Change Your Name in Illinois

Whether you’ve recently married or divorced, are tired of people misspelling your name, or just feel like you’ve gone as far as you can in life as “John Smith,” you may be interested in changing your name. In the state of Illinois, you have several options to complete this process. After legally changing your name, however, you also have to remember to update your various forms of identification, financial and insurance accounts, and so on.

Steps

Changing Names by Marriage or Divorce

  1. Don’t assume your name has changed through marriage or divorce. While becoming less common for a variety of reasons, the tradition of a bride taking her new husband’s last name is still the expectation for many after marriage. This (or any other) type of name change after marriage is not automatic, however, and requires some relatively simple but necessary actions on your part.
    • Likewise, divorce does not automatically revert a changed last name to the pre-marriage last name in Illinois. Again, a simple but necessary process must be taken.
  2. Use your marriage license as valid proof for a name change. An official, certified copy of your marriage license is sufficient cause in Illinois to undergo a name change. No separate decrees or court orders are required.
    • Until quite recently in many states, only brides could take on the husband’s last name (or a hyphenated combination of both last names) using the marriage certificate as the only legal authorization. However, due to various legal challenges and especially the growing legalization of same-sex marriage (valid in Illinois since June 2014), such policies are in flux.
    • In Illinois, both spouses are “entitled to a one-time change of their last name,” which includes hyphenation or taking the name of the other spouse. No change is required, though.
    • Illinois law in fact seems to indicate that a married person can take on an entirely new name through this process (not the spouse’s name or hyphenated), but that again is an area that is somewhat vague in a rapidly changing field.[1]
  3. Change your name as part of your divorce decree. In Illinois as in most states, the easiest way to change your name due to divorce is to make it a part of the divorce decree itself. When done this way, no separate legal actions or fees are necessary.
    • On general divorce decree forms that are valid in most if not all U.S. states, there is normally a section (at number nine on the example cited here) that authorizes a name change as part of the decree.[2]
    • This process, however, entitles you only to revert to your maiden name or another former legal name. Otherwise, you will have to undertake a separate legal process.
  4. Use your official marriage license or divorce decree as your legal authorization to make additional name-change measures. One of these documents, along with proof of your previous legal name, should be all that is required to change your name on your Social Security card, Illinois driver’s license / ID card, and other such changes.
    • See the relevant Method in this article for useful information on making these changes.

Changing Names by Court Petition

  1. Know the benefits and requirements of a legal name change. It may seem like too much trouble to go through all the paperwork, fees, and a court appearance in order to change your name, but it is worthwhile to make the change you prefer official.
    • Illinois, like many other states, permits you to change your name simply by consistently using that new name, but that type of change won’t likely be accepted by the Social Security Administration, your financial institutions, or even the state Department of Motor Vehicles for your driver’s license. Official, certified documentation of a name change is they way to go.
    • In Illinois, you must be 18 years old and have lived in the state for at least six months in order to petition for a name change for yourself. There are also restrictions if you have a felony record or are a registered sex offender.[3]
  2. Procure the necessary forms. Like any government process, there is some paperwork, some fees to pay, and some time to wait in order to make your name change official. The three forms you need, which are available online or from your county courthouse, include:[4]
    • Request for a Name Change. This is in essence your application form, in which you provide information about yourself, your reason for desiring a name change, and the new name you wish to have. This form must also be signed by a witness known to you; a signature by a notary is permissible but not required.
    • Notice of Filing a Request for Name Change. This document provides information to be published, by your request and at your expense, in a local newspaper that circulates within (or barring that, nearby) your county of residence. This may seem quaint, but advertising the proposed change in a newspaper is required by law.
    • Order for Name Change. This is the document the judge will sign and which orders your name to be legally changed (or not). If approved, this form (or any certified copies thereof) will be your key to changing your name at the Social Security Administration, DMV, and so on.
  3. File the paperwork at your county courthouse. Fill out each of the three forms as indicated (but not areas specified for the clerk and/or judge) and file them with the Circuit Clerk at the courthouse of the county in which you reside. Bring three extra copies of each form along with the originals.[5]
    • The clerk will give you a hearing date (at least eight weeks after the filing date) and stamp your original forms and copies.
    • You will be required at this time to pay a filing fee, which varies by county. You may also apply for a fee waiver at this time, however, if you have a financial hardship.
  4. Publish notice in a local newspaper. Contact a newspaper in your county, or, if your county lacks one, a paper nearby. The court clerk should have information on available papers. Provide the paper a stamped, completed copy of the Notice for Filing a Request for Name Change form.[6]
    • The notice must appear in the newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks, with the first appearance at least six weeks before your hearing date.
    • Publication fees are your responsibility.
    • Once your notice has run three times, make sure the newspaper provides you with a Certificate of Publication or sends it directly to the clerk. If it is given to you, file it with the clerk before your court date.
  5. Attend your court hearing. Arrive early just in case, confirm your room number, and wait for your name and case to be called. Make sure you bring the following with you:[7]
    • Stamped copies of the Request for Name Change, Notice of Filing a Request for Name Change, Certificate of Publication, and Order for Name Change.
    • A photo ID with your current name.
    • Any additional documents related to your request, such as evidence regarding the passage of time since a criminal conviction.
    • You may be questioned under oath by the judge, so answer truthfully.
    • The judge will sign your request whether it is granted or denied. It it is granted, you can request additional copies of the Order for Name Change from the clerk.
  6. Know the minor differences in the process if you are a minor. If you are under age 18, the name-change process itself is quite similar, but the paperwork is different. Also, at least one parent or guardian must approve of the change.
    • The forms you need are as follows: Petition for Change of Name (Minor); Decree of Change of Name (Minor); Notice of Motion [required only when parents are not cohabiting]; Notice of Publication [only required when you have a non-custodial parent whose whereabouts are unknown].
    • Minor name changes only need to be advertised if one parent cannot be located. A non-cohabiting, non-consenting parent whose whereabouts are known must be sent the Notice of Motion and given the opportunity to attend the court hearing.

Changing Identification Documents

  1. Change your name on your Social Security card first. First, that is, after you possess a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. Taking this step before moving on to your driver’s license and other identity documents makes the process much easier.
    • Visit a Social Security Administration office, and bring the following: completed Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Card, available at the office or online);[8] a certified name change document (marriage license, divorce decree, or court order); a valid, government-issued photo ID; and proof of citizenship (birth, citizenship, or naturalization certificate). The full list of acceptable documents is available online.[9]
    • You can also complete the process by mail, if you send certified copies of the certificates (not just photocopies of them).
  2. Change your driver’s license or state ID card. This can be done only in person at an Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) office. Bring the following:
    • Your current license / ID card.
    • Your certified name-change document (same as in previous step).
    • A form of payment (the fee is $5).
    • You can also find information about changing your voter registration card and your vehicle title and registration at the SOS office or online.[10]
  3. Change your name on your bank accounts, then move on to credit cards, utilities, and so on. With a certified name-change document, a new Social Security card, and a new driver’s license, the process should be simple — if likely more time-consuming than you’d prefer.
    • You should be able to change your name on bank accounts by providing your certified name-change document and new driver’s license; you may also need your new Social Security card as well, so bring it along.
    • The list of notifications you need to make after this point depends upon the particulars of your life. Lists of common stops on the name-change parade are available online.[11]
    • Also available online are numerous sites that offer to do the name-changing drudgery for you, usually for about $30 and above.



Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/1502712016
  2. ↑ https://www.ilrg.com/forms/divorce-nc-setag/us/il
  3. ↑ www.illinoiscourts.gov/forms/approved/name_change/nc-i_302.1_approved.pdf
  4. ↑ www.illinoiscourts.gov/Forms/approved/
  5. ↑ www.illinoiscourts.gov/forms/approved/name_change/nc-i_302.1_approved.pdf
  6. ↑ www.illinoiscourts.gov/forms/approved/name_change/nc-i_302.1_approved.pdf
  7. ↑ www.illinoiscourts.gov/forms/approved/name_change/nc-i_302.1_approved.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10513.pdf
  10. ↑ http://www.dmv.org/il-illinois/changing-your-name.php
  11. ↑ https://www.theknot.com/content/name-change-101
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