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

  • We added a middle name to our son's name after we turned in the hospital paperwork. I sent off for his official birth certificate and noticed that it does not have the added second middle name. He is two now, what do I need to ensure that both of his middle names are part of his legal name and on his birth certificate?
  • My daughter will be 5 in August of this year. There is no father on her burth certificate, and the biological father has never been in contact. I married when she was a year old and her step father has been her father. I want to change her name to her step fathers name. He is thr only father she has ever known ad rhey love each other dearly.
  • My dad hasn't been apart of my life for 3 years and lives out of state.My mom has sole custody of me and I want to change my last name to my mom's maiden name. Can my sister and I have our mom change our name and does my dad need to approve it since mom has sole custody?
  • Does being an ex felon prevent me from changing my name?
  • How much does a name change cost for a child who is five years old
  • How much are the fees for changing my name?
  • MY NAME WAS ENTERED INCORRECTLY ON MY BC CAN IT BE CORRECTED WITH OUT ALL THE COURT PAPERS? THEY PUT PART OF MY FIRST NAME AS MY MIDDLE NAME BUT I DO NOT HAVE A MIDDLE NAME JUST A FIRST AND LAST.
  • I have a 1 year old son that does not have me or his biological father last name how can I get his last name same as his biological father last name
  • My husband and I were married in 2010, I didn't change my last name then, but now I want to. On my marriage license/certificate my name doesn't have my husbands last name. How can I change my last name to my husbands?
  • My son was born while i was out of the country and his mother put her boyfriends last name down as my sons last name on the birth certificate. Do I have a legal right to have my sons name changed to my last name?

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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

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