Get Ready to File Your Petition
Now that you have filled out and printed your petition we are ready to file it with the court!
Go ahead and print the PDF or Word document for your name change petition packet if you have not already.
If you filled out the Filing Fee Waiver Form you will also need to print a copy of it. It will need to be filed at the same time as your petition. This will allow the court to decide if the fee can be waived. The Filing Fee Waiver Form can be signed right away.
Preparation Steps
There are a few things that need to be done before you can file the petition with the court:
If required, please make sure your background checks from the CBI and FBI have been completed.
These results will need to be submitted to the court with your petition.
Note: If you are restoring your name to a previous one within 60 days of a divorce or are changing the name of a minor under the age of 14, background checks are not required.
Prepare two pre-addressed / stamped envelopes with the applicant’s name and address on them.
The court may need these to mail out the final petition and other paperwork. These are not always needed, but you will want to have them when you go file in case they are.
Prepare your filing fees.
The filing fees for a name change in county court are $88. In district court it is $238. Please check the filing court listed at the top left of your name change petition. It will tell you if your case is being filed in county or district court.
You will need to be prepared to pay your filing fee when you file your petition with the court. We recommend contacting your court prior to going down to file. You can ask them what payment types they accept (likely check or credit card, but you will want to make sure first). Your court’s name, address, and phone number will be shown on the next page.
You can also file a fee waiver form with your petition to have the court consider waiving the filing fee if you are unable to pay.
When to sign your name
on the name change petition packet:
This form needs to be signed but must be witnessed by the clerk of court or a notary public. Then the court knows the correct person signed the forms.
If you are filing a minor name change please make sure the second parent or guardian has signed the forms if needed. They will either need to sign the forms in front of a notary or they can come with you to sign in front of the court clerk.
- If there are two parents or guardians that have custody and live with the minor they will both need sign the Petition for Change of Name of Minor Child
- A second parent or guardian that does not have primary custody of the minor will need to sign the Consent of Non-Custodial Parent form if they agree to the name change
- If there is a second parent or guardian that does not have primary custody and cannot be reached you will have the Notice to Non-Custodial Parent form in your petition packet. In this case you do not need to get the consent of the second parent or guardian. You will need to document that good effort has been made to reach them though.
Our recommendation is to have both parents or guardians go to file the petition together and sign with the clerk of court. Or have one sign in front or a notary public and then have the other file the petition and sign with the clerk of court.
If you prefer to find a local notary you can easily find one on Google by searching for “find a notary near me”.
Notarize.com also offers an online notary service that are easy to use.
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