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

To change your name in Wisconsin, you file a petition with the circuit court in the county where you live, publish notice in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks, and attend a short hearing where a judge signs the order. The filing fee is $164.50, and the process typically takes four to eight weeks from filing to signed order. Wisconsin also allows a confidential path that waives publication for people whose safety would be at risk.

When You Don’t Need a Court Petition

If your name change comes from a marriage, you can skip the court process entirely. A marriage certificate is itself a legal name change document, and you can use it directly to update your Social Security card, driver’s license, and other records.

Divorce works the same way when handled correctly. You can ask the court to restore your former surname as part of the divorce judgment, and that order functions like a standalone name change order. If you didn’t request restoration during your divorce and want to change back later, you’ll need to file a standard name change petition.

Who Can File

Any Wisconsin resident, adult or minor, can petition the circuit court in their home county.¹ There is no minimum residency period written into the statute.² The court will grant the petition “if no sufficient cause is shown to the contrary,” which gives judges discretion to deny requests that appear designed to dodge debts, hide a criminal record, or defraud someone.

A few groups face restrictions:

Anyone required to register on the sex offender registry is barred from changing their name.²
People currently incarcerated, on probation, or under extended supervision should expect denial, since Wisconsin courts routinely treat active supervision as “sufficient cause” against the petition.¹
Some licensed professionals can be blocked if a state licensing board finds the new name would mislead the public or unfairly compete with another practitioner. This does not apply to public school teachers or to marriage and divorce name changes.¹

Filing the Petition

File a Petition for Name Change (Form CV-450) with the clerk of circuit court in your county.² The form asks for your current name, proposed new name, date and place of birth, and whether you have any felony convictions. File a proposed Order for Name Change (Form CV-470) at the same time for the judge to sign later.

The statewide filing fee is $164.50: a $75 filing fee, a $68 court support services surcharge, and a $21.50 justice information fee.³ If you cannot afford it, request a waiver using Form CV-410A (Petition for Waiver of Fees and Costs).⁴

Once the petition is filed, the clerk assigns a case number and judge, and the judge’s clerk sets a hearing date at least four weeks out to give you time to complete publication.⁵ You’ll receive a Notice of Name Change Hearing (Form CV-460) with the date, time, and location.

Publishing the Notice

Wisconsin requires publication of a class 3 notice before the hearing, meaning the notice runs in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks.⁶ The notice includes your current name, proposed new name, and the hearing details.

You arrange publication yourself by contacting a newspaper in your county. Costs vary but generally run between $60 and $150. After the final run, the newspaper issues an Affidavit of Publication, which you file with the court and bring to the hearing.

Keeping the Petition Confidential

If publication would put you in danger, you can ask the court to keep the petition confidential and waive publication entirely. The clerk must treat the file as confidential from the moment you file it.⁶

You must show by a preponderance of the evidence that publication could endanger you and that you are not seeking the change to avoid debts or hide a criminal record. Wisconsin courts have read “endanger” to mean risk of physical harm, so this path is most commonly used by domestic violence survivors, stalking victims, and others facing credible threats of violence. If the court finds your evidence insufficient, it can require you to publish and proceed the standard way.

The Hearing and the Signed Order

The hearing is usually brief. Bring your filed petition, the Affidavit of Publication (unless publication was waived), and the proposed Order for Name Change. If no one objects and the paperwork is in order, the judge reviews everything and signs the order. Most uncontested hearings last only a few minutes.

Objections are uncommon. Anyone can file one, and if that happens, the judge may ask for additional testimony or documents before ruling. If your petition is denied, you can appeal or refile with stronger evidence.

Once the judge signs, request several certified copies of the order from the clerk. You’ll need one for every agency and institution that holds your records, and ordering extras up front is far cheaper than making repeat trips. Certified copy fees vary by county but are modest.

Changing a Minor’s Name

The rules depend on the child’s age. Children 14 and older use the same petition form (CV-450) as adults, though a parent or guardian typically files on their behalf.

For children under 14, the process is more involved:⁷

If both parents are living, they must both join the petition, or one parent files alone and formally serves the other with the petition and hearing notice at least five business days before the hearing.
If the non-petitioning parent appears and shows they have not abandoned the child or failed in parental responsibilities, the court requires that parent’s consent before granting the change.
If the other parent cannot be located, the petitioning parent must show due diligence in attempting service and file proof of those attempts with the court.
A sole surviving parent, sole adoptive parent, or the child’s legal guardian and custodian can petition alone.

The judge decides based on the child’s best interests. Wisconsin law allows the petitioning parent to proceed without notifying the other parent if that parent has been convicted of certain serious offenses, including homicide, sexual assault, trafficking, or child exploitation.¹

Updating Your Records After the Order Is Signed

Getting the court order is only half the job. You still have to update every agency and institution holding your old name, and the order matters, because some updates depend on others being finished first.

Social Security

Start with the Social Security Administration. File Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Card) with your certified court order and proof of identity. SSA needs to see an original or certified document showing both your old and new names.⁸ Your number stays the same. There is no fee.

Wisconsin Driver’s License or State ID

Wait at least 48 hours after updating with SSA before visiting the DMV. The Wisconsin DMV verifies your name electronically through SSA records and needs time for the update to process.⁹ Bring your proof of name change documents and current ID.

Birth Certificate

If you were born in Wisconsin, submit a certified copy of the court order to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to amend your birth certificate. The filing fee is $10, plus $20 for the first certified copy and $3 for each additional copy.¹⁰ The amended certificate will carry an annotation showing the date of amendment, the authority for it, and the previous information. If your name change was confidential, a court order will be needed to obtain future copies, so order extras up front. If you were born in another state, contact that state’s vital records office for its process and fees.

U.S. Passport

Which form you use depends on timing. If your passport was issued less than a year ago and your name change is less than a year old, submit Form DS-5504 by mail with your current passport, the certified court order, and a new photo. There’s no fee unless you want expedited processing ($60). If more than a year has passed since either event, renew by mail with Form DS-82 or apply in person with Form DS-11, paying the $130 application fee plus a $35 facility fee for in-person applications.¹¹

IRS and Taxes

The IRS does not require separate notification; it matches your return against SSA records. But if the name on your return doesn’t match SSA’s file when you file, your refund can be delayed.¹²

Everything Else

Work through your banks, credit cards, insurers, employer payroll, voter registration, professional licensing boards, and anywhere else your old name is on file. Most will want a certified copy of the court order. There’s no legal deadline, but the longer you wait, the more likely you are to hit mismatches on transactions, benefits, or identity checks.

1
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 786.36 – Changing Names, Court Procedure
2
Wisconsin Court System. Name Change
3
Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Circuit Court Fee, Forfeiture, Fine and Surcharge Tables
4
Wisconsin Court System. Form CV-410A – Petition for Waiver of Fees and Costs
5
Dane County Courts. Name Change Procedure for an Adult in Dane County
6
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 786.37 – Change of Name, Notice of Petition
7
Wisconsin Court System. CV-490 Basic Steps to Handling a Name Change
8
Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
9
Wisconsin DMV. Name Change
10
Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Amending a Vital Record
11
U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport
12
Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues