Where do I go to get a legal name change?
If you are a US citizen, actually changing your name is easy – you can do this yourself – you don’t need an attorney. Go to your local Probate Court (usually county) – the Probate Court is where you legally change your name. Ask the clerks at the Probate Court for the forms and the procedures for changing your name – it depends on the court; sometimes you get clerks that will tell you every detail of the process; sometimes you get clerks that won’t tell you anything; and you also can get clerks anywhere in that spectrum. Fill out the forms. (Make copies of EVERYTHING BEFORE you give the forms to the clerks for filing!) You will need to take some money with you for the filing fee – every court is different – this could run anywhere from $50 to $200 – every court is different. The clerks will schedule you for a hearing before the Judge. The timeframe for this could be: anywhere from the hearing happening that day, to the hearing happening in six months – every court is different, and it
