change Service
With a cross-functional team, I developed an initial pilot prototype for a common name change application on USA.gov.
Reflection
Impact, Next Steps, and Takeaways
Next Steps: scaling the concept
Following our pitch and presentation, the project secured $175K in funding for further development. Our next steps include:
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User Testing: Validating the USA.gov prototype with users.
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Technical Feasibility Exploration: Assessing USA.gov’s capacity to store and share data securely.
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Partnership Expansion: Strengthening inter-agency collaboration to ensure a seamless experience for the public.
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Takeaways
This project demonstrated a high-impact opportunity for USA.gov to transform a tedious, multi-step process into a seamless, user-friendly government service. By centralizing name change applications, the federal government can significantly reduce administrative burdens, save millions in lost time, and improve public trust in digital government services. With the next phase underway, this initiative has the potential to set a precedent for modern, efficient, and citizen-first government services.