Name Change Article


Name Change in Arizona

If, for any good reason, you wish to change your name or the name of a minor who you are responsible for, the steps can be quite simple. Name change should not be used for reasons like: avoiding responsibilities and obligations, avoiding creditors or the other parent/guardian of a child. This article does not focus on name change as part of a marriage or a divorce, as those cases can be different. The article first summarizes the steps for a name change with the Arizona courts and then some general information about following up to change your birth certificate, social security card, and driver license.

Steps with the Arizona Courts
  1. Get the name change forms.
    You can go online at https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter/Forms/Name-Change or in person at a court location closest to where you live. If you don't know where your court is you can use the court locator to find your local court https://www.azcourts.gov/AZ-Courts/AZ-Courts-Locator.

    It is best to double check with your court’s staff if the forms are still relevant and up to date. For Maricopa County, this is the current website https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/llrc/civil-court-forms/. For Pima County, their law library can provide you with this information https://www.sc.pima.gov/default.aspx?tabid=60.

  2. Fill out the forms, which may ask for personal information like your contact information, birth, children, marital history, criminal history, etc.

  3. File the completed forms with your court and pay a filing fee.

  4. Inform any interested parties mentioned in the forms. For example, another parent of a minor child.

  5. Attend a hearing for the judicial officer to sign the court order with the name change and pay a fee for one or more certified copies of the order.

Following Up with Other Places
  1. To change your birth certificate, follow up with your relevant birth records office.
    For those born in Maricopa County, this is the current website https://azdhs.gov/licensing/vital-records/index.php#corrections-amendments-registrants-name. For those born in Pima County and 1996 or before that, also follow up with the Phoenix office; for those born in Pima County and 1997 to now, follow up with the Tucson office http://www.agave.cosc.pima.gov/home.asp?include=pages/name_changes.htm.

  2. To change your social security card, this is the current website with details https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-01981.

  3. To change your driver license, this is the current website with details https://azdot.gov/motor-vehicles/driver-services/driver-license-information/change-your-address-or-name. Since the Arizona Department of Transportation uses the Social Security computer system to check for your name change, you need to change your name with Social Security first and wait at least 2 days for the Social Security system to be updated. Only then can you change your driver license.

Contributing Attorney: Ke Huang-Isherwood is an attorney who is an independent legal and communication researcher.

Comments:

QUESTIONS

  • my 6 year old son lives with his grandparents and we want to get his last name changed can the grandparents change it without my the other parents permission and my son says grandpa is more of a dad to him then his birth dad
  • I agreed to allow my son's father to change his last name. I signed the paperwork a full year ago, but he never processed it. Is there a statute of limitations on the petition I signed? My son was 20 months at the time and has since learned his full given name, so no longer wish to change his name
  • I am divorced and kept my married name. I am now getting married again and upon marriage want to change my last name to my maiden name hyphenated with my new husband's last name. Can I do this and what do I need to do to make that happen?
  • how do you get the fathers name off the child's birth certificate and change the child's name to the mother's last name. have been divorced for 2 years and the father has abandoned the child no contact and no child support
  • I came from a very dysfunctional home.I never did get married,as luck has it.I been thinking about changing it to my great grandmothers last name.Can this be done since I wont be getting married anytime soon,cAN A PERSON ALSO CHANGE THERE FIRST NAME MY BROTHER HAS COMMITTED D. V. IS MY OTHER CONCERN WE LIVE IN FEAR OF HIM FINDING ME,
  • My daughter's father has been incarcerated since she was 5 months old . we get no help from him or his family. does he have to be informed and approve to change her name to my last name? he has a 25 to life sentence.
  • I got divorced and in the decree it did not grant me permission to change my name. I took the decree to the Soc Sec office and the still processed it. I have a new Soc card and drivers license with my maiden name. But keep having trouble as it was never officially changed in the courts. Do I have to file for a name change and pay the fee or is there a way to add it into the decree so I can officially go back to my maiden name?
  • I would like to change my last name. What would be the first thing I would need to do?
  • when you graduate medical school, do you have to legally change your name to DR.?
  • I got married in Tucson and now divorced. i didn't return back to my maiden last name when it was finalized. but i wish to change my last name, but not to my maiden last name but to my childrens last name. do i have to go back and file for a name change in Tucson, or can i do it here in Phoenix? My children have their dads last name and we don't want to get married but do i need his permission to do so? Do i have to change my birth cert to the last name change or can i just keep it as maiden once i change?

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FIND LEGAL HELP

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OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES

  • State Bar of Arizona
    www.azbar.org
  • Maricopa County Bar
    www.maricopabar.org
    Referral number 602-257-4434
  • Pima County Bar
    www.pimacountybar.org
    Referral number 520-623-4625
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    800-799-7233
  • Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
    866-553-0893
  • Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
    Link

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RELATED ARTICLES

How To Change Your Name

Where to Find an Attorney for Specific Legal Advice

LINKS

Birth Certificates - Arizona Office of Vital Records

Maricopa County Judicial Branch

Maricopa County Judicial Branch Self-Service Center Online

Arizona Supreme Court Programs Unit

Arizona 2-1-1

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