Child Name Change Georgia - Information, Petition Service
Whether your child is 2 days old or nearly an adult now, getting your Child’s Legal Name in Georgia to be exactly the right one for life to come…that’s really important. Getting a legal name change for a child can be difficult to do, and it’s not free. But it’s one of the most important parts of a child’s identity, family connection, and way of being in the world. Getting it right is a big deal.
EZ Name Change does Child Name Change Petitions every day. We know how important this is for growing up – school, medical issues, family and friends. We know what the Georgia court’s require by being in daily communication with them. Most times, there’s a deadline that matters. With our Full Service, you don’t have to waste time and money on trial and error. Get the information you need to be comfortable. Then let us help you make this happen.
One or both parents can Petition for a Child Name Change, for one or more children. Your Filing must be done correctly for the Georgia Superior Court where the child is living now. On this page you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions, about Costs, Time Frames, Courts and Court Forms, etc. Child Name Change Specialists can answer other questions if you don’t see your answers below. Only EZ Name Change has Full Service for Child Name Change in Georgia.
Getting your Child’s Name Change is a very important event for the growing up years. You need to be sure everything is done right the first time. We get that.
Georgia Child Name Change Information and Help
For Child Name Change, prepare a collection of Forms called (collectively) a Name Change Petition, or Petition for Name Change of Minor Child. It’s not simple, but it can be done and you can have Full Service help by EZ Name Change, or another professional service or attorney.
File the Petition with the County Superior Court for where you live now. The Court will set a Hearing for Your Name Change after the required publishing and the other parent’s documentation has been properly submitted.
Before the Hearing date, you must have an authorized newspaper run legal notices of the Hearing once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. If there is a non-consenting parent, you also need to get that parent’s Consent, Acknowledgement, Personal Service, Service by Certified Mail or Publication, or document his/her death or abandonment, depending on which circumstance fits your situation.
Usually, if you have everything prepared and processed correctly, and there are no objections, the judge can approve Your Child’s Name Change at the Hearing. If Granted, you get your Certified Copy(s) of the Final Order (Court Order) about a week or so after you get your signed Order in the mail. The Certified Copy is what you use to update your child’s ID and Official Records.
It takes most people 5 to 8 minutes to complete the Questionnaire (Get Started).
Then, it usually takes about 8-12 weeks to get your Child Name Change Court Order signed, upon approval. It can take longer if your Petition is done wrong or incompletely, or if one parent isn’t cooperating or the other parent’s whereabouts are a problem.
The Final Order is effective the moment it’s signed by the judge. However, you’ll need to get a Certified Copy of it in your hands in order to update your child’s ID and Official Records. The moment you give the school, passport office, or social security a Certified Copy of your Final Order Changing Name of Minor, you can expect them to update Your Child’s Records right then.
It will take just a couple of days to change your Child’s ID and Official Records, depending on how much time you can spend on it. If you want to get an Amended birth certificate, that can take another couple of months.
The sooner you start, the sooner it will all be done.
Child Name Change Total is between $5-600 and for Full Service, including court and publishing.
- $211 for Court Filing. Courts charge between $204 and $290, depending on County.
- $140 for required advertising (costs range from $60 to $200, depending on County.
- $190 for your EZ Full Service Name Change
See this page for more details about Name Change Costs – Georgia Residents
$10 for 4 Certified Copies of your Final Order Changing Name of Minor ($2.50each). $15-$75 to serve papers on a non-consenting parent, if needed. $60-$180 for an extra Ad to Serve missing non-consenting parents in some situations. $5-10 per Notarized signature, 2 or 3 may be needed.
If the other parent objects to your child’s name change, you may want to consult with a Family Law attorney before proceeding with a Petition to Change Name of Minor Child(ren). A judge will decide what’s best after considering all the information and reviewing the documents. Other costs, such as Process Serving and/or Publication might be needed.
Courts can waive your Superior Court charges if you qualify and complete all the Waiver Request pages correctly. All Georgia Name Change Courts allow Child Name Change Petitions to be submitted with a request that court fees be waived.
If you can’t afford to pay the Court Filing and Certified Copy charges, You can submit an Affidavit (under oath) and request the that court costs be waived. The court makes that decision after you submit the complete request with your Petition.
With our Full Service, EZ Name Change can help you prepare all your information and court forms, without any extra charges. You just need to let us know you want to apply for Court Fee Waivers after you submit your Name Change Petition information through our Questionnaire (Start Now).
For Georgia Child Name Change, your truthful reason is almost certainly a good one. You just need to write it out and put it in the Petition correctly. The valid reasons for name change are almost unlimited. Just put your reason in plain English and it should be fine.
If you are seeking a name change that will cause harm, injury, confusion, deceipt or fraud, your judge may not Grant your Petition. You may expect to have a problem if you want your child to adopt, as a name, a racial slur, a threat, or an obscenity. It’s very rare for any Name Change Petition for a Minor to be rejected based on the reason.
It’s much more important to get all your Petition documents and processes done right, than it is to get your Reason worded exactly correctly.
The Georgia Name Change Laws lay out the basis for choosing the correct court (see GA Code § 19-12-1(b)). Many people think, wrongly, that you need to file a Name Change Petition where the person changing names was born. That’s not usually accurate. For California born parents or children, California passed a law in 2023 allowing filing in California even if the Petitioner or person whose name is to be changed doesn’t live in California now. That’s an exception though. A Child’s Name Change Petition can definitely be filed in the county where the Petitioning Parent is living now.
You may need records changed in other states or countries. But you must first get your court order where you are now. A Certified Copy of the Court Order (Final Order Changing Name of Minor) is honored everywhere in Georgia, throughout the United States and Worldwide.
You just need a photo ID and accurate information: Your Child’s birth information, address, reason for the Name Change, exact current legal name and New Name, basic information about both parents. Your child’s birth certificate probably has all that information on it. If the other parent is deceased, you’ll also need a copy of the death certificate.
You will need to account for the other parent: Name, whereabouts, consenting or not. Depending on those answers, further information, documentation or actions may be necessary. Your judge will want to know if the other parent agrees or objects to the name change and, if objecting…what the objections are. If a parent does not consent or object, your judge may want to know if that parent can, or cannot, object.
Oh…and you need to know exactly what your child’s new legal name will be:)
One more thing, to actually get started, you have to begin the process!. You can do that in less than 10 minutes with EZ Name Change Full Service. It’s about time, don’t you think? This is important, right?
Yes.
In this process, you can Change any of your Child’s Names through the Legal Name Change Court Petition process. Some people want to Change a single letter of their Child’s Name. Others want to change the entire Name. This isn’t restricted that way.
Most Parents use Name Change to Change a Child’s Last Name, after marriage or divorce. But many also Change just their Child’s Middle Name, changing it completely or adding a second middle name, etc. Still other Parents Change just their Child’s First Names, or the First AND Last Names. You can change any part, or the entire Legal Name if that’s the right decision for your child.
Whether your child is a newborn, toddler, middle schooler or approaching adulthood, getting the name exactly right is VERY important. Here are additional details about changing a child’s last name, middle, first, or any combination of those names.
You can find out about the the process here: Full Service Name Change in Georgia.
Call us (818 505-6189) or send an email (info@eznamechange.com). We’re Name Change Specialists and love to help. We have probably answered the same questions for other parents before. If you would rather not talk to us directly, look around in this website and read the Georgia laws about Legal Name Change (GA Code § 19-12-1).
If you need to keep the Name Change Petition information secret due to family violence concerns for Yourself or Your Child (GA Code § 19-12-1 (c))”, this process will allow you to explain that to your judge and, if the judge approves, you can have the record of Your Name Change Petition sealed for confidentiality. If you believe your situation requires that type of treatment, let us know and, with our Full Service, we’ll help you document it in Your Child’s Petition.
Changing Your Child’s Name After Divorce requires that either both parents consent about the Name Change, OR that the non-consenting parent be Officially Notified and given a chance to object to the Name Change. If one parent objects to the Name Change, the judge will consider the objection and decide whether to Grant or Deny the Petition. If you know that the other parent will object, you should consider talking to a Family Law attorney about how to sort that out.
If both parents agree on the Child’s Name Change, we’ll prepare Consent Forms for both parents to sign. If one parent agrees, but is unable to sign the Consent Form, we’ll help you Serve the other parent to satisfy that requirement for your judge to see. Both parents signing consent makes the process easier.
We’ll provide guidance about Serving the other parent, if that’s necessary. If the other parent cannot be found, we’ll help you request that you be allowed to Serve by Publication to satisfy that requirement.
If the other parent has abandoned you for the past 5 or more years, let us know that in your Petition and we’ll help you document that condition for the judge.
If the other parent is not alive, say that in the space provided in our Questionnaire, and the requirement to Serve the other Parent won’t apply.
It’s rare for a non-consenting parent to object to a child’s name change Petition, even when the other parent is difficult to deal with otherwise. If the other parent is participating in your child’s life objects to the change of name, you may want to try and come to an agreement with the other parent before proceeding with legal name change (as a practical consideration). Whether or not the other parent objects formally, the judge will decide what’s best overall.
When EZ Name Change helps in changing a child’s name, or any part(s) of a child’s name with Full Service, the Petition is prepared and supported properly. Call us with your details if you’re not sure about how to proceed and we can give you additional information to help with your particular situation.
Yes, but it’s rare.
The two main reasons why a Petition might be denied are:
- You didn’t correctly provide all the documents required or follow all the required procedures.
- One parent objects and the judge decides the Name Change isn’t what’s best overall.
It’s extremely rare for a child’s name change petition to be denied if everything was done correctly and both parents agree or 1 parent agrees and the other doesn’t object.
Biggest reason for Denying a Child’s Name Change
If both parents are actively involved in the child’s life and one parent formally objects to the proposed Name Change. A judge is free to Grant or Deny any Child’s Name Change Petition. If the judge thinks the child’s best interests would be negatively affected or for any other valid reason too, the Petition may be Denied. BUT, the vast majority of child name change petitions are granted. At least that’s the way it goes for the Petitions we help with.
When one parent is missing, you’re probably going to be allowed to change your child’s name if you do everything correctly. A judge will decide. However, you have to properly prepare the Petition and follow the Petition Process correctly. So, learn how changing a child’s legal name is done, before you start. Or you can let EZ Name Change help you, with Full Service, to get it done right.
You can do this! It’s not easy, but it’s worth it if you stay with it until it’s done. Let EZ help you and you’ll get to the finish line with confidence.
If the other parent is not really missing, then understand that Serving the other parent is a requirement, if it can be done. Don’t expect the court to help you if you just don’t want to let the other parent know. But, it the other parent can’t reasonably be found, you can get the name change you want for your child(ren). You do have to do everything right.
It’s best if the Petitioning parent can find and get the consent of the non-petitioning parent. That’s often not possible. MANY single parents are successful in Changing their Child’s Name with the other parent totally out of the picture. You may have to Serve the other parent by Publication. You just need to do everything right and be persistent. We can help you sort it all out correctly if you want.
This is important. EZ Name Change does Legal Name Change everyday, and will be happy to take you through the process.
EZ Name Change Georgia
Providing Services in All 159 Georgia Counties
Only EZ Name Change Specializes in Legal Name Change for Georgia residents.
Full Service for the Name Change Court Process in all of Georgia’s 159 Counties.
