Arizona Name Change Requirements

General Summary of Name Change Laws

The Courts are often willing to accept name changes for almost any legitimate reason. However, the granting of an application for change of name is discretionary with the Court. For an order/decree/judgment of name change to be granted, the Court must find compliance with the requirements of notice and the requirements for the allegations in the application. The Court must also find good and sufficient reason for the change, find the change consistent with the public interest and if the change of name is for a minor child, find that the change is in the best interests of the minor child.

You cannot change your name for a fraudulent purpose, such as to avoid debts, you cannot change to a name that could affect the rights of another person, such as a celebrity, you cannot use a curse word, racial slur, obscene and/or an offensive word as part of your name and you cannot change to a name that would cause deliberate confusion (for example, a name with punctuation and/or a number in it).

IMPORTANT NOTE: For name change actions which involve a minor, courts typically seek written consent from every adult who retains legal rights over the minor. As such, the applicant must directly notify each of these parties (Service of Process).

Again, please remember, our name change materials are designed to cover simple, uncontested name changes ONLY. Our products/services should not be used if you have been convicted of a felony, have claimed bankruptcy and/or have judgments/liens against you. Instead, you should consider contacting an attorney in your area. These circumstances could cause complications, which may result in your action being denied and/or contested.

Overview of Process in Arizona for an Adult

In Arizona, an adult who wishes, for good cause shown, to change his/her name must present an Application to that effect, verified by affidavit, to the Superior Court in the county of the Petitioner's residence. Upon filing your application for change of name, your local courthouse MAY require that you furnish to the Court a full set of fingerprints to enable the Court to conduct a criminal background investigation. Further information regarding this possible requirement can be found within our included information and instructions set.

The Application includes personal information required by statute as well as the name the Applicant wishes to adopt and the reason(s) for the request for change of name. After filing an Application and paying the required filing fee for such, the Court will set the Application for a hearing. At this time, the Court may order that notice of the application be given by publication or by service upon any party interested. For example, if you are married, you must notify your spouse about your request for change of name and the date and time of your hearing for such and/or if you have any minor children, you must notify the other biological parent about your request for change of name and the date and time of your hearing for such. These procedures are detailed more extensively within our included information and instructions set.

The Applicant shall appear personally before the court at the date and time set forth for the hearing. Typically the court hearing will be informal and heard in a minimum amount of time by either a Judge or Judicial Officer. At the time of the hearing, the Court will hear any reasonable objections to the requested relief, may question the Applicant as to the reasons for the requested name change and consider any questions raised as to the Petitioner's intent.

At the hearing, if the Court is satisfied that there is no reasonable objection to the name change and that it is consistent with the public interest, the Court will issue an Order changing the Applicant's name. Once the order is signed, your name is legally changed.

Requirements to File for a Change of Name for an Adult in Arizona

Arizona law requires certain things before you can file for a name change and/or during the name change process in Arizona. These requirements include:

You (the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff) must be an adult. Following is the age of majority, as taken directly from the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 1 - General Provisions, Chap. 2 - Law and Statutes, '1-215, '"Adult" means a person who has attained the age of eighteen years'.
You must file the application for change of name in the county where you reside.
You must have proper and reasonable cause for the requested change of name.
You are not changing your name to avoid debts, to defraud creditors or to infringe upon the rights of others.

Overview of Process in Arizona for a Minor

In Arizona, the parent or guardian of the minor, on behalf of the minor, brings an application for a minor's name change, to the Superior Court in the county of the minor's residence. The petitioning adult is the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff in said legal action. PLEASE RECALL: You may only use our name change materials if both parents consent to the name change. The Application includes personal information as required by statute, such as the name, address, date of birth and place of birth of the Plaintiff, the minor child's name, address, date and place of birth, the new name requested for the minor child, the reason(s) for the request for change of name, etc. The Application must be notarized. The Application is filed along with the Civil Sheet (if applicable).

After filing the Application and paying the required filing fee for such, the Court will set the Application for a hearing. At this time, the Court may order that notice of the application be given by service upon any party interested. You must notify the other parent of the minor child or both parents if you are the minor child's guardian, about your request for change of name and the date and time of your hearing for such. If the minor child is fourteen (14) years or older, (s)he must sign a notarized consent to the name change or be present at the hearing. Service procedure is detailed more extensively within our included information and instructions set.

The Applicant shall appear personally before the court at the date and time set forth for the minor child's hearing. If the minor child is fourteen (14) years or older and has not signed a Consent form, (s)he must attend the hearing. Typically the court hearing will be informal and heard in a minimum amount of time by either a judge or judicial officer. At the time of the hearing, the Court will hear any reasonable objections to the requested relief, may question the Applicant as to the reason(s) for the requested name change and consider any questions raised as to the Applicant's intent. At the hearing, if the Court is satisfied that there is no reasonable objection to the name change, and that it is consistent with the public interest, the Court will issue an Order changing the name of the minor from his/her true name to the name sought to be adopted. Once the order is signed, the minor child's name is legally changed.

Requirements to File for a Change of Name for a Minor in Arizona

Certain requirements exist which must be met before you can file for a name change for a minor and/or during the name change process for a minor in Arizona. These requirements include:

You (the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff) are the minor child's parent or guardian.
You (the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff) must file the application for change of name of minor in the county where the minor child resides.
To file an application for a change of name for a minor in Arizona, the minor must be seventeen years of age or younger. Following is the age of majority, as taken directly from Arizona's Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 2, ' 1-215, '"Child" or "children" as used in reference to age of persons means persons under the age of eighteen years.' Once the age of majority is reached, an application for an adult name change should be filed.
You (the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff) must have proper and reasonable cause for the requested change of name for the minor.
You (the Petitioner/Applicant/Plaintiff) are not changing the minor child's name to avoid debts or to defraud creditors or anyone else.
Written consent to the name change must be provided by all adults who retain legal rights over the minor.

Arizona Name Change Forms

Self-Prepared

Adult Name Change	$29.95
Minor Name Change	$29.95

Paralegal-Prepared

Adult Name Change	$99.95
Minor Name Change	$119.95