Requirements for a Change of Name

• Reviewing a document as part of planning for a name change.Hand and document at the meeting image by Dmitry Goygel-Sokol from Fotolia.com
  
  After making a decision to change your name, the next step is understanding the basic requirements for seeking this legal alteration. Although the laws regarding changing a name vary somewhat from one state to another, the basic requirements for taking this type of step largely are the same no matter where you reside.
  
  

Petition

• The most basic requirement for a name change is obtaining and filing a petition with the clerk of the court in the county where you reside. The court clerk likely maintains a selection of standard forms, including a petition for name change. The document comes complete with necessary instructions.
  
  Within the document, you will set forth the particular reason that you desire the name change. You also confirm that you do not seek a name change to avoid creditors or to avoid either criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit. State laws usually require signing a petition for name change in front of a notary public.
  
  

Legal Notice

• A requirement for a name change is filing a legal notice regarding your intentions in a newspaper in your community. The clerk of the court provides a template for the legal notice.
  
  A certain amount of time must lapse from the publication of the legal notice and the date you finalize your name change. The time period exists to permit anyone who desires to contest your proposed name change to file an objection with the court.
  
  The newspaper sends to the court clerk a document verifying publication of the legal notice.
  
  

Legal Purpose

• In addition to setting forth in the petition that you do not seek a name change to avoid creditors, criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit, a companion requirement is that you do not seek a name change for any type of illegal purpose. You may be called upon by the judge to make a sworn statement in court that the name change is not intended to further any type of criminal operation or enterprise.