Name Change Form Builder

LawHelp Interactive for Name Change Petition Program

This program will help you fill out the forms needed to ask the court to change the name or name and gender of an adult, the name of a child, or the name of a family group, and includes a fee waiver application if you need one. The Name Change Petition interview will work for:

• An adult who wants to change their name;
• An adult who wants to change their name and their gender;
• One or two parents asking for a name change on behalf of a child or children;
• A family group that wants to change their name (one parent plus up to nine children).

This program is not for you if:

• You are getting divorced and want to change your name back to your former name — you can usually do this as part of your divorce case.  See Name Change in Divorce.
• You are trying to add or remove the name of a parent on a child’s birth certificate — this must be done through a parentage (paternity) action in the family court.
• You want to change the gender of a child.

Before Getting Started        

You will need the following information before starting the Name Change Petition program:

• Name and address of the court where you will file your petition: Find My Court
  • Go to your county court website and look for court locations or filing locations
  • In most courts, Name Change Petitions are filed in the Civil Division
  • Name Change is an "Unlimited Civil" case type
  • If the court provides a mailing address for filing, you will want to enter this information as well
• The full names as they appear on the current birth certificate of every person who is seeking a name change

Steps to Follow:

1. Click on Get Started.
2. (Optional but recommended) Sign Up to Save Your Work
3. Answer questions in the interview
4. (Optional but recommended) Save your answers so you can return at another time
5. When you have completed the interview, print your forms