Name Change Article


Name Change in Arizona

If, for any good reason, you wish to change your name or the name of a minor who you are responsible for, the steps can be quite simple. Name change should not be used for reasons like: avoiding responsibilities and obligations, avoiding creditors or the other parent/guardian of a child. This article does not focus on name change as part of a marriage or a divorce, as those cases can be different. The article first summarizes the steps for a name change with the Arizona courts and then some general information about following up to change your birth certificate, social security card, and driver license.

Steps with the Arizona Courts
  1. Get the name change forms.
    You can go online at https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter/Forms/Name-Change or in person at a court location closest to where you live. If you don't know where your court is you can use the court locator to find your local court https://www.azcourts.gov/AZ-Courts/AZ-Courts-Locator.

    It is best to double check with your court’s staff if the forms are still relevant and up to date. For Maricopa County, this is the current website https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/llrc/civil-court-forms/. For Pima County, their law library can provide you with this information https://www.sc.pima.gov/default.aspx?tabid=60.

  2. Fill out the forms, which may ask for personal information like your contact information, birth, children, marital history, criminal history, etc.

  3. File the completed forms with your court and pay a filing fee.

  4. Inform any interested parties mentioned in the forms. For example, another parent of a minor child.

  5. Attend a hearing for the judicial officer to sign the court order with the name change and pay a fee for one or more certified copies of the order.

Following Up with Other Places
  1. To change your birth certificate, follow up with your relevant birth records office.
    For those born in Maricopa County, this is the current website https://azdhs.gov/licensing/vital-records/index.php#corrections-amendments-registrants-name. For those born in Pima County and 1996 or before that, also follow up with the Phoenix office; for those born in Pima County and 1997 to now, follow up with the Tucson office http://www.agave.cosc.pima.gov/home.asp?include=pages/name_changes.htm.

  2. To change your social security card, this is the current website with details https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-01981.

  3. To change your driver license, this is the current website with details https://azdot.gov/motor-vehicles/driver-services/driver-license-information/change-your-address-or-name. Since the Arizona Department of Transportation uses the Social Security computer system to check for your name change, you need to change your name with Social Security first and wait at least 2 days for the Social Security system to be updated. Only then can you change your driver license.

Contributing Attorney: Ke Huang-Isherwood is an attorney who is an independent legal and communication researcher.

Comments:

QUESTIONS

  • I would like to add my last name to my daughters birth certificate. They currently have fathers last name. I have sole custody of them and their father & I were never married. He's always been inconsistent with his visitation rights (in and out of their lives, Reason for change). Do I need a court order & his permission to add my last name to their birth certificate?
  • how can i change last name to my dauther im not his blood father but i have her sends she was 1 year old
  • I am a father with joint custody of my 2 1/2 year old son. His last name is his mother's on the birth certificate. How can I go about changing his last name to mine? We have had joint custody since he was 8 months old and I have been there since his birth.
  • If i want to change my childs last name and there is no father on the birth certificate, am I the only one who has to sign?
  • I am divorced and kept my married name. I am now getting married again and upon marriage want to change my last name to my maiden name hyphenated with my new husband's last name. Can I do this and what do I need to do to make that happen?
  • I changed my name when I was 19 YOA with the Social Security and then got married. I'm now divorced and the box was not checked off to restore my maiden name. Now, I want to get my drivers license in Arizona but, my birth certificate has my birth name and my divorce shows my married name. Now AZ MVD told that there is no legal document when I change my name when I was 19. So they what me to change my name back to my birth name just so I can get a drivers license. Now my California ID show my changed and married name Social Security has me in there system with both names.
  • Where or who do I call to change my 5 year old daughters last name? I want to put her dad's last name before she starts school.
  • When we got married, we both hyphenated our last names to form one. Now, we are frustrated with having the hyphenated name and would like to switch--my husband back to just his last name and myself to having my last name as my second middle name and his as my last. How do we go about this?
  • So my daughters father and i where together when she was born naturally i gave her his last name. On Septemeber 29, 2015 he was arrested and charged with his 3rd domestic. There's a 2 year order of protection in place he gets visitation within that op. Due to all this id like to not change but at least hyphenate her last name can i do this?
  • how old do you have to be to change your name

STORIES

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FIND LEGAL HELP

  • Please select your county of residence below.

    County:
     

OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES

  • State Bar of Arizona
    www.azbar.org
  • Maricopa County Bar
    www.maricopabar.org
    Referral number 602-257-4434
  • Pima County Bar
    www.pimacountybar.org
    Referral number 520-623-4625
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    800-799-7233
  • Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
    866-553-0893
  • Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
    Link

ORGANIZATIONS

RELATED ARTICLES

How To Change Your Name

Where to Find an Attorney for Specific Legal Advice

LINKS

Arizona Supreme Court Programs Unit

Birth Certificates - Arizona Office of Vital Records

Maricopa County Judicial Branch

Maricopa County Judicial Branch Self-Service Center Online

Pima County Courts Self Service Center

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