Indiana Name Change Petition
In Indiana an adult files a name change petition in the circuit, superior, or probate court of the county where they live, then publishes notice in a newspaper three weeks in a row before the hearing. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Indiana treats an adult name change as a verified proceeding with an unusually detailed disclosure package. The person seeking a new name petitions the circuit, superior, or probate court of the county where they live (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1 and Section 34-28-2-2). What sets the process apart is what the filing has to reveal: for anyone at least seventeen years old it must list the applicant's date of birth, home and mailing address, the number from a driver license, state identification card, or photo exempt identification card, every prior name used, documentation of United States citizenship, whether the applicant holds a valid United States passport, and each felony conviction under state or federal law (Section 34-28-2-2.5). The filing must also conform to Administrative Rule 9 on confidential court records. Before the judge rules, notice runs in a county newspaper of general circulation across three weekly insertions, the final one appearing no fewer than thirty days ahead of the hearing date (Section 34-28-2-3). Once someone verifies the published notice by affidavit, the court weighs the request and enters whatever order and decree it finds just and reasonable (Section 34-28-2-4). Certified copies of that decree then carry the new name to the Social Security Administration, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and every other record. DocDraft assembles your Indiana petition from the details you supply, with attorney review available before anything reaches the clerk.
Key Things to Know
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Three Indiana trial courts can grant an adult name change, the circuit, superior, and probate courts, and you bring your request in whichever one serves the county you live in (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1 and Section 34-28-2-2).
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The filing is unusually revealing: anyone seventeen or older must supply a date of birth, home and mailing address, the number from a driver license, state ID, or photo exempt ID card, a full list of past names, evidence of United States citizenship, a passport statement, and every felony conviction (Section 34-28-2-2.5).
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Notice of the request has to appear three separate weeks in a county newspaper of general circulation, and the last of those insertions must run at least thirty days before the day set for the hearing (Section 34-28-2-3).
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The filing also has to conform to Administrative Rule 9, the rule governing which court records stay confidential, so handle identifying details accordingly (Section 34-28-2-2.5).
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Two categories of applicant are shut out: someone confined in a Department of Correction facility and anyone classified as a lifetime sex or violent offender, with a narrow exception for a change rooted in a sincerely held religious belief (Section 34-28-2-1.5).
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A disinterested person swears an affidavit confirming the notice ran, that proof goes into the file, and only then does the judge take up the matter and enter the order and decree the court considers just and reasonable (Section 34-28-2-4).
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Once the decree is entered, request certified copies from the clerk and carry the new name to the Social Security Administration, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, your passport, and your accounts; the court sets the filing charge locally, and a waiver is available when you cannot pay it.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Name Change Petition in Indiana, 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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Indiana Requirements for Name Change Petition
Indiana routes an adult name change to one of three trial courts, the circuit, superior, or probate court, in the county where the applicant lives. The statute empowers Indiana's circuit, superior, and probate courts to change the names of natural persons on a petition (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1), and directs the petition to the court for the county in which the person resides (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2).
Venue turns on where you live: you bring the petition in the circuit, superior, or probate court of your county of residence (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2). Indiana attaches no minimum durational stay before you may petition; the test is simply that you reside in the filing county. The petition records your residence and mailing address (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2.5).
Notice of the request has to appear three separate weeks in a newspaper of general circulation for the county where the case is filed, and the final weekly insertion cannot run later than thirty days before the day the matter is heard (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-3). Where the county publishes no such newspaper, the notice runs in the paper published nearest to it in an adjoining county.
Your verified petition spells out the name you now hold and the exact name you are asking for, together with why you want the change (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2). The court moves the applicant from the current name to the requested one through the order and decree it considers just and reasonable (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-4).
When the applicant is seventeen or older, the petition supplies the date of birth, residence and mailing address, the number from an Indiana driver license, state identification card, or photo exempt identification card, every prior name used, documentation of United States citizenship, a statement on whether a valid United States passport is held, and a rundown of all felony convictions (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2.5). The filing has to satisfy Administrative Rule 9 on record confidentiality.
Affirm that you seek the change in good faith, not to defraud a creditor, sidestep a legal obligation, judgment, or criminal record, or serve any unlawful end. Indiana shuts the door on two applicants: anyone confined in a Department of Correction facility and anyone classified as a lifetime sex or violent offender cannot petition, save for a change grounded in a sincerely held religious belief (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1.5).
You prove the notice ran by lodging a copy of the published notice backed by the affidavit of a disinterested person; with that proof on file, the court takes up the matter and enters the order and decree it considers just and reasonable (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-4). The final newspaper insertion has to run a minimum of thirty days before that hearing (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-3).
With the order and decree entered, request certified copies from the clerk and carry them to the Social Security Administration, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a reissued license or ID, your passport, and your other records. The court sets the filing charge locally, and a waiver is available when you cannot pay it. Verify the current local forms and charges with your court.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the verified court filing an Indiana adult submits to trade a present legal name for a chosen one. In it you give the name you now hold, state the one you want, confirm you live in the filing county, explain your reason, and hand over the required disclosures, including earlier names, evidence of United States citizenship, and any felony record. After the newspaper notice runs and a hearing occurs, the court signs an order and decree adopting your chosen name (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1 and following).
Bring a verified change-of-name petition before the circuit, superior, or probate court for the county you live in, cover the court's filing charge or ask for a waiver, and run notice in a local newspaper across three weekly insertions with the final one at least thirty days ahead of the hearing (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2 and Section 34-28-2-3). Once the published notice is proven by affidavit, the judge hears the matter and enters the order and decree it considers just and reasonable (Section 34-28-2-4). Certified copies of that decree then update your records.
Yes. Indiana makes you run notice of the request three separate weeks in a newspaper of general circulation for the county where the case sits, and the final weekly insertion cannot appear later than thirty days before the hearing date (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-3). Where the county has no such newspaper, the notice runs instead in the paper published nearest to it in an adjoining county. Written proof that the notice ran is lodged with the court ahead of the hearing.
The county's circuit, superior, or probate court, picked by where the applicant lives. Indiana law empowers those courts to change the names of natural persons on a petition (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-1), and directs the filing to the court for the county in which the person resides (Section 34-28-2-2). Choosing the wrong county can stall the case, so submit it where you actually live.
Indiana ties venue to where you live rather than to any waiting period: you file with the circuit, superior, or probate court of your county of residence (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2). No statute fixes a minimum number of months in the state or county before you may apply; what matters is that you genuinely reside in the filing county. Your filing records your current residence and mailing address alongside the other required disclosures (Section 34-28-2-2.5).
Yes, Indiana sets the request for a hearing. After a disinterested person's affidavit proves that the notice was published, the judge takes up the matter and enters an order and decree the court considers just and reasonable (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-4). Because the last weekly insertion has to run a minimum of thirty days before that hearing (Section 34-28-2-3), line up the publication schedule and the hearing date together.
For an applicant seventeen or older, an Indiana filing sets out the date of birth, residence and mailing address, the number from a driver license, state identification card, or photo exempt identification card, every prior name used, documentation of United States citizenship, a statement on whether a valid United States passport is held, and a rundown of all felony convictions (Indiana Code Section 34-28-2-2.5). The filing is verified and has to satisfy Administrative Rule 9 on record confidentiality.
As soon as the Indiana judge signs the order and decree, ask the clerk for several certified copies. Start with your Social Security record, move on to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a reissued license or ID, then your passport, and finally banks, employers, and other accounts. Every agency runs its own procedure, yet the certified decree is the single proof of your new legal name, so keep one copy permanently for yourself.