A name is an intensely personal identifier, which some people choose to change for various reasons. A name change may be the result of a marriage or a divorce, or it may also be the result of personal preference for another moniker. In
DuPage County Name Changes
Persons who wish to change their name after marriage do not have to procure a court order; they simply have to present a certified copy of their marriage certificate to certain agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the IRS and the DMV. Name changes as a result of divorce can be handled simultaneously with a court’s divorce decree. When a person wants to change her name after a divorce decree is final or for any other personal reason, she must petition the court and go through certain steps to legalize the name change.
DuPage Name Change Eligibility Requirements
In
- A person must be 18 years of age or older. (Minor children follow different guidelines).
- A person must be a resident of
- A person who is required to register as a sex offender cannot petition for a name change.
- A person who is not required to register as a sex offender, but who has any felony convictions or certain misdemeanor sexual offenses, cannot change his name until 10 years after the end of his sentence.
DuPage County Name Change Forms
After determining eligibility to petition for a name change, the next step is to complete three forms, which are available at the Clerk of Circuit Court in
- Request for a Name Change. This form gathers personal information from each petitioner, including the reason for the name change. The form must be signed by a witness who knows the petitioner.
- Notice of Filing a Request for a Name Change. This form includes the information a petitioner must provide to a local newspaper that will publish the notice of a name change. The newspaper must publish the information once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the first date of publication must be six weeks before the hearing date. After the notice has been published for three consecutive weeks, the newspaper will provide the petitioner with a Certificate of Publication, which must be filed with the clerk of court.
- Order for Name Change. This form is the court order that must be signed by the judge who grants a name change. In order for someone’s name to be changed on a Social Security card, driver’s license and other documents, this form must be presented.
Paying Fee and Scheduling Hearing
When all the forms have been completed, and the petitioner receives a Certificate of Publication from the newspaper, the petitioner schedules a hearing date with the clerk of court. Fees vary in each
Attending Name Change Hearing
At the DuPage County name change hearing, petitioners must bring:
- Three forms: Request for Name Change, Notice of Filing a Request for Name Change and Order for Name Change.
- Certificate of Publication from the newspaper.
- Photo ID showing petitioner’s current name.
- Petitioners with a felony or a sexual misdemeanor conviction on record must bring evidence to show the judge that it’s been 10 years since the end of their sentence.
After reviewing all the documentation, the judge may ask questions of the petitioner, including the reason for the name change. The judge then grants or denies the name change.
References
Writer Bio
Victoria Lee Blackstone was formerly with Freddie Mac’s mortgage acquisition department, where she funded multi-million-dollar loan pools for primary lending institutions, worked on a mortgage fraud task force and wrote the convertible ARM section of the company’s policies and procedures manual. Currently, Blackstone is a professional writer with expertise in the fields of mortgage, finance, budgeting, tax and law. She is the author of more than 2,000 published works for newspapers, magazines, online publications and individual clients.