The individual changing their name must complete the Civil Cover Sheet, Petition for Adult Change of Name, and Notice of Publication. The Petition must be notarized.

If requesting a name change due to domestic violence, the petitioner should also submit:

• Motion for Entry of an Order Provided for Confidentiality
• Affidavit in Support of Motion for Confidentiality
• Order Providing for Confidentiality

The petitioner must make copies of all forms and file both the originals and copies with the clerk of the district courts office of their county, along with the filing fee.^[2]

The petitioner must bring a copy of the filed Petition and Notice to a local newspaper office to publish a notice of their name change request.^[3] The newspaper will send an Affidavit of Publication to the petitioner after the notice has been published for four weeks.

*This step does not apply to victims of domestic abuse.

After 30 days without objection have passed from the last date of publication, the petitioner can fill out and file the Order Granting Change of Name along with the Affidavit of Publication with the district court clerk’s office.

In some cases, the judge will approve the name change without any hearing and sign the order once they receive the Order and Affidavit. If a hearing is required, the clerk will notify the petitioner and they must file a Request to Set Name Change Hearing. If certain parties must be notified of the hearing, the petitioner must file a Notice of Name Change Hearing and serve copies on them.

The petitioner should bring the Order Granting Change of Name and Affidavit of Publication to the hearing. If the name change is approved by the judge, they will sign the Order.

Names can also be changed through marriage by providing their new name on their marriage certificate. The marriage certificate or license can be provided to government offices to update their driver’s license or social security card (in most cases).

A person can also change their name back to what it was before marriage during a divorce case. Only the person requesting the name change can make this decision.