How to Change Your Name in Ohio: Forms, Filing, and Hearing

To change your name in Ohio, you file an Application for Change of Name in the probate court of the county where you have lived for at least 60 days, pay a filing fee that usually runs between $100 and $150, publish notice of your application in a local newspaper, and appear at a short hearing where a judge decides whether your reason is reasonable and proper.¹ Once the judge signs the Judgment Entry, that document becomes your legal proof of the new name, and you use certified copies of it to update every agency and account that still lists your old one.

Who Can Apply

Any adult who has lived in an Ohio county for at least 60 days can file in that county’s probate court. The reason you give can be as ordinary as personal preference, but the court has to find it “reasonable and proper.”¹ Part of the application is a sworn affidavit stating that you have met the residency requirement, that you are not trying to avoid creditors, and that you are not currently in bankruptcy.²

Two groups cannot get a court-ordered name change in Ohio, period. Anyone required to register as a sex offender under Ohio’s registry laws is barred, and anyone convicted of identity fraud is barred.² The court has no discretion to grant the change in either case. The affidavit requires you to disclose whether either applies, and lying on it carries its own consequences.

Forms and Documents to Gather

The main form is the Application for Change of Name of Adult, Standard Probate Form 21.0. You can download it from the Ohio Supreme Court’s website or pick it up at your county probate court.³ It asks for your current legal name, the name you want, your date and place of birth, current address, and your reason.

Before you head to the courthouse, put together:

A certified copy of your birth certificate. Not a photocopy.
A valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, or unexpired passport.
The Supporting Affidavit, Standard Probate Form 21.3, covering residency, creditors, bankruptcy, and criminal history.

Some Ohio counties also require a criminal background check through the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Whether yours does, and what it costs, varies by county, so call the probate court clerk before you file.¹ Everything has to be signed in front of a notary before you turn it in.

Filing, Fees, and Publication

Bring the completed, notarized package to the clerk of the probate court and pay the filing fee. Most Ohio counties charge somewhere between $100 and $150.¹

Ohio law generally requires you to publish notice of your application in a local newspaper at least 30 days before the hearing. The notice has to include the court name, case number, and the hearing date and time. You arrange and pay for the publication yourself, and it typically adds about $60 or more depending on the paper.

Asking for a Publication Waiver

If publishing your name change would put you in danger, you can ask the court to waive the publication requirement. You have to give the judge satisfactory proof that publication would jeopardize your personal safety. When a court grants the waiver and approves the change, it must also seal the entire case file, which can only be reopened by court order for good cause or at your own request.⁴ This matters most for domestic violence survivors and others whose safety depends on keeping the new identity private.

The Hearing

Some cases get approved on the written application alone, with no hearing. When there is one, it is usually short. Bring copies of everything you filed. The judge confirms your identity, checks your reason, and verifies that publication was completed or properly waived. If the reason is reasonable and the paperwork is in order, the judge signs a Judgment Entry granting the change.¹ That Judgment Entry is the document everything else depends on, so ask the clerk for several certified copies before you leave.

Changing a Child’s Name

A parent, legal guardian, or guardian ad litem can file to change a minor’s name using Standard Probate Form 21.2, the Application for Change of Name of Minor.³ The child has to have lived in the county for at least 60 days, and the same fees and publication rules apply.

The big difference is consent. Both living legal parents must agree to the change through a signed, notarized consent form (Form 21.4). If a parent refuses or cannot be located, the filing parent has to notify that parent of the hearing by certified mail with return receipt requested. When there is no known father, notice goes to the person the mother identifies as the father. If neither parent’s identity nor address is known, the standard newspaper publication satisfies the notice requirement.⁵

The court looks at a minor’s name change through the best-interests-of-the-child lens. A non-consenting parent who was properly notified can show up and object. The judge weighs the reasons, the child’s relationship with each parent, and any other relevant factors. Older children may be asked to attend the hearing themselves.

If You Are Changing Your Name Through Marriage or Divorce

You do not always need a probate court petition. If you are getting married, you can take your spouse’s surname, or a hyphenated combination, simply by using your marriage certificate as proof. No court application, filing fee, or publication is required. Bring the certified marriage certificate to the Social Security Administration, the BMV, and other agencies, and they will update your records.

Divorce works similarly. You can ask the judge handling your divorce to include a provision restoring your former name in the divorce decree. When that language is in the decree, a certified copy works the same way a probate court Judgment Entry does. If your divorce is already final and did not include a name restoration, you have to go through the standard probate court process.

Updating Your Records After the Court Order

Once the Judgment Entry is signed, get several certified copies from the probate court clerk. You will need them for almost every agency and institution on your list, and some are slow to return them. Expect a small per-copy fee.

Social Security Administration

Start with Social Security, because many other agencies want your SSA records to match your new name before they will update their own. File an Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5) with your certified court order and a valid photo ID. The SSA accepts originals or copies certified by the issuing agency, not photocopies or notarized copies. The replacement card is free.⁶

IRS

The IRS does not require a separate notification for a personal name change. It uses Social Security’s records. Once SSA updates your name, use the new name on your next return. Every name on the return has to match what SSA has on file, or your refund can get held up.⁷

Ohio BMV

Take your certified court order to an Ohio BMV office to get a new driver’s license or state ID. The BMV accepts a certified copy of a court-ordered name change as proof. If your name has changed more than once, bring documentation linking each step so the BMV can trace it from your birth certificate name to your current one.⁸ Because Ohio issues REAL ID-compliant licenses, having that chain in order matters here.

U.S. Passport

Which form you use depends on timing. If your name changed less than a year after your most recent passport was issued, submit Form DS-5504 by mail with the current passport, the certified court order, and a new photo. There is no fee unless you pay $60 for expedited service. If more than a year has passed since either the passport was issued or the name change happened, you renew using Form DS-82 by mail or Form DS-11 in person, and standard passport fees apply.⁹

Credit Bureaus

Your credit history does not follow your new name automatically. Contact all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) separately. Updating one does not update the others. Equifax, for instance, handles name changes through its online dispute center and asks you to upload at least one document showing the new name, such as the court order, new driver’s license, or Social Security card. Allow up to 30 days at each bureau.¹⁰

Everything Else

The list of places holding your old name is longer than most people expect. After the big ones above, work through:

Voter registration through your county board of elections.
Banks and credit cards, which usually want you to come in with the court order or new ID.
Your employer’s HR department, for payroll and tax withholding.
Any state-issued professional licenses. Some boards set deadlines for reporting a name change, and missing them can complicate renewal.
Health and auto insurance, so a name mismatch does not create claim problems.
School and university registrars, for current records and any updated transcripts or diplomas you want.
Selective Service, if you are registered.¹¹

Work through these roughly in the order above. Each one gets easier once you have the new Social Security card and driver’s license, because most institutions will accept those as proof without needing to see the court order itself.

1
Ohio Legal Help. How to Legally Change Your Name in Ohio
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2717.06 – Supporting Affidavit
3
The Supreme Court of Ohio. Change of Name Forms
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2717.01 – Application to Change Name
5
Justia Law. Ohio Revised Code 2717.01 – Proceedings to Change Name
6
Social Security Administration. Form SS-5 – Application for a Social Security Card
7
Internal Revenue Service. Update My Information
8
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Acceptable Documents List
9
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
10
Equifax. How to Change or Update Your Name on Your Equifax Credit Report
11
Selective Service System. Update Your Information