Florida Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name

Florida handles most adult and minor name changes through a single statute, Fla. Stat. §68.07, filed as a petition in circuit court. The process is distinctive for one requirement most states do not impose: nearly every petitioner must submit fingerprints for a state and national criminal-history check before a judge will grant the change.

Divorce works differently. Florida excludes name restoration after a dissolution of marriage from §68.07 entirely, so a divorcing spouse who wants a former name back handles it inside the divorce case itself, not through a separate name-change petition.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How to Legally Change Your Name in Florida

An adult petitions for a name change in the circuit court, sitting in its chancery jurisdiction, in the county where the petitioner is a bona fide resident and domiciled. The statute does not specify a separate durational residency period beyond that bona fide residence.

The petition uses the Florida Supreme Court's standardized forms: Form 12.982(a), Petition for Change of Name (Adult), and Form 12.982(b), Final Judgment of Change of Name (Adult), both available through the Florida Courts self-help forms library. A related letter series, 12.982(c) through (g), covers minors and joint family petitions.

Filing fees are set at the circuit level rather than statewide. Two examples from official clerk fee schedules: $401 in Broward County (17th Judicial Circuit) and $400 in Volusia County. Budget separately for fingerprinting, which typically costs another $40 to $75 and is billed apart from the court filing fee. Florida law allows a civil indigent-status determination for petitioners who cannot afford the fee.

Changing a Minor's Name in Florida

A husband and wife may include their minor children in a single joint petition. Where only one parent is petitioning on a child's behalf, §68.07(8) requires that process be served on the other parent, with proof of that service filed in the case. If the other parent is a nonresident, the statute allows constructive notice of the petition under chapter 49 instead, with proof of publication filed in the cause. Section 68.07 does not itself set out a separate best-interest standard beyond this service and notice requirement.

Restoring a Former Name After Divorce

Florida's general name-change statute explicitly does not apply to name changes arising from a dissolution of marriage. Instead, a spouse who wants to resume a name held before the marriage requests that restoration directly in the dissolution petition or counter-petition, and the court includes it in the final judgment.

No separate, distinctly numbered Florida statute governing this practice could be located, despite checking Chapter 61 (the dissolution-of-marriage title) directly. Both the Florida Bar's consumer divorce pamphlet and the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit's official self-help page confirm the practice, and both limit the restored name to the one held immediately before the marriage. Handled this way, there is no separate petition and no separate filing fee, so raising the request at the time of divorce avoids paying for a second §68.07 case later.

Publication and Notice Requirements

Florida does not require newspaper publication as a general rule. Constructive-service publication under chapter 49 applies in one narrow circumstance spelled out in §68.07(8): when only one parent petitions to change a minor's name and the other parent is a nonresident. In that situation constructive notice of the petition may be given under chapter 49, with proof of publication filed in the cause. If the other parent lives in Florida, personal service of process is required instead, and publication is not an available substitute.

Criminal History and Sex Offender Registry Rules

Florida requires fingerprints from every petitioner, or from the parent or guardian filing on a minor's behalf, for a state and national criminal-history records check, with the cost borne by the petitioner. This requirement is waived when the petition is only to restore a former name rather than adopt a new one.

Under §68.07(2)(a), the records check must indicate whether the petitioner has registered as a sexual predator or a sexual offender, and the court "shall consider the results" in evaluating whether to grant the petition. Registration is also a mandatory petition disclosure: §68.07(3)(i) requires the petition to state whether the petitioner has ever been required to register as a sexual predator under s. 775.21 or as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435.

Registrant status is not an outright statutory bar in Florida. Section 68.07 makes it a factor the judge must weigh rather than a disqualification, and it adds reporting duties after the judgment. Under §68.07(6), the clerk must electronically notify the Florida Department of Law Enforcement of the name change within 2 business days of the final judgment, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles then monitors whether the registrant obtains a replacement driver license or identification card within the time required by s. 775.21 or s. 943.0435, notifying law enforcement of any failure to comply. Anyone with a registration history should confirm those separate re-registration deadlines, and current local filing practice, with the circuit clerk before filing.

Marriage-Based Name Changes in Florida

Florida has no statute dedicated to granting a name change based on marriage. In practice, a spouse who wants to take a new name at marriage does so by custom rather than court order, using the marriage certificate as documentation when updating a Social Security card, driver's license, or passport. For the federal-level steps involved, see how to legally change your name and the name change after marriage guide.

Related Florida Records

For the marriage certificate or divorce decree needed to document a name change, see Florida marriage and divorce records. For how Florida's court system handles filings and case access generally, see Florida court records. For the broader dissolution process that a divorce-based name restoration is part of, see Florida divorce laws. For the full agency-by-agency update process once a name change is granted, see the name change checklist.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Florida name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and background-check procedures change, and filing fees vary by circuit; verify current details with your circuit clerk's office or a licensed Florida attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.