Louisiana Name Change Petition

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A name change petition lets an adult take a new legal name by court judgment; Louisiana requires no newspaper publication and instead runs the case contradictorily with the parish district attorney, who is served and may respond before the judge signs the judgment.

2. 2

   You present the petition to the district court of the parish where you reside, or the parish of your birth, or the parish of venue for the Vital Records Registry (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751).

3. 3

   Louisiana does not require newspaper publication. Instead the case is carried on contradictorily with the district attorney of the parish, who represents the state and is served with the petition and citation to answer (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4752).

4. 4

   The judge hears and determines the case either in open court or in chambers and renders judgment as the nature of the relief and the law and the evidence justify (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4753).

5. 5

   A person convicted of a felony cannot petition for a name change until the sentence is satisfied, whether imprisoned or on probation or parole, and a person convicted of a violent felony listed in Section 14:2(B) is barred entirely (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751).

6. 6

   The petition must set forth the reasons for the desired change, and the court grants the change only when the request is lawful and supported by the evidence (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751 and Section 13:4753).

7. 7

   After the judgment is signed, obtain a certified copy from the clerk to update Social Security, your Louisiana 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.

Louisiana Requirements for Name Change Petition

• District Court in Your Parish of Residence

  An adult name change in Louisiana is filed by presenting a petition to the district court. You present it to the district court of the parish of your residence, the parish of your birth, or the parish of venue for the Vital Records Registry, or, if incarcerated, the parish where you were sentenced (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751).

• Residency and Parish Venue

  You file in the district court of the parish where you reside (or the parish of your birth or the parish of venue for the Vital Records Registry). Louisiana sets no fixed durational residency period for a name change; the requirement is that you file in one of those proper parishes (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751).

• Contradictory Proceeding With the District Attorney

  Louisiana does not require newspaper publication. Instead the proceeding is carried on contradictorily with the district attorney of the parish where the application is made, who represents the state and must be served with a copy of the petition and citation to answer (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4752).

• Present Name and Proposed New Name

  The petition must identify your present legal name and the exact new name you are requesting, and set forth the reasons for the desired change (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751). The court changes the name from the present name to the proposed name in its judgment.

• Reasons for the Change

  The petition must set forth the reasons for the desired change (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751). The judge hears and determines the case and renders such judgment as the nature of the relief and the law and the evidence justify (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4753).

• Good Faith and No Fraud

  State that the change is made in good faith and not to defraud a creditor, evade a legal obligation, judgment, or criminal record, or for any unlawful purpose. The district attorney reviews the petition as the state's representative, and the judge grants the change only when the law and the evidence justify it (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4752 and Section 13:4753).

• Felony Conviction Restrictions

  A person convicted of a felony cannot petition for a name change until the sentence has been satisfied, whether imprisoned or on probation or parole, and a person convicted of any felony enumerated as a crime of violence in Section 14:2(B) is barred from petitioning entirely (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4751).

• Judgment and Certified Copies

  The judge hears and determines the case in open court or in chambers and renders judgment (Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 13:4753). After the judgment is signed, order a certified copy from the clerk of court and use it to update Social Security, your Louisiana driver license or ID, your passport, and other records. The filing fee is set by the court and a fee waiver is available.