How to Change Your Last Name in Minnesota: Forms, Hearing, and Fees

To change your last name in Minnesota, you file a sworn Application for Name Change (Form NAM102) with the district court in the county where you live, pay a $310 filing fee, appear at a hearing with two witnesses who can confirm your identity, and leave with a signed court order you then use to update your records.¹ You must have lived in Minnesota for at least six months before filing. Name changes tied to a marriage or a divorce follow an easier path and often skip the petition entirely.

When You Don’t Need a Court Petition

If you are getting married and want to take your spouse’s last name or hyphenate, you don’t need to file anything in court. A certified marriage certificate is accepted as proof of a legal name change by agencies like the Social Security Administration and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. No NAM102, no hearing, no $310 fee.

If you are divorcing and want to go back to a former name, ask that the name restoration be written into your divorce judgment. Minnesota law treats a name change requested as part of a marriage dissolution as a valid legal change.² The signed decree becomes your proof. If your divorce is already final and the decree says nothing about your name, you’ll have to either ask the court to amend it or file a standalone name change petition.

Who Can File

Three baseline rules apply to the standard petition process. You must have resided in Minnesota for at least six months immediately before filing, you must file in the district court of the county where you live, and you must appear in person before the judge.¹ Citizenship is not required; the residency rule applies to anyone living in the state long enough to qualify. Adults file for themselves. For a minor, a parent, guardian, or next of kin files the application.

You also need two witnesses at the hearing to testify to your identity. Court guidance says they should have known you for at least a year.³ If you are married and your spouse is not joining the application, one of those two witnesses must be your spouse.

Forms and Documents You’ll Need

The main document is Form NAM102, the Application for Name Change, available from the Minnesota Judicial Branch.⁴ You sign it under penalty of perjury. Making a false statement on it with intent to defraud is a misdemeanor.¹ The form asks for your current legal name, your desired new name, your reason for the change, and information about your spouse and children if applicable.

If you own real estate in Minnesota, you have to include the full legal description of every property in which you hold any interest or lien. That means the formal legal description from the deed, not a street address. The court order will be recorded against those properties so the title records stay accurate.

Pull everything together before you file. Incomplete applications are a common cause of delay, and the court may require a background check if you have past convictions.

The Hearing

After you file, the court administrator assigns a case number and sets a hearing date. At the hearing, you give sworn testimony about the facts in your application: your identity, why you want the change, and that you are not using it to avoid debts, lawsuits, or criminal charges.³ Your two witnesses testify under oath to confirm who you are.

Minnesota law says the court “shall grant” the application unless the judge finds intent to defraud or mislead, the felony restrictions in section 259.13 block it, or (for a minor) the change is not in the child’s best interests.⁵ Most uncontested adult name changes are approved at the first hearing. If the judge approves, they sign the Order Granting Name Change on the spot, and you can request certified copies from the court administrator the same day.

Filing Fee and Waivers

The filing fee is $310 statewide, set by statute, and it does not vary by county.⁶⁷ If you can’t afford it, you can submit a fee waiver request based on your income.

Certified copies of the signed order cost $14 each.⁶ Order at least three or four. You’ll need them at different agencies at the same time, and some can take weeks to return them.

Extra Steps if You Have a Felony Conviction

Anyone with a felony conviction under Minnesota, federal, or another state’s law has to clear additional procedural hurdles before a judge can sign off. You must serve written notice of your name change request on the prosecuting authority that obtained the conviction. If the conviction came from another state or federal court, you also serve notice on the Minnesota Attorney General.² Proof of that service goes in with your petition.

The court cannot grant the change during the 30 days after notice is served. In that window, the prosecuting authority or the Attorney General can object on the grounds that the request aims to defraud or mislead, is not made in good faith, would injure someone, or would compromise public safety.²

If no objection is filed, the petition goes to a hearing like any other. If one is filed, you can contest it by motion, but the burden is on you to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the change is not based on intent to defraud, is made in good faith, will not injure anyone, and will not compromise public safety. The court must still grant the change if denying it would violate a constitutional right.² After the change is granted, you must report it to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension within ten days.

On fees, people with felony convictions can proceed without paying only when a denial of the waiver would infringe on a constitutional right. One exception: if you file within 180 days of a marriage and submit a certified marriage certificate, the fee is waived entirely.²

Changing a Child’s Last Name

A parent or guardian can include a child’s name change in the same application they file for themselves, or file a petition solely for the child. Minnesota law requires that both parents receive notice of the application whenever practicable, as determined by the court.¹ An objection from the other parent does not automatically defeat the petition, but it changes the character of the hearing.

For any minor’s name change, the judge must find that the change serves the child’s best interests.⁵ Courts weigh the child’s relationship with each parent, how long the child has used the current name, and whether the change would benefit or disrupt the child’s life. If you’re filing without the other parent’s agreement, be ready to explain why the change is good for the child, not just convenient for you. A parent’s preference alone isn’t enough if the court concludes the child is better off keeping the current name.

Updating Your Records After the Order

The signed order is only the start. No agency or bank updates your name automatically. Start with the Social Security Administration, because most other agencies want your Social Security record to match before they’ll process a change.

To update your Social Security card, complete Form SS-5 and bring it to a Social Security office with your certified court order and a valid ID. The SSA requires originals or certified copies, not photocopies or notarized copies.⁸ There’s no fee for a replacement card.

From there, update your driver’s license at a Minnesota DVS office with the certified order and your current license. Update your passport through the State Department; the form and fee depend on how recently your passport was issued and how recently the name changed.⁹ Banks and financial institutions usually want you to come into a branch with the certified order and a photo ID; joint accounts may require all owners present. Permanent residents update a green card by filing Form I-90 with USCIS and attaching the certified court order.¹⁰

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 259.10 – General Requirements
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 259.13 – Persons With Felony Conviction; Name Changes
3
Minnesota Judicial Branch. Frequently Asked Questions – Name Change
4
Minnesota Judicial Branch. NAM102 Application for Name Change
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 259.11 – Order; Filing Copies
6
Minnesota Judicial Branch. District Court Fees
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 357.021 – Filing Fees
8
Social Security Administration. Application for Social Security Card
9
U.S. Passports. Change or Correct a Passport
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them