How to Change Your Name in Nevada: Petition, Notice, and Decree

To legally change your name in Nevada, you file a verified petition in the district court for the county where you live, publish a one-time notice in a local newspaper, wait at least 10 days for anyone to object, and ask the judge to sign the order. If your name change comes from a marriage or divorce, you skip the court entirely and use your marriage certificate or divorce decree as proof. The court process is governed by NRS 41.270 through 41.290 and can wrap up in a few weeks once your paperwork is in.

If You Are Changing Your Name After Marriage or Divorce

You do not need a court petition. After a wedding, your officiant has 10 calendar days to file the marriage certificate with the county clerk, and once it is on file you can pick up a certified copy to use as legal proof of your new name.¹ A divorce decree that restores a former name or establishes a new one works the same way.

Keep in mind that agencies want the full paper trail from your birth name forward. If you have been through multiple marriages or an earlier court-ordered change, gather certified copies of each document. Photocopies will not do; agencies require originals or certified copies.²

Filing a Petition in District Court

For any other reason, whether personal preference, conforming to a gender identity, or returning to a birth name, you go through the court. NRS 41.270 lets any person other than an unemancipated minor file a verified petition in the district court for the county where they live.³

Your petition has to state:

Your current legal name and the name you want
The reason for the change
Whether you have been convicted of a felony
A sworn statement under penalty of perjury that the change is not for a fraudulent purpose

Because it is a verified petition, you sign it under oath, typically in front of a notary. Most Nevada district courts post the forms through their self-help centers or clerk’s offices, and many accept electronic filing. Filing fees vary by county, so call your local clerk for the current amount.

Publishing Notice in a Local Newspaper

Once the petition is filed, you publish a notice one time in a newspaper of general circulation in your county.³ The notice names you, states the name you want, and announces that a petition has been filed. Contact the paper directly to arrange it and ask their rate for legal notices. The paper will issue proof of publication, which you file with the court.

Nevada waives publication in two situations. If you are changing your name to conform to your gender identity, you do not have to publish at all.⁴ If publication would put your personal safety at risk, you can ask the court to waive the requirement, and if the court agrees it will also seal the case records.³

The 10-Day Wait and the Judge’s Order

The judge cannot grant your name change until at least 10 days have passed. If you published, the clock runs from the publication date; if publication was waived, it runs from the date you filed the petition.⁵ That window gives anyone with an objection a chance to file one with the court clerk in writing.

If no one objects, you submit a request asking the judge to sign the order. The judge reviews your petition for the statutory requirements, including anything you disclosed about a criminal record. If everything checks out, the judge signs the order and the clerk enters it as a judgment of the court.⁵ If someone does file an objection, the court sets a hearing where you present your reasons for the change and the objector presents theirs.

After the order is signed, the clerk sends a certified copy to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. Ask for additional certified copies for yourself; you will need them to update your records, and the clerk charges a small fee per copy.

Extra Rules for Minors, Felony Records, and Sex Offenders

A child cannot petition on their own. A parent or legal guardian files, and both parents normally must sign the notarized petition. A parent’s consent is only unnecessary if that parent is deceased, their parental rights have been terminated, or no father is named on the birth certificate and the father is genuinely unknown.⁶ If one parent will not agree, the filing parent has to formally serve the other with the papers, and that parent then has at least 10 days to object.⁷ Children aged 14 or older also have to sign their own written consent.

If you have a criminal record, your petition must include a complete set of fingerprints taken as prescribed by the Department of Public Safety; a local police station can usually do this.³ The judge is required to consider your criminal history before deciding. A felony does not automatically disqualify you, but the court has to be satisfied the change is not meant to dodge creditors or law enforcement. If an order is granted, the clerk sends a certified copy to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History so it is linked to your file.⁴

Anyone convicted of a sexual offense carries an added duty under NRS 179D.447: appear in person at a local law enforcement agency and report the new name within three business days of the change taking effect. Failing to do so is a category D felony.⁸

Updating Your Records After the Decree

The order makes your new name legal, but nothing updates automatically. Work through agencies in order, because each one leans on the one before it.

Social Security First

Start with the Social Security Administration. Bring your court order (or certified marriage certificate or divorce decree) along with proof of identity such as a driver’s license or passport.⁹ If the name change happened more than two years ago, you also need an identity document in your prior name. File a new Form SS-5 at your local SSA office or by mail. The replacement card is free.¹⁰

Nevada DMV

You have to update Social Security before the DMV will process your name change.¹¹ After a marriage-based change, wait at least two business days after the SSA update before going in.¹ You must appear in person; there is no online or mail option. Bring your court order or marriage certificate and your current license. For a REAL ID-compliant card, an updated Social Security card alone will not prove the change: you need the original court order, marriage certificate, or divorce decree showing the full chain from your birth name.²

Passport

If you hold a U.S. passport, submit a name change request to the State Department with your court order or other proof. Whether you need a brand-new application or a corrected one depends on when your current passport was issued and whether it has expired.¹²

Nevada Birth Certificate

To amend a Nevada birth certificate, mail the completed amendment form and your court decree to the Nevada State Office of Vital Records with a $45 fee, which covers a certified copy of the amended certificate.¹³ The form has to be signed and notarized. If you were born in another state, contact that state’s vital records office; Nevada can only amend Nevada-issued certificates.

1
Clark County, NV. Changing Your Name
2
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Real ID
3
Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 41 – Actions and Proceedings in Particular Cases Concerning Persons
4
State of Nevada Self-Help Center. Overview of Name Changes
5
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 41.290 – Order of Court; Hearing on Objections; Disposition and Rescission of Order
6
Nevada Supreme Court Self-Help Center. When Both Parents Agree to the Name Change (or One Parent Is Deceased or Has No Legal Rights)
7
State of Nevada Self-Help Center. If One Parent Will Not Agree to a Name Change
8
Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 179D – Registration of Sex Offenders and Offenders Convicted of Crimes Against Children
9
Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
10
Social Security Administration. Change Name With Social Security
11
DMV. Name Changes
12
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
13
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Birth/Death Vital Records – Forms