To change your name in Indiana, you file a Name Change Petition in the circuit, superior, or probate court of the county where you live, together with an Order Setting Hearing, a proposed Name Change Order for the judge to sign, and — if you do not have a lawyer — an Appearance by Self-Represented Party form. The blank Indiana name change forms are free to download from Indiana Legal Help or pick up at your county clerk’s office, and you can also complete the petition through Indiana Legal Help’s guided “Easy Form” tool.1Indiana Legal Help. Name and Gender Marker Change
The Core Forms Packet
Four documents make up the basic filing for an adult name change:
- Name Change Petition — the main document asking the court to change your name.
- Order Setting Hearing — tells the clerk to put your case on the judge’s calendar.
- Name Change Order — left blank for the judge to sign if your petition is granted.
- Appearance by Self-Represented Party — required if you are filing without an attorney.
Bringing all four to the clerk at the same time avoids a second trip. You can complete them by hand from the downloadable packet or use the Easy Form interview, which fills them in from your answers.1Indiana Legal Help. Name and Gender Marker Change
What the Petition Must Include
Indiana Code 34-28-2-2.5 lists what every adult petitioner has to disclose on the petition itself. Leave anything out and the court can reject the filing. For anyone seventeen or older, the petition must state:
- Date of birth
- Current residence address, and mailing address if different
- Indiana driver’s license or state ID number (or photo-exempt ID number)
- All previous names you have used
- Proof of U.S. citizenship
- A statement about whether you hold a valid U.S. passport
- All felony convictions under federal or any state’s law
These items come straight from the statute.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-2.53Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-2
Two groups cannot file at all: anyone confined in a Department of Correction facility, and anyone classified as a lifetime sex or violent offender. A narrow exception allows a lifetime offender who is not currently required to register to petition based on a sincerely held religious belief, with written notice to law enforcement in both the county of conviction and the county of residence.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-1.5
Where and How to File
The petition goes to the clerk of the circuit, superior, or probate court in your county of residence.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-2 You can file in person at the clerk’s office or submit electronically through the Indiana E-Filing System, which works for any Indiana court.5Indiana Legal Help. How to Electronically File Forms with the Court
Expect a filing fee of roughly $157 in many counties, though the exact amount varies. Call your county clerk ahead of time to confirm the fee and which payment methods they accept; some offices do not take personal checks. Once the clerk processes the filing, you receive a case number and a hearing date. Put the case number on everything you file after that.
If You Cannot Afford the Fee
Ask the court to waive the filing fee by submitting a Verified Motion for Fee Waiver, form CCA-GF-0420-3006, available on Indiana Legal Help.6Indiana Legal Help. Verified Motion for Fee Waiver The motion asks you to show you lack sufficient income or resources to cover the costs.
Publishing Notice After You File
Filing is not the last paperwork. Indiana law requires you to publish notice of your petition in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where you filed. The notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the last run must appear at least thirty days before your hearing.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-3 If your county has no newspaper, use the nearest paper in an adjoining county.
You arrange and pay for the publication yourself. Call the newspaper’s legal notices department for a quote and schedule the first run as soon as you have your hearing date. When the three weeks finish, the paper gives you a copy of the published notice and an affidavit from a disinterested person verifying it ran. File that affidavit with the court as your proof of publication.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-4
Extra Notice for Felony Convictions
If you have a felony conviction from the past ten years, you also have to serve written notice of your petition on three additional parties at least thirty days before the hearing: the sheriff of your county, the prosecuting attorney of your county, and the Indiana central repository for criminal history information. The notice to the central repository must include your full name, requested new name, date of birth, address, physical description, and a full set of classifiable fingerprints. The repository then sends any criminal records to the court. Skipping this step is a Class A misdemeanor.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-3
Asking to Skip Publication for Safety
Publishing your name, address, and intended new name can be dangerous if you are escaping domestic violence or stalking. The standard forms packet includes a Verified Request to Prohibit Public Access that asks the judge to waive publication and seal the case. You will need evidence that publication would create a substantial risk of harm, such as a protective order, a no-contact order, or documentation of threats. The judge decides under Administrative Court Rule 6.9Clark County Clerk of Courts. Adult Name Change Forms
The Hearing and the Signed Order
Bring the proof-of-publication affidavit to your hearing if you have not already filed it. The judge confirms publication was timely, the petition includes the required disclosures, and no one has filed an objection. If the court finds the change “just and reasonable,” the judge signs the Name Change Order and the change is official. A copy of the signed order goes to the Indiana State Police.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-3
Before you leave the courthouse, buy several certified copies of the signed order from the clerk. You will need them for the Social Security Administration, the BMV, your bank, your employer, and any passport application. Fees for certified copies vary by county but are usually modest, and running out later means another trip to the clerk.
Different Forms for a Minor’s Name Change
A parent or guardian files the petition for a child under seventeen, and the paperwork is not interchangeable with the adult packet. The petition must be verified (signed under oath) and must state in detail the reason for the request. Written consent from the other parent — or from the guardian, if both parents are dead — has to be filed with the petition. The only exception is where a parent’s consent is not required under Indiana’s adoption consent statute (IC 31-19-9), which covers abandonment, termination of parental rights, and similar situations.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-2
Both parents or the guardian must also be served under the Indiana Trial Rules. The published notice for a minor’s case has to include the petitioner’s name, the child’s current name, the desired new name, the court name, the filing date, and a statement that anyone may appear and object. The court cannot issue the final decree until at least thirty days after the later of the proof of publication or service on the parents. If a parent objects, the judge holds a hearing and applies the best-interest-of-the-child standard, with a built-in presumption favoring a parent who has been paying child support and meeting other duties under a support or custody decree.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 – Section 34-28-2-4
When You Do Not Need These Forms
Two life events let you change your name without filing a name change petition at all.
After a marriage, you can adopt your spouse’s surname by taking a certified copy of your marriage license to the Social Security Administration and applying for a new card. No court petition is needed, because the marriage certificate itself is the legal authority.10indy.gov. Change Your Name This path only covers taking your spouse’s last name. A new first name or a different combination still requires the full petition.
During a divorce, a woman who wants to restore her maiden name or a previous married name can request the restoration in her dissolution petition, and the court must grant it in the divorce decree. The statute does not extend this right to lifetime sex or violent offenders.11Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 31 – Section 31-15-2-18 If you finalize the divorce without that request, you have to go through the standard name change process afterward.
After the Judge Signs
The signed order changes your name legally, but each agency and institution has to be updated on its own. Start with the Social Security Administration, because other agencies generally require SSA records to match before they will act.
At SSA, submit Form SS-5 at your local office with the original or a certified copy of the court order and a current identity document such as your driver’s license or passport. SSA will not accept photocopies or notarized copies. If the name change happened more than two years ago, you may also need an identity document in your prior name. The replacement card is free.12Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
Wait at least one business day after SSA processes the change before visiting an Indiana BMV branch with the certified court order and your current license or ID. The BMV accepts a court order approving a name change as supporting documentation.13Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Amending Your Driver’s License or Identification Card
For a U.S. passport, the form depends on timing. If both the passport and the name change are less than a year old, use Form DS-5504 by mail at no charge, or pay $60 for expedited service. If either is more than a year old, use Form DS-82 by mail or Form DS-11 in person, with the applicable passport fees.14U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport The IRS has no dedicated name-change form; it pulls your name from SSA records, so once SSA updates, your tax records follow. Filing a return before SSA has synced can cause processing delays.15Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822 – Change of Address
After the government agencies, work through your bank, credit cards, employer payroll, health insurance, voter registration, and any professional licenses. Most will ask for a certified copy of the court order or your updated driver’s license as proof.