How to File the Florida Petition for Change of Name: Form 12.982(a)

To file a Florida petition for change of name as an adult, you complete Form 12.982(a), submit it to the clerk of the circuit court in the county where you live, get fingerprinted for a state and national background check, pay a filing fee of roughly $400, and appear at a brief hearing where a judge signs the final judgment.¹ Most petitioners have a signed order in hand within four to eight weeks. If you’re restoring a former name after a divorce, the fingerprinting step is waived.

Who Can File and Where

You file in the circuit court of the county where you both reside and are domiciled, and the petition itself has to state that you are a bona fide resident of that county.¹ Recently moved within Florida? File in your new county, not the one you left.

The court will grant the petition if it finds the change is not for a fraudulent or illegal purpose and does not infringe on anyone else’s property rights, including trademarks, partnerships, or privacy interests.¹ A felony conviction does not automatically disqualify you, but the judge will look at your criminal history more closely. If you are a registered sexual predator or sexual offender, you must disclose that status in the petition, and the court will weigh it before deciding.²

Children use a separate form (12.982(c)) with its own consent and service rules; this article covers the adult petition only.

What Form 12.982(a) Asks For

Form 12.982(a) is the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form for adult name changes, available for download from the Florida Courts website.³ Type it or print in black ink, and sign it either before a notary or before a deputy clerk at the courthouse — signing in front of the deputy clerk is usually simplest since you’re already there to file.⁴

Florida Statute 68.07 makes the petition unusually detailed. You need to be ready to disclose:²

Your full legal name, date and place of birth, your father’s full name, and your mother’s maiden name.
Every place you have lived since birth, along with your current address and how long you’ve been there.
Your spouse’s name if married, and the names, ages, and residences of any children.
Whether you’ve changed your name before, and if so, when, where, and by which court.
Your occupations for the past five years. If you own a business, its name and your role. Any professional license or degree, with school and date.
Any other names you’ve been generally known by.
Whether you’ve been convicted of a felony, declared bankruptcy, or have any unsatisfied judgments or liens, and if so, the amount and who holds them.
Your reason for wanting the change.
Whether you’ve ever been required to register as a sexual predator or sexual offender.

The form also collects physical identifiers: race, sex, hair and eye color, height, and weight.⁵ Because you’re signing under oath, check that every name, date, and address matches your other ID before you sign. Omissions or inaccuracies can lead to denial or worse.

Fingerprints and the Background Check

The court won’t schedule your hearing until you’ve completed an electronic fingerprint submission for a state and national criminal history check.¹ An approved livescan vendor captures your prints and sends them to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which forwards them to the FBI. Results go directly to the clerk of court; you never see them.

When you file, the clerk gives you a list of authorized livescan providers and the Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number that routes the results to your county’s clerk.² The ORI number matters. Use the wrong one and your results go to the wrong office, stalling your case. You pay the fingerprint costs yourself, generally around $43 in FDLE and FBI processing fees plus a separate service fee from the vendor.

Restoring a Former Name

If you are restoring a former name, most often a maiden name after divorce, the fingerprint and background check are waived entirely.² You still file Form 12.982(a) and attend a hearing, but skipping the fingerprint step cuts weeks off the process.

Registered Sexual Predators and Offenders

A name change isn’t automatically denied for registered sexual predators or offenders, but the background check will flag that status for the judge. If the petition is granted, the clerk must electronically notify FDLE of the new name within two business days, and FDLE passes it on to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.²

Filing the Petition

Take your completed, signed petition to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in your county, or file electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. Some judicial circuits require self-represented litigants to have their documents reviewed by a self-help paralegal before e-filing, so check your local clerk’s procedures.⁶

The filing fee is roughly $400 to $401, depending on the circuit.⁷ Accepted payment methods vary but usually include cash, money order, and credit card.⁶

Can’t afford it? Apply for a determination of civil indigent status using the application from the clerk’s office.⁸ If you qualify, the filing and summons fees are waived, though the fingerprint costs are not.⁹

The Hearing and Final Judgment

Once the clerk has your criminal history results back from FDLE, the court schedules your hearing. You give sworn testimony that everything in your petition is still accurate. The judge may ask why you want the change and whether you have any pending legal or financial obligations you might be trying to escape. The hearing itself is short, often just a few minutes.

If satisfied, the judge signs a Final Judgment of Change of Name. The judgment recites that the court is satisfied the change isn’t for an illegal purpose and isn’t intended to hide your identity because of a crime or to dodge financial obligations.⁵ Before you leave the courthouse, order several certified copies from the clerk. You’ll need them to update almost every piece of ID you carry.

Updating Your Records

The final judgment doesn’t update anything on its own. You take certified copies to each agency yourself, and the order matters.

Social Security First

Start with the Social Security Administration. Most other agencies, including Florida’s DMV, won’t update your name until your Social Security record already reflects it. Bring the certified court order (original or agency-certified copy; photocopies and notarized copies won’t be accepted) along with a current identity document such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport.¹⁰ If the change happened more than two years ago, SSA may also want an identity document in your prior name. There is no fee for an updated card.

Florida Driver’s License

Once SSA is updated, visit a Florida DHSMV office with your certified court order, proof of your updated Social Security number, proof of identity, and proof of residential address. The replacement fee runs about $25.

U.S. Passport

Which form you use depends on timing. If your current passport was issued less than a year ago and your name was legally changed within that same year, use Form DS-5504 for a free correction.¹¹ If either the passport or the name change is older than a year, use Form DS-82 (if you’re eligible to renew by mail) and pay the standard renewal fee.

IRS

The IRS has no standalone name-change process. Once SSA is updated, the IRS pulls the new name from SSA. If you’re also changing your mailing address, you can note the prior name on Line 5 of Form 8822.¹² The important part is making sure SSA has your new name before you file your next tax return; a mismatch can delay refunds.

Immigration Documents

Lawful permanent residents update the Green Card by filing Form I-90 with USCIS.¹³ If you hold an Employment Authorization Document, file a new Form I-765 with your certified court order and return the document in the old name.¹⁴ Standard filing fees apply to both, though a fee waiver may be available through Form I-912.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 68.07 – Change of Name
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 68.07 – Change of Name
3
Florida Courts. Petition for Change of Name (Adult)
4
Florida Courts. Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.982(a) – Petition for Change of Name (Adult)
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 68 – Miscellaneous Proceedings
6
Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. Instructions for Filing an Action for Name Change – Adult
7
Collier Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. Name Change Fees
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status
9
Florida Courts. Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status
10
Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
11
U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport
12
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822 – Change of Address
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them