Indiana Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name

Indiana grants name changes by petition in circuit, superior, or probate court, with two notice requirements that stack on top of each other rather than substitute for one another: newspaper publication is required in every case, and anyone with a felony conviction within the past 10 years must also separately notify local law enforcement and the state's criminal-history repository. That second requirement is easy to miss if a description of Indiana law frames it as an alternative to publication rather than an addition to it.

The Indiana Code also settles several things a reader might expect to be left to local practice. Venue, the sworn contents of an adult petition, and the base filing fee are all fixed by statute, and the petition-contents statute in particular imposes two requirements, an Indiana-issued identification number and proof of United States citizenship, that can stop a filing before it starts.

Information last verified on 2026-09-02. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How to Legally Change Your Name in Indiana

Under IC 34-28-2-1, Indiana circuit courts, superior courts, and probate courts may change the names of natural persons on application by petition, except as limited by IC 34-28-2-1.5. Venue is not left to local practice: IC 34-28-2-2(a)(3) requires the petition to be filed with the circuit court, superior court, or probate court of the county in which the person resides. The Code attaches no minimum length of residence to that requirement, so it is a question of where you actually live, not how long you have lived there.

A petitioner who is at least 17 years old files under a stricter set of rules. IC 34-28-2-2(a)(2) requires that petition to be subscribed and sworn to, or affirmed, under the penalties of perjury and before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths. IC 34-28-2-2.5(a) then sets out what the petition must contain, at a minimum:

• The petitioner's date of birth.
• The petitioner's current residence address, and mailing address if it differs.
• A valid Indiana driver's license number, Indiana identification card number, or Indiana photo exempt identification card number.
• A list of all previous names used by the petitioner.
• Proof that the petitioner is a United States citizen.
• A statement concerning whether the petitioner holds a valid United States passport.
• A description of all felony convictions entered against the petitioner under the laws of any state or the United States.

Two items on that list are practical barriers rather than paperwork. The identification requirement is satisfied only by an Indiana-issued credential, so someone who has recently moved to Indiana and still carries another state's license will need to obtain an Indiana license or state identification card before the petition is complete. And the statute requires proof of United States citizenship, which on its face leaves no route for a noncitizen petitioner, including a lawful permanent resident; anyone in that position should get advice from an Indiana attorney about how their court handles the requirement before paying a filing fee. Petitions under this section are also subject to Indiana Rules of Court Administrative Rule 9, which governs public access to court records.

On cost, IC 33-37-4-4(a) directs the clerk to collect a civil costs fee of one hundred dollars ($100) from a party filing a civil action. Name-change petitions are not among the six kinds of proceedings that subsection exempts, which cover infraction and ordinance enforcement, juvenile matters, paternity, small claims, and actions described in IC 33-37-4-7. Subsection (b) requires the clerk to collect additional statutory fees where IC 33-37-5 makes them applicable, including document, document storage, automated record keeping, judicial salaries, and court administration fees. The practical result is that the amount collected at filing runs somewhat above $100 and varies by county, so confirm the current total with your clerk. Newspaper publication is a separate cost paid to the newspaper, not to the court.

Changing a Minor's Name in Indiana

A parent or guardian who wants to change a minor child's name files a verified petition that states in detail the reason the change is requested, under IC 34-28-2-2(b).

The consent requirement is the part most often left out of summaries of Indiana law. Except where a parent's consent is not required under IC 31-19-9, IC 34-28-2-2(b) requires that the written consent of a parent, or the written consent of the guardian if both parents are dead, be filed with the petition. That is a filing requirement, not something handled later at a hearing. Separately, IC 34-28-2-2(c) requires that the parents or guardian of the child be served with a copy of the petition as required by the Indiana trial rules before the child's name may be changed.

The published notice for a minor's petition must also carry specific content under IC 34-28-2-3(b): the name of the petitioner, the name of the minor whose name is to be changed, the new name desired, the court in which the action is pending, the date the petition was filed, and a statement that any person has the right to appear at the hearing and to file objections.

Timing and hearings are governed by IC 34-28-2-4. The court may not hear the petition and issue a final decree until 30 days after the later of the filing of proof of publication or the service of the petition on the parents or guardian. The court must set a hearing date if written objections have been filed, or if either parent or the guardian has refused or failed to give the written consent described above, and appropriate notice of that hearing must go to the parents or guardian and to anyone who filed objections.

In deciding a petition to change a minor's name, the court is guided by the best interest of the child standard in IC 31-17-2-8. IC 34-28-2-4(d) adds an express presumption in favor of a parent who has been making support payments and fulfilling other duties under a decree issued under IC 31-15, IC 31-16, or IC 31-17 and who objects to the proposed change. A paying, objecting parent therefore starts from a favored position, which is worth knowing before filing.

Restoring a Former Name After Divorce

Indiana handles divorce name restoration through IC 31-15-2-18, but the section is narrower than a general restoration provision. It is captioned Name change of woman, and subsection (b) provides that a woman who desires the restoration of her maiden or previous married name must set out the name she desires to be restored in her petition for dissolution as part of the relief sought, and that the court shall grant the name change upon entering the decree of dissolution. The request therefore belongs in the dissolution petition itself rather than in a separate name-change case.

Subsection (a) expressly excludes a lifetime sex or violent offender, whose restoration request is governed instead by IC 31-15-2-19. Under that section the court may not restore a previous married or unmarried name unless the offender sets out the name to be restored and provides written notice of intent to the local law enforcement authority in both the county of conviction and the county where the person resides. On proof that the notice was properly served, the court shall grant the petition.

A spouse whose situation is not covered by IC 31-15-2-18 still has the general route. IC 34-28-2-1 allows circuit, superior, and probate courts to change the name of any natural person on petition, subject to the venue, petition-contents, and publication rules described above.

Publication and Criminal-History Notice: Two Cumulative Requirements

IC 34-28-2-3(a)(1) requires notice of the petition to be given by three (3) weekly publications in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the petition is filed. That means one publication a week for three weeks, not three publications inside a single week. If no newspaper is published in that county, notice goes in the newspaper published nearest to it in an adjoining county, and the last weekly publication must run not less than 30 days before the day the petition will be heard. Proof of publication is made under IC 34-28-2-4(a) by filing a copy of the published notice, verified by the affidavit of a disinterested person.

Separately, and in addition to publication, anyone with a felony conviction within the past 10 years must give notice at least 30 days before the hearing to the county sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, and Indiana's central repository for criminal-history information. These two requirements are cumulative, not alternatives to each other, so a petitioner with a recent felony conviction should expect to satisfy both.

The notice to the central repository must include the petitioner's full current name, requested name change, date of birth, address, physical description, and a full set of classifiable fingerprints, so it takes more preparation than a letter. The repository forwards any criminal records to the court, and a copy of the decree granting or denying the petition is sent to the Indiana State Police. Under IC 34-28-2-4(e), a petitioner required to give this notice must also certify to the court that the notice requirements were met. Failing to give the required criminal-history notice is a Class A misdemeanor.

Restrictions on Name Changes

Under IC 34-28-2-1.5, a person confined in a Department of Correction facility may not petition for a name change, nor may a person who is a lifetime sex or violent offender. This is narrower than a blanket bar on anyone required to register; it turns specifically on DOC confinement or lifetime registrant status. A sincerely held religious-belief exception exists, but it does not apply to a person currently required to register as a sex offender, and it requires written notice to law enforcement in both the county of conviction and the county of residence.

Marriage-Based Name Changes in Indiana

Indiana has no statute dedicated to a marriage-based name change. A spouse who wants to adopt a new name at marriage does so by custom, using the marriage certificate with agencies like the Social Security Administration and the DMV. See name change after marriage for the federal-level steps involved.

Related Indiana Records

For the marriage certificate or divorce decree that documents an Indiana name change, see Indiana marriage and divorce records. For how Indiana's court system handles filings generally, see Indiana court records. For the broader dissolution process, see Indiana divorce laws. For the full agency-by-agency update checklist once a name change is granted, see the name change checklist.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Indiana name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Court fees, local forms, and filing practices vary by county and change over time, and how a particular court applies the petition-contents requirements can vary as well, so confirm current details with the clerk of your circuit, superior, or probate court, or with a licensed Indiana attorney, before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-09-02. Statutory requirements verified against the current Indiana Code as published by the Indiana General Assembly.