Illinois Name Change Petition
Illinois dropped newspaper publication from adult name changes on March 1, 2025. You file in the Circuit Court for your county on the Supreme Court form. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Illinois rewrote its adult name-change law on March 1, 2025, and the headline is what the process dropped: newspaper publication. Public Act 103-1063 repealed the old publication section, 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-103, so a person asking a court for a new name no longer prints any notice in a paper. To begin, an adult files a petition for change of name in the Circuit Court for the county of residence, on the statewide standardized form the Illinois Supreme Court approved (Section 21-101 and Section 21-102 of the Code of Civil Procedure). The residency test is short and tied to timing rather than the filing date: three months of in-state residence measured at the hearing or when the judge enters the order. Sensitive filings are handled unusually, too. Criminal-history records placed in the case are sealed from view outside the proceeding (Section 21-102), and someone normally blocked by a registrable conviction can still ask for a new name when the reason is marriage, religious beliefs, being a trafficking victim, or gender-related identity as the Illinois Human Rights Act defines it. A party living outside the state must get notice at least 10 days ahead of any hearing (Section 21-104). Once the judge signs the order, certified copies carry the new legal name to Social Security, the Secretary of State for your driver license, and every other record. DocDraft assembles your petition from the facts you provide, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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The headline is a repeal: since March 1, 2025 under Public Act 103-1063, no adult petitioner publishes notice in a paper, because the former section 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-103 is gone.
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You bring the case in the Circuit Court for the county of residence, on the statewide standardized form the Illinois Supreme Court approved (Section 21-101 and Section 21-102 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
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Residency is measured at the finish line, not the start: three months of in-state residence as of the hearing or the entry of the order granting the change (Section 21-101).
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Sensitive records stay private. Criminal-history material filed in the matter is sealed from disclosure outside the proceeding on your petition (Section 21-102).
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The conviction bar carries real exceptions. Someone required to register under the Sex Offender, Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth, or Arsonist statutes, or serving an uncompleted felony sentence, usually cannot petition, yet may proceed when the reason is marriage, religious beliefs, trafficking-victim status, or gender-related identity under the Illinois Human Rights Act, or once pardoned (Section 21-101).
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A party living outside the state who must be told about the case gets that notice at least 10 days ahead of any hearing (Section 21-104).
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There is no do-it-yourself common law route: changes adopted on or after July 1, 2010 outside marriage or a legal proceeding are invalid (Section 21-105), so the petition is the path. Afterward, certified copies from the clerk update Social Security, the Secretary of State for your license, and your passport; the court sets the filing fee and a waiver is available.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Name Change Petition in Illinois, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Name Change Petition guide walks through them.
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Illinois Requirements for Name Change Petition
Venue is the Circuit Court for the county of residence. The statute lets a resident who wants a new name file a petition for that relief in the circuit court of the county wherein he or she resides (Section 21-101 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-101).
Residency is measured at the end, not the start: you need three months in the state as of the hearing or the entry of the order granting the change (735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-101). Public Act 103-1063 cut this from six months, effective March 1, 2025. The case stays in the Circuit Court for the county where you live.
Publication is off the table. Public Act 103-1063 repealed the former publication section, 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-103, effective March 1, 2025, so no petitioner prints notice of the change in any newspaper. Ending it removes the public exposure the old rule created for survivors of violence and for people aligning their name with their gender identity.
On the statewide standardized form the Illinois Supreme Court approved, set out your present legal name, the exact name you are requesting, your residence, how long you have lived in the state, and your nativity (Section 21-102 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure). The court then enters an order carrying you from the present name to the requested one.
Give the reason for the request, whether it is a name you have long used, a return after divorce, or aligning your legal name with your gender-related identity. Because common law changes adopted on or after July 1, 2010 are invalid (735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-105), the court petition is the only lawful route for an adult resident.
Swear the change is sought in good faith and not to defraud a creditor, dodge a legal obligation, judgment, or criminal record, or for any unlawful end. A person who must register under the sex-offender, murderer-and-violent-offender-against-youth, or arsonist statutes, and is not pardoned, generally cannot petition, and a person with an uncompleted felony sentence cannot unless pardoned; the first group may still proceed when the change is for marriage, religious beliefs, trafficking-victim status, or gender-related identity as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act (735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-101).
The statute contemplates a hearing, with the order granting the change entered at or after it; a party outside the state must be given notice at least 10 days beforehand (735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-104). Any criminal-history records placed in the file are sealed from disclosure outside the proceeding on the petition (Section 21-102 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure).
Once the order is entered, get certified copies from the clerk and take them to Social Security, the Secretary of State for your driver license or ID, the passport agency, and your other records. The filing fee is set by the court, varies by county, and a waiver is available if you cannot afford it. Confirm the current form and fee with your Circuit Court clerk.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the court filing an adult uses to obtain a new legal name. You give your current name and the one you want, confirm you live in the county of filing and will meet the three-month residency by the hearing or order, state your reason, and swear the request is not meant to defraud anyone or dodge the law. When the court is satisfied and enters its order, the requested name becomes yours (Section 21-101 and following of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure).
You file a petition for change of name in the Circuit Court for the county of residence, on the statewide standardized form the Illinois Supreme Court approved, and either pay the filing fee or ask for a waiver (Section 21-101 and 21-102). Since March 1, 2025 there is no newspaper publication step, because that section was repealed. The judge enters an order granting the change, and certified copies then let you update your records.
No. That requirement is gone. Public Act 103-1063 repealed the old publication section, 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/21-103, effective March 1, 2025, so a petitioner no longer prints notice in any paper. Ending it matters most for people once exposed by going public, including survivors of violence and those aligning their name with their gender identity. Separately, criminal-history records filed in the case are sealed from disclosure outside the proceeding (Section 21-102).
The Circuit Court. The statute directs a resident who wants a new name to file where he or she resides (Section 21-101 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure). Choosing the wrong county can stall things, so file where you actually live.
Yes, and it is short. You must have lived in the state for three months as of the hearing or the entry of the order granting the change (Section 21-101); Public Act 103-1063 cut this from the earlier six months. Venue still follows residence, so the petition goes to the Circuit Court for your current county.
The statute speaks of a hearing, with the court granting the change at or after it (Section 21-101). When someone who must be notified lives outside the state, that notice has to reach them at least 10 days beforehand (Section 21-104 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure). Whether and how you appear depends on your Circuit Court's local rules, so check with the clerk.
Sometimes, and yes. A person who must register under the Sex Offender Registration Act, the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act, or the Arsonist Registration Act, and is not pardoned, generally cannot petition while registration lasts, and someone with an uncompleted felony sentence cannot unless pardoned (Section 21-101). The carve-out: a person in that first group may still proceed when the change is for marriage, religious beliefs, trafficking-victim status, or gender-related identity as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act.
After the judge signs the order, request several certified copies from the clerk. Start with your Social Security record, move to the Secretary of State for your driver license or ID and then your passport, and finish with banks, employers, and other accounts. Each agency runs its own update, but the certified order is the proof of your new name, so keep at least one copy.