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If
you wish to legally change your name, you may file a petition
at the District Court. After the petition is filed you must
appear before the Judge who will ask you to testify under
oath that you are not changing your name for an illegal or
fraudulent purpose. If you are a minor under 18 years of age,
or if you are requesting a name change for a minor child under
18, a birth certificate is required, as well as the approval
of both biological parents. If both parents are not appearing
at the hearing, an affidavit or sworn statement under penalty
of perjury granting permission for the name change provided
by the parent not present; that parent’s joinder in
a sworn/verified petition can be used in place of the affidavit
or sworn statement.
Name change hearings are held Mondays at 10:00 a.m. if an
interpreter is not needed. Names Changes requiring an interpreter
are also held on Mondays but at 2:00 p.m.
In order to be scheduled you must do the following:
|
| 1. The Original Petition for
Name Change completely filled out. |
| 2. Pay the following fees:
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|
| Fee Type |
Amount |
Comments |
| Filing + DRC Fee |
$83.00 |
Includes 2 certified copies |
| Certified copies |
$5.00 |
each additional copy (optional) |
Name change petitions must be filed in Superior Court when
the person desiring a change of his or her name or that of
his or her child or ward is a victim of domestic violence
and the person seeks to have the name change file sealed due
to reasonable fear for his or her safety or that of his or
her child or ward. Upon granting the name change, the Superior
Court will seal the file if the Court finds that the safety
of the person seeking the name change or his or her child
or ward warrants sealing the file. In all such cases, whether
or not the name change petition is granted, there shall be
no public access to any court record of the name change filing,
proceeding, or order, unless the name change is granted but
the file is not sealed.
Once a name change has been approved, if you wish to change
your birth certificate, and if you were born in Washington
State, you will need to send certified copies of all the completed
paperwork to:
Department of Health
Center for Health Statistics
1112 S.E. Quince St.
P.O. Box 47814
Olympia, WA 98504-7814
An offender under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections
who applies to change his or her name under must submit a
copy of the application to the Department of Corrections not
fewer than five days before the entry of an order granting
the name change. No offender under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Corrections will be granted an order changing
his or her name if the court finds that doing so will interfere
with legitimate law enforcement interests, except that no
order shall be denied when the name change is requested for
religious or legitimate cultural reasons or in recognition
of marriage or dissolution of marriage. An offender under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections who receives
an order changing his or her name shall submit a copy of the
order to the Department of Corrections within five days of
the entry of the order or be subject to criminal penalties.
A sex offender subject to registration under RCW 9A.44.130
who applies to change his or her name must submit a copy of
the application to the county sheriff of the county of the
person's residence and to the Washington State Patrol not
fewer than five days before the entry of an order granting
the name change. No sex offender under the requirement to
register under this section at the time of application shall
be granted an order changing his or her name if the court
finds that doing so will interfere with legitimate law enforcement
interests, except that no order shall be denied when the name
change is requested for religious or legitimate cultural reasons
or in recognition of marriage or dissolution of marriage.
A sex offender under the requirement to register under this
section who receives an order changing his or her name shall
submit a copy of the order to the county sheriff of the county
of the person's residence and to the Washington State Patrol
within five days of the entry of order. |
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