Adult name change

Overview

Change your legal name

In California, you can ask for a court order to change your legal name. To do this, you file a petition with the court and publish a notice in a newspaper. Then, you'll either have a court date (a hearing) where a judge will make a decision, or the judge may make a decision without a hearing. Once the judge decides, you pick up a court decree (court order) with your new name. The process generally takes up to 3 months.

 

Choose any part of the process below to get step-by-step instructions.