How To Legally Change Your Name (2024 Guide)

Since the United States is a federalist republic, we have two layers of government: federal and state. For most normal life stuff, the states are the ones making the rules–which means that answers to questions like “How can I legally change my name?” depend on the state in which you live. Every state has its own laws and processes for carrying out those laws.

Don’t worry, this shouldn’t add a major level of complexity to changing your name. In reality, the process is very similar in most states. Still, you need to know your state’s rules so you can follow them to the letter.

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If you want to change your legal name, you need to use a legal process. You are free to use an alias or a nickname at any time, but that is not your legal name. The reason for your name change will dictate which legal process you need to follow.

Common Reasons People Change Their Names

The most common reason for a name change is marriage or divorce. Adoption is another common reason. But there are other situations in which you might want to change your name or your child’s name:

• You get married and want your child to share a name with the stepparent
• Your child’s name just doesn’t suit them
• You ended up calling your child something other than the name on their birth certificate
• Creating a new name for a couple (married or unmarried) who want to have a new, shared last name
• You or your child has transitioned to another gender
• You want to legally use the name that everyone calls you your legal name (your birth certificate says Thomas but you are just Tom)
• No one can spell or pronounce your last name
• Your hate your name or it just doesn’t suit you and want a new one
• Your birth certificate actually spells your name slightly differently than the way you’ve always spelled it or there was a mistake when your name was spelled on the birth certificate

There are many other reasons why you might want to change your name or your child’s name and for the most part you have the freedom to do so.

Changing Your Name After Marriage

If you want to change your name because you got married, all you need to do is show your marriage certificate to request the change. Keep in mind that although you have the legal right to use your new name as soon as you’re hitched, it takes a while to get the paperwork.

After the wedding, you need to file your completed marriage license and wait for the marriage certificate to be issued. This is the document you then use to legally change your name moving forward.

Once you have your driver’s license or passport in the new name you can use that to change your name elsewhere. Changing your name after marriage is optional, not required.

Either or both spouses can change their name after marriage, but the name change must match your spouse’s last name on the marriage certificate or hyphenate the two last names.

If you’re choosing a completely new surname (if, for example, your last names are McDonald and Martinez you might decide you will both use the name McMartin), you have to go through your state’s name change process.

You cannot change your first name because you got married. You can change your middle name if it involves one of the names on the marriage certificate (for example your pre-marital name is Emily Rose Lee and your spouse’s last name is Sandoval, you could choose to be Emily Lee Sandoval or Emily Sandoval Lee).

Changing Your Name After Divorce

If you are wondering how to legally change your name after a divorce, you must make sure that your certificate of dissolution or judgment of divorce specifically gives you the right to change your name back to your premarital name or that your state law allows this. Most divorces include an order permitting this change.

You can only change your name back to the name you legally used before your marriage. You can’t change your first name and you can’t invent a new name. If you want to use a name other than your married name or your pre-marital name, you have to go through your state’s name change process.

Changing your name after divorce optional and not something you have to do. If you want to keep your married name you can do so and your spouse cannot force you to change it.

To change your name after the divorce, you just show your judgment or certificate of divorce as proof of your right to change the name.

Changing a Child’s Name After Adoption

When you adopt a child, their name change is completed as part of the adoption process and a birth certificate is issued in their new name. You don’t need to do anything else to change their name. The child’s first, middle and last names are changed by adoption to the name(s) you choose (if you wish to change one, two or all). The birth certificate is then used as proof of their legal name.

Changing Your Name for Personal Reasons

To change your name for any other reason you must use your state’s name change procedure in court.

If you want to change your child’s name and there is no adoption involved, you’ll need to go through your state’s name change procedure for a minor. In general if there are two legal parents, they must both agree to the name change in this situation, and you’ll have to have a reasonable reason for making a change.

Follow these steps to have your name legally changed by a court.

1. Choose Your New Name

The first step in answering how to legally change your name is to select your new name. This is important because you want to select a name you will be comfortable with for the rest of your life. Be sure to give this some serious thought before making a final decision. Consider nicknames, initials and ease of spelling and pronunciation.

Can You Change Your Name to Anything?

While you have the freedom to change your name at any time, there are limitations on the new name you can choose for yourself.

• No rude names. You can’t change your name to something racist, obscene, intimidating or otherwise offensive. Sorry, not sorry. And before you say, “How do I know if the name I want is obscene?” we’ll throw a side eye because you probably already know. As Supreme Court Justice Potter said in one of the famous cases regarding pornography: “I know it when I see it.”
• No confusing names. You can’t change your name to something that causes confusion, such as a numeral, punctuation, or symbol. For those of you who remember, Prince may have changed his name to a symbol, well, symbolically, but it wasn’t actually legal.
• No stealing celebrity names. You can’t change your name in a way that could mislead or infringe upon another person’s rights (like a trademarked name). Taylor Swift has worked hard to earn her reputation, and no one else can try to capitalize on that by taking her name.
• No hiding. You can’t change your name to avoid liability, meaning a legal obligation such as debt or criminal punishment. You also can’t change your name for the purpose of committing a crime.

2. Gather Documents

There’s a reason we’re talking about documents before the name change process, and if you’ve ever shown up unprepared at the DMV, you know why. If you don’t have the correct documents you won’t get anywhere.

Of course here we’re talking about a court, not the DMV, but the principle is the same. Save yourself some time and figure out which documents you need before you get started. These will depend on a) your state of residence and b) the reason for your name change. You can find information on your state court website.

If you’re an adult who simply wants to change your name, common requirements include:

• A completed application
• A copy of your birth certificate
• Proof of identification
• Proof of residency (documents with your name and address, such as a utility bill)
• A sworn statement of proof of good character from two citizens of the county
• A sworn statement declaring outstanding tax or child support obligations
• State and federal criminal background checks and fingerprints and
• Payment for the required fee

A “sworn statement” means that the person completing the document must sign it in front of a notary public, who will then notarize the document by stamping it. (This can also be done in front of a judge, but notaries are more commonly used.) A notary public may charge a small fee.

Each state has its own requirements, so be sure to find out exactly which documents you need to provide for your state’s procedure.

3. File for the Name Change

The good news is that assembling your documents is the hardest part of a legal name change, or at least the most tedious. Once you have your documents in order, head to the court and file them with the clerk of court. You will have to pay a fee to file the documents, so come prepared with a method of payment that is accepted by the court.

Depending on your state, you may have to “publish notice” of your name change application. The clerk of court should be able to explain this process, which usually involves paying for a notice to be published in the local newspaper and then providing proof that you have done so. Alternatively, the court may take care of this for you.

It’s possible the clerk of court will ask you for additional information to support your name change petition.

The clerk of court will review your name change application and, if the clerk decides you have good reason to change your name, will grant your request. In some states you have to appear at a brief court hearing before a judge to have your name change approved. It can take several weeks or months to receive your certificate of name change, again depending on the state.

You may have to pay an additional fee for a certified copy of the name change.

It’s possible that your name change request will be denied (although if you follow our advice above, it probably won’t happen). The two main reasons a name change request might be denied are:

• You picked a name that is against the rules (i.e. you requested a name that is obscene, misleading, confusing, etc.); and/or
• You missed a step in the process (e.g. your state requires you to publish your name change petition in the local newspaper for 10 days before you file, and you failed to do so).

If the clerk of court or the judge denies your name change request, you’ll receive a notice of denial explaining the reason for the decision. The notice should also explain your right to appeal that decision, and the time frame for doing so.

If you made a mistake in the process or forgot a form, you may have the opportunity to amend your filing by adding the missing documents within a certain period of time. Pay attention to the time frame so you don’t miss your window.

The cost for changing your name varies by state. In some states the fee is under $100, but other states may charge up to $500. Keep in mind that you may also have to pay a fee to a newspaper for publication in addition to the court filings. Check your state court website for filing fee details.

Once you’ve got your court order you’ll still need to change legal documents and inform entities and people who really should know about your new moniker. Here’s a representative sample, although by no means exhaustive:

• Your family
• Your friends
• Your employer (and coworkers)
• Your will/powers of attorney/other estate planning documents
• The Social Security Administration
• Schools
• Utility companies
• The IRS
• The DMV
• Your passport and TSA precheck or global entry
• Insurance companies
• Health care providers
• Banks and financial institutions
• Credit card companies and lenders
• Your mortgage holder or your landlord

You get the idea, right? In many instances, the legal process of changing your name could actually be the easy part.

Note: The fear of fraud is real, so don’t be surprised if you get pushback from banks, insurance providers, etc. Fortunately, you’ll have your court-issued certificate to back you up, so be sure to provide that. Just take a deep breath and summon some patience.