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Schools and government agencies are likely to require that your child’s name match the one on their birth certificate.
There are 3 ways to officially change your child’s name.
- You change your own last name
- If you get a name change order, your child can take your new last name if the other parent is notified and agrees. You would need to request this in your court proceeding.
- Paternity
- The parents can sign a paternity acknowledgment form that adds the father’s name to the child’s birth certificate. Using this form, the child can take the father’s last name, or a name combining the parents' names, if both parents agree. A new birth certificate would be issued.
- To change your child’s name for any other reason
- You have to ask the New York State Supreme Court to change your child’s name. To do that, you must fill out and file these court forms:
- Name Change Petition
- Notice to Interested Persons
- Name Change Order
- Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) (original plus 2 copies)
- Index Number Application
- You have to ask the New York State Supreme Court to change your child’s name. To do that, you must fill out and file these court forms:
Where can I get the court forms?
The court system has forms available online at //www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/namechange/index.shtml
Does the court need to see my child’s ID?
Yes. You must submit a certified copy of your child’s birth certificate. In New York, you can get this from the state Department of Health. For more information, please visit them on the web here: //www.health.state.ny.us/vital_records/birth.htm.
What else do I need to know about changing my child’s name?
- Unless the child's other parent has already agreed to the change in a notarized statement or the other parent’s rights have already been terminated, you will need to give them notice of court. This is true even if you have been granted “sole custody”. The other parent might try to block the name change.
- If you are seeking to change your child’s name because of domestic violence and you fear that giving notice of the name change to the child’s other parent will endanger yourself or your child, you may ask the Court to waive the notice requirement.
- The Court will only change your child’s name if there is a good reason. You have to give a reason for the change.
What happens if the other parent does not agree to the name change?
It can be very difficult to change your child’s name if the other parent does not agree to the name change. You can try an informal name change. You should know that the other parent can stop this if they learn about it.
You can find information about name change on the Court’s web site. Please visit //www.courts.state.ny.us/forms/namechange.shtml.
Effective December 21, 2021, publication of name change orders will no longer be required. Instead, the name change will be effective as soon as you file the Judge's order with the County Clerk. You may be required to send a copy to the child's other parent. The court may not, however, require you to send notice to anyone else unless it does so in writing and provides a justification for why it's necessary for you to do that. Finally, you will be able to ask the court to seal the name change records so that no one else can access them without a court order. If you want to do so, you will need to provide the court with an explanation as to why you want the name change record sealed.
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This article provides general information about this subject. Laws affecting this subject may have changed since this article was written. For specific legal advice about a problem you are having, get the advice of a lawyer. Receiving this information does not make you a client of our office.
Last Review Date: September 29, 2021
Probate and Family Court locations
The Details of Legally change the name of a child under 18
the Contents of the Legally change the name of a child under 18 page
In most cases, you’ll file to change your child’s name in
Probate & Family Court. However, if there is already a proceeding about the child taking place in Juvenile Court, you should file to change the child’s name in Juvenile Court instead. The minor child should be listed as the petitioner, and the legal parents or court-appointed
guardian will present the petition to the court. You must give notice to any legal parent or court-appointed guardian who hasn’t approved the petition. Please see the section Serve the papers on the necessary parties for more information. You don't need to file to change your child’s name if: Otherwise, you must file the following forms. Some forms may not display properly in your browser. Please download the forms and open them using Acrobat reader. Please see What to do if you can't open court PDFs for more information. Assent to Petition to Change Name of Minor (CJP 30) if a minor child's legal parent or court-appointed guardian wants to assent to the petition using a separate form.What you need for Legally change the name of a child under 18
Fees for Legally change the name of a child under 18
Local courts accept different types of payments (cash, check, credit card, etc.). Any checks should be made payable to: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Call your court to find out which methods of payment are accepted in that location.
If you can’t pay the filing fee, you can ask to have the fee waived. If you can’t afford court fees, you need to qualify under the federal poverty income guidelines and file an Affidavit of Indigency. This explains your financial situation to the court so the court can decide whether or not you will need to pay your own fees. See our page on indigency to learn more.
If a family wants to change the name of 2 or more children with the same legal parents, you only have to pay the filing fee on 1 of the petitions.
| Filing Fee | $150 | each |
| Surcharge | $15 | each |
| Fee for Citation (Notice) for publication, if required | $15 | each |
| Filing fee for a motion to change name during divorce nisi period (if not requested on divorce complaint or petition) | $100 | each |
How to change Legally change the name of a child under 18
You can file your request to change the name of your child at your local Probate and Family Court.
You may submit your required forms for a name change to the Probate and Family Court in the county where you live.
You can eFile a Change of Name online at eFileMA. For more information on how to eFile, please see eFiling in the Probate and Family Court.
Next steps for Legally change the name of a child under 18
After the petition is filed, the Probation Department will conduct a CARI and WMS check for any child who is 12 or older.
You need to give public notice of the petition by publishing it. The court will send you the citation for publication. If a family wants to change the name of 2 or more children with the same legal parents or guardians, you will only have to issue 1 citation. You must arrange to have the citation published in a local newspaper and mailed according to the instructions given in the order of notice on the citation. The mailing must be by certified mail, return receipt requested.
You must also give notice to any legal parent or court-appointed guardian who hasn’t approved the petition by serving a copy of the petition by mail, return receipt requested. See Service of Process in the Courts for more information.
You don’t need to give notice if:
- The legal parent or guardian has completed an adoption surrender
- The court has terminated parental rights
- The court has otherwise waived notice
If the name change is requested by anyone who is incarcerated, on probation or parole, or committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center as a sexually dangerous person, you must also serve the citation by mail on:
- The Massachusetts Department of Correction or the Massachusetts Parole Board
- The office of the prosecuting official (District Attorney, Attorney General, or U.S. Attorney) and the sheriff’s office(s) in the jurisdiction where the conviction(s) or delinquency adjudications happened
- The Sex Offender Registry Board and the prosecuting official if you’re required to register as a sex offender
After publication and mailing, return the following to the court:
- The original citation with a clipping of the notice from the newspaper
- The green return receipt postcard
- Your signature certifying that you mailed and published the notice
If you have a good reason that the notice shouldn’t be published, you can file a motion to waive publication. You must file an affidavit (a sworn statement) with the motion explaining why you don’t want the notice published. You may have to go before a judge to present your reasons.
More info for Legally change the name of a child under 18
How soon your case will be heard will depend on the backlog of cases in the Probate and Family Court where your case has been filed. If an in-person hearing isn’t required in your case, once you have returned proof of service to the court and the return date has passed, the case will be sent to the judge.
If there are objections to the petition, the court will conduct a trial to hear them. The court can either dismiss the petition or enter a decree permitting the name change. If there are no objections, the court may make a decision without a hearing.
If the name change is allowed, the court will issue you a decree of change of name. You can request a certificate for a fee
Downloads for Legally change the name of a child under 18
Contact for Legally change the name of a child under 18
- Legally change your name as an adult
- Find out who can change their name
- Uniform Probate and Family Court Practice XXXV: Change of name actions
- Chat or text with a law librarian
- What to do if you can't open court PDFs