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Adult Name Change (18 years old and older)

Overview of Name Changes for Adults

An adult individual may file a written petition (request) with a North Dakota state district court to legally change their name.

A North Dakota state district court may legally change an individual’s name if:

  • The individual filing the petition is a resident of the North Dakota county for at least the past 6 months before filing the request;
  • The individual filing the petition is either a United States citizen, or a United States permanent resident alien; and
  • The request isn’t made to defraud or mislead, is made in good faith, won’t cause injury to an individual, and won’t compromise public safety.

Before a district court judge may consider the petition to legally change a name, the individual filing the petition must first publish notice of their petition in the newspaper.  The notice is published in the North Dakota county where they live.  The judge may consider the petition 30 days after the date of publication of the notice.

The district court judge may waive (not require) publication of the notice in the newspaper when:

  • The requested name change is only for the first or middle name; or
  • The individual shows in their request that they are a victim of domestic violence.

In-person court hearings aren’t required.  However, the district court judge may decide an in-person court hearing is necessary.  If an in-person court hearing is scheduled, notice of the date, time and location is sent from the Office of the Clerk of District Court.

Forms and Guides for Adult Name Changes

North Dakota Legal Self Help Center forms aren’t official court forms and courts aren’t required to accept them. There’s no guarantee that all judges and courts will accept forms available through the Center. Use at your own risk.

Forms aren’t available for every legal issue or circumstance.  If you don’t find a form that suits your circumstances on this website, the form isn’t available through the North Dakota Legal Self Help Center.

You may need to create legal documents yourself.  The General-Use forms in the District Court Civil Action Section of this website may be used as a starting point for creating your own legal documents.

Adult Name Change Forms:

If you prefer to handwrite the forms in black ink, you can print out all of the instructions and forms at once by clicking on the following link:

After filing your name change petition, if you’re notified by the District Court that you must obtain a criminal history records check and/or file an affidavit or declaration relating to objections to your notice of name change, you may find the following form of interest:

Adult Name Change Informational Guides:

  • Objection to Name Change of an Adult
    • Provides a basic, step-by-step guide for objecting to a requested name change of an adult
    • Includes formatting examples of common objection documents
    • Doesn’t include on-line fillable forms

Selected Statutes (Laws) & Rules

Following are legal research starting points related to name changes of adults. You may need to conduct additional legal research into your legal issue.  See the Legal Research Section of this website.

Other Resources

Following are a selection of other resources related to name changes of adults that may be of interest.

If you don’t understand any of this information, or if you have trouble filling out any of the forms located here, consult a lawyer.

The information provided on and obtained from this site doesn't constitute the official record of the Court. This information is provided as a service to the general public. Any user of this information is hereby advised that it's being provided "as is". The information provided may be subject to errors or omissions. Visitors to this site agree that the Court isn't liable for errors or omissions of any of the information provided.

If you have a question relating to a case that is already filed please contact the clerk of court for the county.