Washington, DC Name Change Requirements

General Summary of Name Change Laws

In the District of Columbia, an adult who wishes to change his or her name must be a resident of the District of Columbia. The Application informs the Court of the Applicant’s name, the name the Applicant wishes to assume, the reasons for the change and other personal information required by statute. The Petition must be Notarized.

A party filing an Application for name change for an adult shall present to the Court, upon filing of the Application and other forms, an official copy of his/her birth certificate or current passport (check with the Clerk), as well as the filing fee. The Applicant shall be responsible for the court costs as well as any other fees incurred throughout the name change process.

At the time of the first filing, the Clerk of the Court will set a date for the final hearing and inquire if anyone is entitled to notice of the Application and of the final hearing. In the unlikely situation where the Court requires notice to somebody, notice of the hearing, together with a copy of the Application, must be served personally upon the persons designated by the Court.

The Court will return to the Applicant the Order of Publication, which will state in which newspaper publication must be made. Notice must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. To prove to the Court that (s)he has met the publication requirement, the Applicant must obtain an affidavit of an officer or agent of the publisher of the newspaper stating the dates of publication with an attached copy of the notice as published.

In the overwhelming majority of Applications no Court appearance or oral testimony before a Judge will be required. Nonetheless, should a hearing be scheduled the Court shall proceed at chambers to hear and determine all matters raised by the Application and to render final judgment or decree thereon. The Court may then proceed to enter an Order of approval of name change.

The procedure for changing a minor’s name in the District of Columbia is similar to the Adult process. Please remember our name change materials are for simple uncontested name change actions only. As such, our District of Columbia Minor products include an Affidavit Supportive of Petition form for both of the minor’s biological parents. If one parent has not completed an Affidavit Supportive of Petition, then notice must be served on that parent.

The granting of a Petition for change of name is discretionary with the Court, and the Court may deny a Petition on grounds, which would not constitute lawful objection. For an Order of name change to be granted, the Court must find sufficient reasons for the change and also find the name change in the interest or to the benefit of the Petitioner and in the interest of the public. A person is not allowed to change their name in order to avoid judgments or legal actions against him or her, or to avoid debts and obligations. A person cannot change their name to defraud another person.

The law which governs name changes in the District of Columbia is Title 16 Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters, Chapter 25 Change of Name. This information can be reviewed at: http://michie.lexisnexis.com/dc/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=.