Family & Safety
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
This Easy Form helps you ask a court for a legal name change. If you have a spouse who wants to change their name, they can make the request at the same time on your forms. You must be 18 or older to use these forms.
The Easy Form does not e-file the forms. You can download the forms and e-filing instructions at the end of the program.
Name change forms are also available in Spanish on the Illinois Courts website. Courts only accept English language forms. If you need help with court forms, contact Illinois Court Help at 833-411-1121.
Learn more about learn more about changing your name.This program will help you make your court forms. It will ask questions for you to answer. At the end of the program, you will get completed court forms and instructions. You can save and print them, or the program can email them to you.
Form completion time: 10 minutes to 15 minutes
You will be able to save your work in the middle of the program.
The interview and forms are in English.
Can I use this program?
To use these forms, all of the following must be true:
- You must be 18 or older,
- You must have lived in Illinois for at least three months, and
- If you have ever been convicted of identity theft or sexual offenses, you must:
- Have received a pardon for all of those offenses, or
- Be asking for the legal name change due to marriage, religious beliefs, status as a victim of trafficking, or gender-related identity.
If your spouse is also changing their name, they must also meet these requirements.
What do I need first?
To complete this program, the person changing their name will need to know:
- When they moved to Illinois,
- Where they were born, and
- Their criminal history, if any.
If the person requesting a name change has ever been convicted of identity theft, a sexual offense, or a felony, they will need to know:
- The date of conviction or probation for each offense,
- The sentence you received,
- The date the sentence was completed, and
- Whether the offense was pardoned by the governor.
The person requesting a name change can ask the judge to keep the court case private. This is done through a Motion to Impound that this program can make. If the Motion is granted, only the people involved in the case like the judge and the court clerk will see the court file unless the judge gives someone else permission.
What documents will this create?
This program prepares the following forms. The forms you get will depend on your answers.
- How to Change Your Name (Adult Name Change)
- Request for Name Change (Adult Name Change)
- Motion to Impound (Make Court Records Private)
- Order on Motion to Impound (Make Court Records Private)
- Order for Name Change (Adult)
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
