Last updated: March 2009

If you need help at any point in the process below, please talk to a lawyer. See the "Helpful Organizations" section on www.IllinoisLegalAid.org to find free legal help.

1. Get Your Court Costs Waived

• There will be a fee to file your court forms and to publish notice;
• Check with the Circuit Clerk for your County to find out what those fees are; Filing fees in Cook County are $329.00
• If you cannot afford to pay, you can ask the court to "waive" these fees, so that you can file your forms without paying.

Go to the "Related Articles" section of this guide to learn how to waive your court costs.

2. Fill Out Your Forms

Complete the "Name Change Documents Interview" which you can find in the "Forms/Letters" section of this guide. This should prepare all of the forms that you will need.

The forms will not print in the order that you will use them, and you will need to make photocopies of many of them. The rest of the instructions below explain which forms you will need for each step.

3. Get the Affidavit Notarized

• You must have the Affidavit signed by a witness, in front of a Notary Public;
• The witness can be anyone who knows you, and who can swear that everything stated in your Petition is true;
• The witness must take the Affidavit to a Notary Public, and sign it in view of the Notary Public;
• Then the Notary Public will sign the Affidavit, to confirm that the witness signed it.

4. File Your Forms with the Clerk

After completing your forms, take them to room 1202 of the Daley Center and file them with the Clerk. You will need the following:

• Petition for Change of Name- 1 original and 2 copies
• Affidavit
• Judgment for Change of Name- 1 original and 3 copies
• County Division Civil Action Cover Sheet
• Your signed Order to Sue or Defend as a Poor Person, if your got your court costs waived. If you did not get your court costs waived, you will have to pay a filing fee.

5. Get a Hearing Date

• After you file your forms, the Clerk will assign your case to a Judge's calendar for a hearing;
• You must then schedule a date and time for the hearing with a Clerk in Room 1202 of the Daley Center;
• The date that you select must be at least 7 weeks after the date you filed your Petition;
• You must write down the date, time, courtroom number and court calendar because you will need this information in the next step.

6. Publish Your Notice

• If you are only changing your own name, you must publish legal notice of your intention to change your name;
• You can publish Notice in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin by going to their counter in room 802 of the Daley Center. You can do this right after you file your forms with the Clerk;
• Your Notice must be published for 3 consecutive weeks, which is why you must pick a hearing date that is at least 7 weeks after you filed your Petition;
• Give them 1 copy of your Petition, not including the Affidavit. You must also include the court date, time, name of the judge who will handle your case, the courtroom number and the case number;
• Bring your signed Order to Sue or Defend as a Poor person, if you got your court costs waived. If you did not get your court costs waived, you will have to pay a fee to publish your notice in the newspaper; The fee to publish your notice in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin is approximately $110.00
• If you are filing somewhere other than the Daley Center, but still want to publish Notice in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, you can send all of this information (including a copy of the Order to Sue or Defend as a Poor Person) to:

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
415 N. State St.
Chicago, Illinois 60610

• If you file your Petition at the Daley Center, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin will file your Certificate of Publication with the Clerk for you after publication is complete. This means that it will already be in the court file when you appear in court;
• If you file your Petition at one of the suburban Cook County courthouses, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin will mail you a Certificate of Publication. Keep this with your copies of the Petition and the Judgment and bring it with you on the date you appear in court.

7. Go to Your Court Date

• Get to court at least 45 minutes early;
• Bring a copy of all of the forms relating to your case, including:
  - Your copies of the Petition showing the Clerk's filing stamp and case number
  - Your Certificate of Publication, if it was mailed directly to you
  - Your copies of the Judgment for Change of Name
• Dress as you would for a job interview;
• Go to the assigned courtroom and wait for your case to be called by the Clerk. If your case is not called, wait for the first recess and then approach the Clerk to ask for instructions;
• When your case is called, answer "here," and step before the Judge. Tell the Judge that you want to change your name;
• The Judge may ask you some questions. Answer truthfully, and remember to call the Judge "Judge" or "Your Honor;"
• If the Judge agrees to your name change, give the Judgment for Name Change form to the Judge to sign;
• Give the signed Judgment and your copies to the Clerk sitting next to the Judge. The Clerk will stamp all of them for you, and keep one for the court file;
• Make sure to get your stamped copies from the Clerk before you leave the courtroom.

8. Get Certified Copies of Your Forms

• If the Judge granted your petition, go to the "Certified Copies" counter in Room 802 and ask to have your 3 copies of the Judgment certified;
• One copy is for your records, one is to get your birth record changed and the last is to get the name on your Social Security card changed
• Certified copies will cost approximately $9 each. It will cost you a total of about $27.00 for the 3 copies;
• If you decide not to get certified copies of the Judgment immediately following your hearing, tell the Clerk and he or she will mark the copy "OK to Certify." 

9. Change the Name on Your Birth Certificate

If you were born in the state of Illinois you will need:

• A certified copy of the Judgment
• A money order for $15.00, payable to Vital Records, Springfield, and
• A note stating your date and place of birth

Mail these to the address below:

Bureau of Vital Records
State of Illinois - Dept. Of Health
605 West Jefferson
Springfield, IL 62702-5097

If you were born in a state other than Illinois, contact the office that keeps birth records in the state where you were born. Ask a representative in that office how to change your name on your birth certificate.

10. Change the Name on Your Social Security Card

• Go to any Social Security office;
• Bring a certified copy of the Judgment;
• Bring a piece of identification, such as your old Social Security card, old ID or birth certificate;
• Fill out an application;
• There will not be a fee.

11. If Your Petition Was Denied

• You are required to complete a court order that says, "The Petition for Change of Name is Denied."
• The Clerk in the courtroom can give you a blank form;
• You may appeal a Judge's decision to deny your Petition by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Clerk of the Circuit Court within 30 days after the Judge's decision.

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