Adult Name Change in Arizona for Residents Over 18 Years Old
Adult Name Change in Arizona is a Superior court process for anyone over 18 with an Arizona residence. Everyone has their own circumstance and background. Every Adult Name Change is important and personal. We have experience with each and every one of these different situations. Tthis page will help you understand how it works and how to get it done when you’re comfortable to get started.
Some of the types of Adult Name Change in Arizona are to straighten out ID variations. Others are to get a name exactly right after marriage or divorce. Sometimes a person has been using a preferred name and wants to take it for a legal name. Still others want to get rid of a name with bad associations, or to honor someone important on a personal level. There is no end to the kinds of reasons why people want to get a legal name change.
Some of the types of Adult Name Change in Arizona we’ve helped accomplish are to straighten out ID variations. Others are to get a name exactly right after marriage or divorce. Many people have us help them get the name they always wanted and may have been using already. Still others want to get rid of a name with bad associations or to honor someone important. There is no end to the kinds of reasons why people want to get a legal name change. We’ve helped with them all.
Adult Name Change in Arizona Information & Help
For Adult Name Change, prepare a collection of Court Forms, called an Application for Change of Name. File them with the Civil Filing Clerk in the County Superior Court where you live now. Pay a Filing Fee and get a Hearing date/time/place for Your Name Change decision. Before that Hearing, you may or may not have to get additional documents signed or served, and notices published, depending on whether you are married, have minor children or if someone else needs to know.
You will need to bring a number of things to the Hearing with you. If you don’t have everything you need for the Hearing, the judge will either set a later date or may deny the Application altogether. If everything’s done right and the documentation is in order, the judge can approves Your Name Change at the Hearing.
Once your Application is approved, a judge can sign your Order Changing Name of an Adult. You get your Certified Copy(s) of that Order in the same courthouse. With your Certified Copy, you can go right away to update your ID with Social Security, DMV, Passports, Birth Certificate and other government and financial entities.
It will take you about 5 minutes to complete our Questionnaire (Start Now). EZ Name Change takes 1 business day to review your information, properly prepare a complete Petition customized to Your Court’s local requirements and your particular Name Change.
Adult Name Change takes about 2 1/2 months to get your Court Order Changing Name of An Adult, from the day you start to the day you have your Court Order, upon approval. That time frame can be a little shorter or longer, depending on the court’s schedule and yours and also what complicating factors you may have, if any.
Your Hearing and decision can be delayed if your paperwork is incomplete, inaccurate or your background raises questions that haven’t been resolved by the Hearing date.
Adult Name Change costs to get your Court Order vary, depending on what County you live in now, how many Certified Copies you get, and some other factors (Name Change Arizona Costs). It’s about $$500 (Full Service), on average. The range is $408 to $568 (eXpedited), but it can be more if you have complicating factors.
You will also need to pay for a Notary fee (usually around $10) and $30 to $60 for Certified Copy(s) of your Order, upon approval. Some ID Agencies will have charges to update outside of a normal renewal.
Court Fees can be waived by the court if you are are getting government benefits such as SSI or Food Stamps and can supply documentation to show that.
All Arizona Name Change Courts allow Adult Name Change Fee Waiver Requests. If you can’t afford to pay the court fees and still be able to pay your regular monthly living expenses, you can ask the court to waive your Court Costs. The court makes that decision, if you submit all the right Fee Waiver Court forms along with a properly completed set of Name Change Petition forms.
You can’t get a Fee Waiver Decision first, then file your Petition if your Fee Waiver is Approved. EZ Name Change will complete all your Fee Waiver Request Forms, without any extra charges, if we are helping you with your Petition. You just need to let us know you want to apply for Court Fee Waivers.
For Adult Name Change, any truthful reason that doesn’t cause deceit, harm or fraud is likely to be an acceptable one. Click on this link to see the Top 5 Reasons to Change Your Name.
To give you some relative perspective:
In 2004, a Missouri man succeeded in changing his name to “They”. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a name change to “1069” could be denied, but that “Ten Sixty-Nine” was acceptable (Application of Dengler, 1979); the North Dakota Supreme Court had denied the same request several years before (Petition of Dengler, 1976).
Courts might not allow you to get a name that is intended to mislead (such as adopting a name without letters), or one that is intentionally confusing, or a name that incites violence. Nor can one expect to adopt, as a legal name, a racial slur, a threat, or an obscenity.
Name Change for Gender Identity
Arizona’s Application for Name Change of An Adult can be used to change your name so that your Legal Name will conform to your Gender Identity. As other states are adopting laws to allow the courts to process and grant Name and Gender Changes, Arizona may come to allow those too. Arizonan’s can get a Legal Name Change and then approach the ID Agencies to recognize a Gender Change (Social Security, MVD, etc.) for now.
Petition for Change of Name (only)
If you wish to change your name, in order to conform your name to your gender identity (without also seeking to change your gender marker at the same time), then you can do that. We can help you with every part of the process if you get it started with your information, here: Start Now.With this type of Adult Name Change Application, there will be no advertising and no one will need to be advised unless you have a spouse, minor children or other people who have an interest in your legal name.
You will need to have a Hearing when all your documents and information will be reviewed by a Superior Court Judge who will decide to Grant the Petition or not. If we’re helping you, we’ll give you guidance about preparing for the Hearing. A number of documents must be brought to the Hearing, including your birth certificate and copies of all the court-filed forms.
EZ Name Change provides Full Service, with or without Fee Waiver Requests, for all Transgender Arizona Residents.
Yes, but it’s relatively rare.
To give you some relative perspective:
You will be expected to follow the rules, provide all the required documentation, and be requesting Name Change for legitimate reasons. If your documents are incomplete or substantially incorrect, or if you don’t file in the correct court, don’t expect approval. For those of you with unresolved criminal history, you may need written support documentation.
If the judge thinks your name change will cause harm or injury, you may get denied. The judge may delay or deny approval if you are required to provide certain documentation or other things at your Hearing, but you fail to do so.
EZ Full Service will keep your Legal Name Change Application on track. Your Petition approval should happen if you followed all the Name Change rules, use all the right forms and the correct court, and is you aren’t trying to get away with something or cause harm. Of course, your judge will always be the one to make that decision. And, you do actually have to Start Yours…to make your Name Change a reality!
The process is called “Name Change”, whether you just need a little correction or want a completely new name.
If you want a new ID or Official Records updated to get your name right, you will probably need a court order to do it. For a small change to Your Name with Social Security, or School, or MVD, or Passport, just ask them to do it and see if they will. If they tell you to get a court order, then you need a “Legal Name Change”. At the end of the court order process, you’ll get a Decree Changing Name, upon approval. A Certified Copy of your Decree is a Name Change Document honored everywhere, including for Real ID, Passports and Professional Licenses.
Even if you want just one letter changed, or even if you just want your first name changed around with your middle name…those are all Legal Name Changes. When you Petition for a Change of Name, you can propose changing your name just a little, or completely. The Reason that requires a Court Order is not how much of a change you want. It’s whether you want to require someone to honor the change you want. Some places won’t do it unless you bring them a properly Certified order from an Arizona Superior Court.
An Order Changing Name (which is a type of court order), will require all the primary government agencies to issue you a new ID when you them with a Certified Copy. They will their own application and may want additional documents, but then they will give you updated ID to match your Court Order. All 50 states honor the Certified, Arizona Order Changing Name. The Federal Government, and all other governments honor it too.
Great! You just need the Order Changing Name to get that Name on your ID.
A LOT of people are born with one name, but grow up using another name. Since 9/11, that situation has become a problem Licensing, Registration, Security, Employment and other 21st century considerations. Clean up, and clear up those problems with an Application for Change of Name. The successful end of that process puts a Certified Court Order in your hands. You must do it correctly. Then just take your Order Changing Name to who ever is flagging you…and the problem will end.
This kind of problem didn’t start with 9/11. Americans have always been having name changes or variations when growing up. The 38th President of the United States was born Leslie Lynch King. You’ve never heard of President King though. That’s because he legally changed his name to Gerald Ford as an adult. President Gerald Ford was born as Leslie Lynch King Jr, grew up as Gerald Ford, and then legally changed his name to Gerald Ford before he entered politics. The rest is history.
With Full Service, your legal name change will take 2-3 months and costs between $408 and $568, depending on where you live and whether you want it eXpedited or not. Court Order Name Change fixes the problem. Legally and permanently.
Can I take my Maiden Name back if I’m still married?
Yes, absolutely! Many women and some men want to retake their Maiden Name without divorce. People commonly Restore a Maiden Name for Professional Purposes. If your spouse has died, you may want your birth name back. You may prefer the independence of having your own (not a shared) last name. There are many good reasons for taking your maiden name back. Divorce IS NOT a requirement to retake a Maiden, or any other formerly held legal name.
An Application for Change of Name will accomplish your desired Maiden Name Change, upon approval by a judge, and without a divorce. In Arizona, your spouse can consent and/or appear at the approval Hearing if wanted. Just have your Application completely and correctly prepared, filed and processed properly, comply with the Arizona Name Change laws and you should be fine.
After I Am married, can I Change My Name if I change my mind about my Married Name?
Yes! If you chose to take your spouse’s last name, and now want your maiden name back, you can do that. Or, if you kept your maiden name when you were married, and now want to take your spouse’s last name or a combination of your names, you can do that. Those situations happen all the time and can be fixed exactly the way you want, by correctly going through the Name Change Court Order Process. Bottom line….you can absolutely Change Your Name After Marriage, legally, to exactly the one you want it to be, regardless of the choice you made at the time you filled out the marriage license.
Name variations on ID is a common problem. Getting a Name Change Document, like an Order Changing Name is the solution.
As you may know by now, having more than one way your legal name appears on Official Records can cause you problems. Maybe the name on your social security card isn’t exactly what your name is on your ID. Or maybe your birth certiificate, marriage certificate, naturalization or other certificate shows your name with a different spelling. Maybe just a little, or maybe a lot. Fortunately, Full Service Legal Name Change can clear all that up, fully.
If you gather up all the different variations, and correctly include them within a Petition for Change of Name, you can get an Order Changing Name to the 1 Name you want on everything. A Certified Copy of an Order Changing Name is honored everywhere to update ID and Official Records.
In the 21st Century, everyone wants to be sure of your Name ID. You should make your goal to have one, single Legal Name. That will save you a lot of time, irritation, or worse, from getting stopped, questioned, or dissallowed in situations you want to go smoothly.
You can have pet names, nicknames, stage names, or any sort of informal names you want. But you should choose one name you want for every legal purpose. Then, get a Court Order to change the unwanted variations. That’s the way to minimize any potential for disruption or delay, due to your Name, as you go about your daily life.
Name Change for 2 or More Family Members
In Arizona, you can change the names of multiple family members at the same time. We’ve successfully helped a Family of 9. Families change names for many different reasons, just like individuals do. After remarriage, children and/or spouses may want to share last names all together. Sometimes couples, or whole families, want to retake an ancestral name. Or, sometimes a young couple wants to take their own new family name to pursue their shared future. Lots of different and good reasons.
