How to Change Your Name in California: Forms, Hearing, and Decree

To legally change your name in California, you file a petition with the Superior Court in the county where you live, publish the court’s order in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks, and wait for a judge to sign the final decree. The filing fee is $435, newspaper publication typically runs another $90 to $200, and the whole process usually takes two to three months.¹ Shorter paths exist for name changes tied to gender identity, marriage, or divorce, and a confidential track exists for people whose safety depends on privacy.

The Forms You File

The petition packet uses standard Judicial Council forms. An adult petitioner needs the following:²

Petition for Change of Name (NC-100), which lists your current legal name, your proposed new name, and your reason.
Name and Information About the Person Whose Name Is to Be Changed (NC-110), an attachment with personal details for each person included in the petition.
Order to Show Cause (NC-120), the document the judge signs to set a hearing date and authorize publication.
Decree Changing Name (NC-130), the final order the judge signs when the change is granted.
Civil Case Cover Sheet (CM-010), though some courts don’t require it.³

The petition asks you to list every former name you’ve used and any outstanding judgments, bankruptcies, or debts. That disclosure exists so the process can’t be used to shake off creditors. File the completed packet with the Superior Court clerk in your county of residence. When the clerk processes it, you’ll get back a signed Order to Show Cause with a hearing date, usually six to twelve weeks out.⁴

The Filing Fee and Fee Waivers

The statewide filing fee is $435.⁵ If you can’t afford it, submit a separate fee waiver application with your petition. The court decides the waiver before processing the case.

Publishing the Order in a Newspaper

California law requires you to publish the Order to Show Cause in a newspaper of general circulation in your county.⁴ The notice runs once a week for four consecutive weeks. The hearing is set at least six weeks after the order issues, which gives you time to finish the cycle.

You contact the newspaper and pay the publication fee yourself. The cost varies, but most petitioners pay somewhere between $90 and $200. When the final run is complete, the newspaper issues a Proof of Publication. You must file that proof with the court before your hearing. Forgetting this step is the most common cause of delay in an otherwise routine case.

What Happens at the Hearing

The hearing exists so anyone with a reason to object has a chance to be heard. In most adult cases nobody objects. If no written objection is filed at least two court days before the hearing date, the judge can approve the petition without requiring you to appear at all.⁶ Many courts handle uncontested petitions that way, and you simply pick up the signed decree from the clerk’s office afterward.⁷

If someone does object, the hearing becomes a real proceeding. The objector has to give the court a legitimate reason, the judge can question both sides under oath, and the petition is either granted or dismissed.⁶ Objections are rare in adult cases. They come up more often in petitions for a child.

Once the petition is granted, the judge signs the Decree Changing Name (NC-130). That signed decree is what makes the change official and what every agency will ask to see.⁸

When a Judge Can Deny the Petition

Most petitions are approved. California law identifies a few situations where denial is required or likely:

Fraud or creditor evasion. If the court concludes the change is sought to avoid debts, criminal history, or other legal obligations, the petition is denied.
Registered sex offenders. The court must deny the petition unless the judge finds the change serves the interest of justice and won’t harm public safety. Petitioners declare under penalty of perjury that they aren’t required to register under Penal Code Section 290, and the court checks law enforcement databases.⁶
People on parole or probation. The petitioner must get written approval from the supervising officer before filing, and that officer must determine the change poses no security risk.⁶

With honest disclosure and a clean record, denial is unlikely.

Shorter Paths for Specific Situations

Gender Identity

An adult changing their name to match their gender identity is exempt from the newspaper publication requirement. No publication cost, no newspaper deadlines, no public notice. The $435 filing fee still applies and the court still has to approve the petition, but without publication the process typically runs around two months instead of two to three.⁹

Marriage or Divorce

If your name change is tied to a marriage, you don’t need a court petition at all. Enter the new surname on the marriage license application. Once the marriage is official, the marriage certificate is the legal document agencies will accept.

Divorce works the same way for reverting to a former name. You can request it as part of the divorce judgment. If it wasn’t included at the time, you can file a simple application later to restore a former name.¹⁰ Either path skips the $435 fee, the publication, and the hearing.

Confidential Name Changes for Safety

Victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault can get a confidential name change that skips publication and seals the court records. To qualify, you must be enrolled in California’s Safe at Home address confidentiality program before filing. The confidential track uses a special cover sheet (NC-400). On any public documents, the new name is replaced with a notation indicating the name is confidential and on file with the Secretary of State, which keeps the new name out of court records and newspaper archives.

Changing a Child’s Name

A parent or legal guardian files on behalf of a minor using the same core forms, with the NC-110 attachment for the child’s information.² Both parents must sign the petition.¹¹ If one parent can’t be located or has had parental rights terminated, the court can proceed with one parent’s consent, but you’ll need to show what efforts you made to reach the other.

The standard is also higher. The judge must find the change is in the child’s best interest. If a guardian files for a ward, the court must first find the child is likely to stay in the guardian’s care until adulthood and unlikely to return to the parents’ custody.⁶ Contested objections are most common here, typically from a noncustodial parent who doesn’t want to lose the family surname.

After the Judge Signs the Decree

The legal change takes effect the moment the decree is signed. Updating your records is on you, and it takes time. Buy certified copies of the decree from the clerk before you leave. Each one costs $40.⁵ Buy several. Multiple agencies will want to see an original certified copy, and passing a single copy around slows everything down.

Update the Social Security Administration first. The SSA needs a certified copy, and your new Social Security card should be in hand before you move on to most other agencies. After the SSA updates its record, the IRS is notified automatically through the SSA database, so you don’t need to contact the IRS yourself; just make sure the name on your next return matches what the SSA now has on file.¹²

If you hold a U.S. passport, apply for a new one with a certified copy. Lawful permanent residents and other immigration status holders update their documents with USCIS, which generally requires a new form, a certified copy of the decree, and a filing fee.¹³

Once your new Social Security card arrives, go to the DMV with the certified decree and the new card to update your driver’s license or state ID. Re-register to vote with the Secretary of State’s office, since California requires re-registration whenever your name changes.¹⁴ Then work through the private side: banks, credit cards, employer records, insurance, utilities, professional licenses. Each will want a certified copy. Make the list before you start. Most people underestimate how many accounts still carry the old name, and even with the decree in hand the full cleanup takes a few weeks.

1
California Courts. Change Your Name in California
2
Judicial Council of California. Instructions for Filing a Petition for Change of Name
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California Courts. How to Fill Out Forms to Change Your Name
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California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1277
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California Courts. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
6
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 1275-1279.6 – Change of Names
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California Courts. File Your Name Change Petition
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California Courts. Decree Changing Name (NC-130)
9
California Courts. Change Your Name to Match Your Gender Identity (Adult)
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California Courts. Change Your Name in Your Divorce Case
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California Courts. Change a Child’s Name
12
IRS. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
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USCIS. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them
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California Secretary of State. Voter Registration