You will need to fill out these 2 forms to begin the process to change your name:

• Request for Name Change (Adult): Asks the judge to change your name.
• Order for Name Change (Adult): The judge will sign this to approve or deny your request. You will need this to change your name on your
  • social security card,
  • driver's license/state ID card and
  • other documents.

You will also need to fill out one of these forms (not both):

• Publication Notice of Court Date for Request for Name Change (Adult): Asks a local newspaper to run an ad telling the public you are asking the court to change your name.
• Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Request for Name Change): Asks the judge to let you change your name without having a local newspaper run an ad about it. Use this if running the ad would put you at risk of physical harm or discrimination.

Fill out your forms with our Easy Form program. 

After you fill out your forms, sign them and make 3 copies of each one.

Name change after divorce
If you are changing your name back after a divorce and your divorce judgment gives you legal permission to do so, you do not need to file anything to skip publishing notice. You can skip the next 2 steps and move to step 7.

Now that you have filled out your forms, you need to file them with the appropriate circuit clerk. You will need to electronically file ("e-file") them unless you have an exemption. 

There are fees to file many court forms, especially when starting a case. Fees are different from case to case and county to county. Contact the circuit clerk to find out about their fees. Many circuit clerks list theirs fees on their website. 

If you qualify, you can get a Fee waiver. A fee waiver allows you to file for free, or at a reduced cost.

When you file your name change forms, you'll need a hearing date.

How you will find out about the court date (or hearing date) and time depends on how you filed your case.

• E-filing: The website you used to electronically file may let you pick your court date (or hearing date) and time. If it does not, contact the clerk. 
• Paper filing: If you filed in person at the courthouse, the clerk will let you pick or they may pick for you.

Normally you need to publish a notice in a local newspaper about your name change. But if doing so would put you at risk of physical harm or discrimination, you can ask the judge to let you skip it.

To ask the judge to let you skip publishing notice, fill out and file a Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Name Change).

If you are a protected person through an Order of Protection or other court order, you must file your Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Name Change) when you file your name change request. Otherwise, you can file it at any time during your case.

When you file the Motion to Waive Notice & Publication, ask the circuit clerk for a court date. You will have to go to court to ask to be allowed to skip publishing notice.

When you go to your court date, fill out and bring an Order on Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Request for Name Change). The judge will use this form to approve or deny your request.

If your Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Name Change) is granted, you can skip the next 2 steps and move to step 7.

After filing your court papers and getting a hearing date, contact a local newspaper in the county where you live. Ask them to publish notice of your name change. They may charge you a fee. 

Give them one copy of:

• Publication Notice of Court Date for Request for Name Change (Adult), and
• Order for Waiver of Court Fees (if you got one).

You do not need to complete this step if you are changing your name back after a divorce or had a Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Request for Name Change) approved (see above).

Certificate

After your notice has run in the newspaper for 3 straight weeks, get a Certificate of Publication from the newspaper. Ask the newspaper how they will send this certificate. They may:

• Send the certificate directly to the circuit clerk,
• Mail the certificate directly to you, or
• Tell you to pick up the certificate in person.

Check with your circuit clerk to find out whether the Certificate of Publication needs to be filed before your court hearing.  

If the newspaper sends the Certificate of Publication directly to the circuit clerk, make sure it arrives before your hearing, and ask the newspaper to send you a copy.

Get to court at least 45 minutes before your hearing time. Bring these items to your court hearing:

• Photo ID showing your current name,
• Stamped copy of your Request for Name Change (Adult),
• Certificate of Publication or Order on Motion to Waive Notice & Publication (Adult Name Change)
• Order for Name Change (Adult), and
• If you have a felony or sexual misdemeanor conviction on your record, papers showing that at least 10 years have passed since completion and discharge of your criminal sentence.

Check-in quietly with the judge's clerk. Wait for your name and case number to be called. 

You may be placed under oath. Answer the judge's questions truthfully. The judge will either grant or deny your Request for Name Change (Adult). The judge will write this on your Order for Name Change (Adult) and sign it.

If the judge approves your name change, file the Order for Name Change (Adult) with the circuit clerk. Ask for certified copies. These are needed to change your name on your birth certificate, social security card, driver's license and other documents.

Change your name on your [no-lexicon]birth certificate[/no-lexicon]

You must change your name on your birth certificate if the court approves your name change. There may also be a fee to change your birth certificate and State ID.

To change an Illinois birth certificate, you will need:

• A certified copy of the Order for Name Change (Adult),
• A money order for $15.00 made out to Illinois Department of Public Health, and
• Your date of birth and place of birth.

Mail these three things to:

Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records 
925 East Ridgely Avenue
Springfield, IL 62702
(217) 782-6554

If you were not born in Illinois, contact the office that keeps birth records in the state where you were born. Ask a staff person in that office how to change the name on your birth certificate.

Change your name on your marriage certificate

Your county clerk will issue a new marriage certificate if:

• You are married,
• You changed your name, and
• You live in Illinois.

Change your name on your social security card

To change your name on your social security card:

• Go to any social security office;
• Bring a certified copy of the Order for Name Change (Adult);
• Bring a piece of identification, such as your old social security card, old ID, or birth certificate; and 
• Fill out an application and submit it to the social security staff.

There is no fee to change your name on your social security card.

Change your name on a state ID and driver's license

You must notify the Secretary of State's office within 10 days of changing your name. Your state ID and driver's license must be changed to your new name. You must provide identification with your new name and identification that links the old and new names. For example, you may show your Order for Name Change (Adult) from the court. 

You have the right to ask for another hearing if your name change request is denied.

If your request was denied because of a mistake on your part, then you should correct the error and request another hearing. An example is if you did not do the notice in the newspaper correctly. Do this by filing a Motion.

Whenever you lose in court, you have the right to file an appeal. You will have 30 days from the date of the judge's decision to do this.