Legal Name Change Procedures
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Getting Started
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To legally change your name, you must first file a petition with the county circuit court where you live. In some states, you are required to have lived in the county or state for a period of time before they will accept a name change petition. The specific length of time varies from state to state, but it's usually around 6 months according to Legalzoom.com. Documented proof of your current name, such as a birth certificate, driver's license or passport, must be included with the petition. After you file, the clerk's office will authorize a notice. The notice "describes the petition and gives the deadline for others to file an objection to the petition" says Peoples-law.org. The notice will need to be published in a local county or city newspaper at least "fifteen days before the deadline for filing an objection." This gives people in the community an opportunity to see that you are changing your name and to decide if they would like to object. The newspaper will give you a certificate of publication stating that the notice was indeed published in the paper. After you file this certificate with your county circuit court, your petition will be forwarded to a judge who will decide whether or not to allow you to change your name.
Reasons for Rejections
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If the court believes you are changing your name in order to engage in illegal activity, it will likely reject your application. In an example given by Legalzoom.com, you can't change your name to "avoid judgments or legal actions against you." You also can't change your name to get out of paying debts, to defraud someone or to "capitalize on the name of a famous person." According to Legalcpu.com, you cannot change your name to a punctuation mark or number, and you can't change your name to "an obscenity, a threat, or a racial slur. Courts will also deny changing a name to one that will incite violence or that is intentionally confusing."
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Loose Ends
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After your name has been changed, you'll have to notify any individuals, businesses or government entities that dealt with you under your old name. You'll have to change your name with the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, your state tax authority, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the post office and your local voter registration commission. If you are a passport holder, you must notify the U.S. Passport Office. You will also have to change your name with your employer, your bank and your credit card company.
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