Massachusetts Name Change Laws: Petitions Are Now Impounded by Default

Massachusetts changed its name-change law significantly on November 25, 2025. Before that date, G.L. c.210 §13 leaned toward requiring public newspaper notice of a petition. As amended, the default has flipped: public notice now requires the court's good-cause approval to require it at all, and every petition filed on or after November 25, 2025 is impounded, meaning sealed from public inspection, automatically. Anyone researching Massachusetts name-change law from an older source is very likely reading the pre-amendment rule.

This page explains the current, post-amendment law: what impoundment actually means, how the adult and minor petition process works, what it costs, and the separate statutes covering divorce restoration and marriage-based surnames.

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

The November 2025 Change: What's Different

Before November 25, 2025, G.L. c.210 §13 pointed toward public notice as something close to a default step, requiring the court to order it "except for good cause shown." As amended and effective that date, the statute now provides that the court may, for good cause shown, require public notice, meaning notice is no longer assumed and must instead be affirmatively ordered. A new subsection (b) goes further: the petition itself, along with all filed pleadings, papers, documents, and docket entries, is not available for public inspection unless the court, for good cause, orders otherwise, or the petitioner requests access. That is a real, structural change from the earlier public-record default, not just a tweak to the notice rule.

What did not change is the probation check. Amended §13(a) still provides that the court "shall, before decreeing a change of name, request a report from the commissioner of probation on the person filing the petition." The 2025 amendment moved the notice default; it did not repeal that requirement.

The amendment came through what is commonly referred to as "An Act protecting personal security," enacted as part of a fiscal year 2025 supplemental budget signed by Governor Healey. Advocacy groups have described it as targeted at privacy and safety for transgender individuals and domestic-violence survivors. This is a genuinely recent development, only a few months old as of this writing, so date any statement about Massachusetts name-change privacy explicitly and do not describe the state as a publication-by-default jurisdiction without this correction.

How to Legally Change Your Name in Massachusetts

Under G.L. c.210 §12, a petition is heard by the Probate and Family Court in the county where the petitioner resides, and the change "shall be granted unless such change is inconsistent with public interests." An adult files the Petition to Change Name of Adult, form CJP 27. Uniform Practice XXXV(c) sets out what a properly filed adult request includes: the CJP 27 petition, a certified copy of the petitioner's birth certificate, a Court Activity Record Information and Warrant Management System release request (CJP 34), a certified copy of any prior name change such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree, and the filing fee unless waived.

Massachusetts's name-change statute contains no explicit felony-conviction bar or sex-offender-registry restriction. The "inconsistent with public interests" test is the standard for an adult petition; a minor's petition is judged by a different standard, covered below.

Filing Fee

The court charges a $150 filing fee plus a $15 surcharge, so $165 covers a straightforward petition. If the court orders notice, each citation is an additional $15, bringing court fees to $180.

That $180 is the court's share only. The Probate and Family Court fee schedule states plainly that where there are publication costs, the petitioner pays them, and the newspaper sets that charge, not the court. A case in which the court orders published notice therefore costs more than $180 in total, by whatever the newspaper bills.

A standard indigency fee-waiver process under G.L. c.261 is available. Uniform Practice XXXV(d)(6) also provides that where an entire family, or two or more children with the same legal parents, seek a name change, a separate petition is required for each person but the filing fee is assessed on one petition only.

Changing a Minor's Name in Massachusetts

There is no separate statutory subsection for a minor's petition within §12 itself, but that does not mean a child's petition is judged the way an adult's is. Massachusetts appellate courts apply the best interests of the child standard to a change in a child's surname. In Petition of Two Minors for Change of Name, 65 Mass. App. Ct. 850, 856 (2006), the Appeals Court held that §12's direction that a petition "shall be granted unless such a change is inconsistent with public interests" does not displace the best interests standard. Cormier v. Quist, 77 Mass. App. Ct. 914, 915 (2010), restated it: in controversies concerning the surnames of children, whether born to married or unmarried parents, the best interests of the child standard is applicable.

The considerations a judge weighs come from Jones v. Roe, 33 Mass. App. Ct. 660, 664 (1992): the effect of the change on the preservation and development of the child's relationship with each parent and other siblings, how long the child has used a given name, the age of the child as it relates to identification with the surname, and the difficulties or embarrassment the child may experience from bearing the present or proposed surname. The personal preference of a child of suitable age and maturity is also considered.

Procedurally, Uniform Practice XXXV(d) treats the minor as the petitioner, with a legal parent or court-appointed guardian presenting the petition as the child's "next friend." A properly filed minor request includes the Petition to Change Name of Minor (CJP 25), a certified copy of the child's birth certificate, a certified copy of any prior name change, a Child Care or Custody Disclosure Affidavit (TC0050), any Assent to Petition to Change Name of Minor (CJP 30), and the filing fee unless waived.

A minor aged 12 or older carries two additional requirements: a notarized assent signed by the minor, and a CJP 34 Court Activity Record Information and Warrant Management System release request for the minor. The Probation Department runs that check on any person 12 or older who is the subject of a name-change petition. And where at least one legal parent or court-appointed guardian has not filed a written assent, Uniform Practice XXXV(h)(2) deems that good cause for the court to order notice.

Restoring Your Name After Divorce

Divorce-related name restoration lives in a different chapter than the general name-change statute, in the Divorce title rather than Chapter 210. G.L. c.208 §23 lets the court granting the divorce allow a spouse to resume a maiden name or a former spouse's surname. The statute's text is gendered, referring to "a woman," a holdover that should be read as applying to whichever divorcing spouse is requesting restoration. The decision is discretionary, using "may" rather than "shall."

Changing Your Name After Marriage

Massachusetts is one of the minority of states that does codify a marriage-based naming right. Under G.L. c.46 §1D, part of the Vital Statistics chapter rather than the name-change chapter, each party to a marriage may adopt any surname: either party's present or birth-given surname, retaining or resuming a present or birth-given surname, or any hyphenated combination. This happens through the marriage-license application process itself, with no separate court petition required.

Related Massachusetts Records

For related Massachusetts record searches, see Massachusetts marriage and divorce records, Massachusetts court records, and Massachusetts divorce laws for how the §23 restoration path fits into a divorce case.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Massachusetts name-change law, including a significant amendment effective November 25, 2025. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and court procedures change; verify current details with your Probate and Family Court or a licensed Massachusetts attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-09-02. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of September 2026.