Colorado Name Change Petition

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A name change petition lets an adult take a new legal name by court order; Colorado is unusual in requiring a petitioner over fourteen to submit a fingerprint-based CBI and FBI criminal history check before the court grants it.

2. 2

   You file the petition in the district court or the county court of the county where you live, and confirm which court with the clerk (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101).

3. 3

   If you are over fourteen, you must submit a certified, fingerprint-based criminal history record check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, taken within ninety days before filing (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1)).

4. 4

   Unless the court finds good cause to excuse it, you publish public notice of the change at least three times within twenty-one days after the court enters the order for publication (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-102(1)).

5. 5

   Public notice is not required if the change is to conform your name to your gender identity (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-102(4)), or if you are a victim of domestic violence, child abuse, or domestic abuse (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-102(2)).

6. 6

   Colorado does not require a hearing; on proof of publication, or an order that publication is not required, the court orders the change if satisfied it is proper and not detrimental to any other person (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(2)).

7. 7

   After the order is signed, order certified copies from the clerk to update Social Security, your Colorado driver license or ID, your passport, and other records. The filing fee is set by the court and a fee waiver is available if you cannot afford it.

Colorado Requirements for Name Change Petition

• District or County Court in Your County of Residence

  An adult name change in Colorado is filed in the district court or the county court in the county where the petitioner resides; both courts have jurisdiction, so confirm with the clerk which court that county uses (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1)).

• Residency and Venue

  You file in the county where you reside, and the petition must include your full name, the new name desired, and a concise statement of the reason for the change (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1)). Colorado sets no fixed durational residency period for a name change; the requirement is that you reside in the county where you file.

• Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Check

  If you are over fourteen, the petition must include the results of a certified, fingerprint-based criminal history record check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conducted within ninety days before filing (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1)). You supply the fingerprints and pay for the check. This step is required in Colorado even though many states do not require it.

• Newspaper Publication of the Public Notice

  Unless you show good cause otherwise, the court orders you to publish public notice of the change at least three times within twenty-one days after the order for publication, in a newspaper in your county (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1.5) and Section 13-15-102(1)). Publication is not required for a change conforming to gender identity (Section 13-15-102(4)) or for a victim of domestic violence, child abuse, or domestic abuse (Section 13-15-102(2)).

• Present Name, Proposed New Name, and Reason

  The verified petition must state your present full legal name, the new name you want, and a concise statement of the reason for the change (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(1)). The court changes the name from the present name to the proposed name in its order.

• Good Faith and No Fraud

  State that the change is made in good faith, would be proper, and is not detrimental to the interests of any other person, and is not sought to defraud a creditor, evade a legal obligation, judgment, or criminal record, or for any unlawful purpose. A Colorado court shall not grant a name change to a petitioner previously convicted of a felony except through the narrow driver-license process in the statute (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(2) and (3)).

• Order on the Papers, No Required Hearing

  Colorado's statute does not require a hearing. On receipt of proof of publication, or an order that publication is not required, the court orders the change if it is satisfied the change would be proper and not detrimental to the interests of any other person (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-101(2)). Many adult name changes are granted on the papers once publication and the criminal history check are complete.

• Certified Copies and Publication Waivers

  After the order is signed, order certified copies from the clerk and use them to update Social Security, your Colorado driver license or ID, your passport, and other records. For safety, publication is waived for a victim of domestic violence, child abuse, or domestic abuse (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-15-102(2)), and a change conforming to gender identity is exempt from publication (Section 13-15-102(4)). The filing fee is set by the court and a fee waiver is available.