Need To Get Your Name Changed?

Call Attorney Jackson F. Gorski at 512-960-4646 for help.

In Texas, changing your name is a simple process if all requirements are met and correct procedure followed. Whereas marriage and divorce results in most name changes, one can also obtain name change through a separate or independent process. When a name change involves marriage it should be sought when acquiring a marriage license, and in case of divorce, it should be obtained when acquiring a decree of divorce, but it’s possible to have it done afterwards.

Other circumstances require you to file a petition with the court and the court will have to sign an order granting you a name change. The court though has to make sure you have met certain requirements that will not bring about legal problems .e.g. if it is the name of a child, there are added requirements by the court which should be served by the parents or conservators of the child and the name change must suit the best interest of the child.

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Petitions for Adult Name Changes in Texas

The state of Texas allows you to file a petition for a name change at county courthouse in the jurisdiction where you live. The procedures and required forms are determined by the state while hearings and filing fees are determined by county courts.

The steps are as follows:

1. You should obtain an original petition for name change of an adult form and another form granting a change of name.
2. Complete the initial petition for name change of adult
3. You should complete the granting order of change of name but do not sign as the judge is the one to sign once your petition has been reviewed and the hearing has taken place.
4. You should have your fingerprints taken in order with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which accepts fingerprints on a card format.
5. You now file the petition, proposed order and fingerprint card in your district or local county court.
6. Get a copy of your file from the clerk’s office and present it to the docket or hearing clerk when attending the hearings, which in some courts may go for a day.

File the signed order with the court clerk’s office. A certificate of the name change will then be provided to you by the clerk as a certified copy of the order.

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Petitions for Child Name Changes in Texas

When requesting a name change for a child, Texas law requires that the petition be adhered to by a process server or constable on each parent of the child or guardian or conservator that are not victims of parental rights termination. Unlike petition for adult name change, the petition for a child’s name change requires the following:

1. The place of residence and present name of the child.
2. The reason for requiring a name change.
3. The full names requested for the child.
4. If there was a previous court order regarding the child, and if there is any court that has continuing jurisdiction under chapter 155(g) of the Texas family code.
5. In cases where the child is 10 years of age or older, the petition must be attached with the child’s written consent to the change of name.

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Possible Reasons for Name Changes

• Recent marriage or divorce.
• Child Adoptions.
• Religious reasons.
• Political statements.
• Dislike of your current name.
• If upon marriage, the husband takes the wife’s name.
• If couples combine their surnames to form a new one.

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