What you need to know

Students have the ability to change their preferred name or their legal name.

Students can change their preferred name in WebSIS. It is used on class lists and in other places such as your status of registration and grade reports, your student account, and the MIT Directory.

If your legal name changes while you are a student at MIT, you will need to supply us with documentation of your old and new names, such as a certified copy of a court order, a marriage certificate, or a dissolution decree.

Some key points to remember:

  • Once you graduate, your record is frozen and we cannot make name changes except in very limited circumstances, such as a gender change.
  • Any currently enrolled student can update their preferred name in the “Biographic Information” section in WebSIS.
  • The MIT Card Office policy is to publish your preferred name as listed in WebSIS on your MIT ID card. If you would like your legal name on your MIT ID card, you must specifically request this at the Atlas Center.

What you need to do

Preferred Name Change

  • Go to WebSIS.
  • Click “For Students” followed by “Biographic and Emergency Records,” and “Name(s), Last School Attended, Birthdate, SSN, Citizenship.”
  • You may change your first, middle, or last name, and choose to use your full middle name or an initial.
  • Click “Submit.”

Legal Name Change