legal name change
Official name switch
A legal name change is the formal process of adopting a new name through court order or other official procedure.
Most jurisdictions require filing a petition, publishing notice, and appearing before a judge.
After her legal name change, she updated her passport and driver's license.
Distinguished from informal name changes or those occurring automatically through marriage.
- petitionFormal written appeal
- courtTrial venue or sports surface
- court orderBinding judicial directive
- identityWho someone is
- new identityAdopted alternate persona
fresh start · documents · birth certificate · marriage · divorce · surname · vital records · judge · affidavit · publication · public notice · fingerprints · social security · passport · driver's license · witness · filing · filing fee
- name changescourt order, court filing, court approval, judicial decree, hyphenation
- aliasesalias, pseudonym, codename, nom de plume, handle
legal name changenickname
Informal substitute name
alias · pseudonym · pen name · stage name · assumed name
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