How to Change Your Name in Florida: Petition, Hearing, and Records

To change your name in Florida, you file a sworn petition in the circuit court of the county where you live, submit fingerprints for a state and national background check, pay a filing fee of roughly $400, and appear at a short hearing where a judge signs the final order. If your name is changing because you got married or divorced, you skip the petition entirely and use the marriage certificate or divorce judgment as your legal document. Everything else — the paperwork, the background check, the records updates afterward — is covered below.

The Marriage and Divorce Shortcut

Taking a spouse’s last name after marriage does not require a court petition. Your marriage certificate is the legal document authorizing the change, and you present it directly to the Social Security Administration, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and other agencies.

Divorce works the same way, but only if you ask for it in the divorce itself. To restore a former name, you must request it in your petition for dissolution of marriage or counterpetition. The judge then includes the restoration in the final divorce judgment, and that judgment does the same job as a standalone name change order. Miss that step and the judge loses authority to order the change in your case, which means filing a separate name change petition after the divorce is final and going through the full process. Florida Statute 68.07 states that it does not apply to name changes made during dissolution of marriage or adoption proceedings.¹

Who Can Petition the Court

For any name change outside of marriage or divorce, Florida Statute 68.07 sets the rules. You must be a bona fide resident of and domiciled in the county where you file. The petition is sworn under oath, and you have to state that you are not filing for any ulterior or illegal purpose and that granting the change will not invade anyone else’s property rights, including partnership interests, patents, trademarks, or privacy rights.¹

If your civil rights have ever been suspended because of a felony conviction, they must be fully restored before the court will consider your petition. You also have to disclose whether you have been adjudicated bankrupt, had a money judgment entered against you, been arrested or charged with a criminal offense, or been required to register as a sexual predator or sexual offender.¹ A criminal record does not automatically bar a name change, but the judge weighs the background check results when deciding your petition.

What Goes in the Petition

The petition is Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.982(a), available through the Florida Courts website or your local Clerk of Court office. It asks for a thorough personal history well beyond your current and desired name:

Every address where you have lived since birth.
Your occupation and employers for the five years before filing. If you own a business, its name, location, your role, and how long you have been involved. If you are in a profession, where you have practiced and your educational background.
Any other names you have been generally known by or called.
Your spouse’s name if married, and the names, ages, and addresses of any children.
Whether you have been adjudicated bankrupt, and whether any money judgments have been entered against you — including the creditor, amount, court, and whether the judgment has been satisfied.
Whether you have been arrested, charged, pled guilty or no contest, or been found to have committed any criminal offense.

The petition must be signed before a notary. The detail exists so the court can verify your identity, confirm your intent is legitimate, and ensure the change does not harm anyone else’s legal interests.¹

Fingerprints and the Background Check

Before a judge can hear your case, you complete a state and national criminal history records check through electronic fingerprinting. There is one exception: if you are restoring a former name — for example, going back to a maiden name after a divorce where you did not request the change during the proceedings — the fingerprinting requirement is waived.¹

For everyone else, fingerprints must be taken by a vendor authorized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The clerk’s office will give you the correct ORI number for your county, which you hand to the fingerprint technician. Prints go to FDLE for state processing and then to the FBI for the national check. Results are sent directly to the clerk’s office, and the judge reviews them when deciding your petition.²

You pay two separate fingerprint costs: a government processing fee to FDLE that covers both the state and FBI checks, and a service fee charged by the vendor. The statute puts the full cost on the petitioner.¹ Vendor fees vary, so call ahead. Results can take a few weeks to arrive at the clerk’s office, and your hearing cannot be scheduled until they are on file.

Filing, Fees, and the Hearing

Once your notarized petition is complete and the background results are in, you file the case with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The filing fee runs roughly $400 to $415 depending on the county. If you cannot afford it, you can apply for a determination of civil indigent status, which waives filing and summons fees if you qualify.³ Other costs may not be waived even with indigent status.

After the clerk processes the filing and assigns a case number, you coordinate with the judge’s office to schedule a final hearing. The hearing is usually brief. The judge reviews the petition, confirms the background check results, and may ask a few questions about why you want the change. If everything checks out, the judge signs a Final Judgment of Change of Name, which becomes your official court order.

Changing a Minor Child’s Name

Florida uses the same statutory framework for a minor’s name change, with added consent and notification rules. If both parents agree and both live in the county where the petition is filed, they can file jointly as co-petitioners. No service of process is needed in that case; you simply schedule a hearing.¹

When only one parent files, the other parent has to be served. Personal service is required if the non-petitioning parent lives in Florida. Constructive notice through publication may be used if that parent lives out of state, and proof of publication must be filed with the court.¹ The non-petitioning parent can consent by filing Form 12.982(d), or object and appear at the hearing. A judge can grant the change over one parent’s objection, but the hearing becomes more involved and the outcome less predictable. Fingerprinting costs for a minor’s petition fall on the parent or guardian who files.

Updating Your Records After the Order

The court order is only half the job. Ask the clerk for several certified copies of the Final Judgment, because agencies will keep them. Certified copies typically cost a few dollars each.

Social Security Administration

Start here. Most other agencies want your Social Security record to reflect the new name before they will update their own. You can report the change online through your my Social Security account, or complete a paper Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5) and bring it to a local SSA office with your certified court order. Your Social Security number stays the same.⁴

Driver’s License

Florida law requires you to get a replacement driver’s license or identification card reflecting the new name within 30 days of the legal change.⁵ Bring the certified court order and your updated Social Security card to a DHSMV office or a tax collector’s office that handles driver’s licenses. Do not let this slide; the clerk automatically reports the change to FDLE and DHSMV, so the system knows to expect it.

U.S. Passport

If your name changed less than a year ago and your passport was also issued less than a year ago, submit Form DS-5504 by mail with your current passport, the certified court order, and a new photo. No fee unless you want expedited service. If either the passport or the name change is more than a year old, you use the standard renewal process — Form DS-82 by mail or Form DS-11 in person — with regular passport fees.⁶

Tax Records

The IRS matches the name on your return against Social Security Administration records. Mismatches delay returns. There is no separate IRS name change process for individuals; updating with SSA is the step that matters. File your next return using the exact name shown on your updated Social Security card.⁷

Voter Registration

You can update your voter registration online through Florida’s system. You will need your Florida driver’s license or ID number and the last four digits of your Social Security number. If your registration does not match your legal name at the polls, it can create problems, particularly close to an election. Update early rather than at the deadline.⁸

Other Accounts

Beyond core government records, you will likely need to update your name with banks, credit card companies, insurance providers, your employer’s HR department, and any professional licensing boards. If you hold a professional license, contact your licensing board promptly; some boards require notification within 30 days and treat delays as a compliance issue. Most organizations will want to see a certified copy of the court order, or a certified marriage certificate for marriage-based changes.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 68.07 – Change of Name
2
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Registered Livescan Submitters
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status
4
Social Security Administration. How Do I Change or Correct My Name on My Social Security Number Card
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.19 – Change of Address, Name, or Citizenship Status
6
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
7
Internal Revenue Service. Update My Information
8
Florida Division of Elections. Florida Online Voter Registration System