Illinois
Forms
Some people understand forms really well. Some do not. If you just want the forms, these are all the necessary forms to change a minor's name in Illinois. If you need more guidance, refer to the thoughts laid out below.
Required:
Request for Name Change - Child Information
Notice of Court Date Request for Name Change
Needed Forms Depending on Facts:
Request for Name Change - Additional Children
Request for Name Change - Additional Parents
Publication Notice of Court Date for Request for Name Change
Motion to Waive Notice and Publication
Request for Name Change
When a minor gets their name changed, the parent/legal guardian must apply for them. This process starts completing this request to state the parent will be applying for the minor.
The witness can be anyone.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Request for Name Change - Child Info
The Illinois forms are different from Missouri in that, Missouri requests knowledge about money judgements to decide the name change while Illinois wants to know more about criminal history.
If you become concerned about question #3, feel free to reach out by email to talk through the process more. The question is only asking about the minor in this situation.
For question #4, courts almost always have to do what is “in the best interest of the child”. The purpose of this question is to state why change of name is in the best interest of the child. Check ALL boxes that apply.
The form needs to be signed in front of an Illinois notary. You can usually find a notary at a bank. If this becomes hard to find, please let us know.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Notice of Court Date Request for Name Change
Because this court case has two parties, the parent applying is serving the parent that is not present (if applicable) by either certified mail or a sheriff.
This is crucial to the process, but it may be noted that having a sheriff serve you can be scary. If there is a good relationship between parents, it may be good to warn them why they are being served, and there is not necessarily criminal associations with it.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Order for Name Change
Enter the county, name, and case number given to you by the clerk. The rest will be done by the judge.
This document is a form that the judge will use to confirm or deny the name change. Essentially you would be bringing this document to make the judge's life easier instead of them printing it off.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Request for Name Change (Additional Children)
This form is only necessary if the parent is changing the name of more than 4 minors in the same case.
If more than 4 name changes of minors are occurring, this form will replace the 'Request for Name Change' found above.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Request for Name Change (Additional Parent)
This form needs to be filled out if there is more than one parent or legal guardian. The parent who is filing the documents and petitioning the court will complete this form about the second parent.
If the other parent cannot consent, they must receive notification through publication or through a service by the court. Publication would need to occur if the filing parent does not know where to find the second parent and the other parent would need to look in the publication to find the court date.
If the other person can consent, they can sign the bottom in front of a notary public.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Publication Notice of Court Date for Request for Name Change
Enter the county you are submitting in, name, and case number given to you by the clerk.
In Illinois, you must publish the court date for your name change hearing. That is different from Missouri which publishes after the judge has already decided. The information for the date and time will be given by the clerk when you file the petition.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Motion to Waive Notice and Publication
This will be considered a new court case, so you will not put a case number at the top. The clerk will assign a new one.
You do NOT need to publish your legal name change if the minor is the victim of a crime based on:
You believe that notice or publication will put the person whose name would be changed at risk of physical harm or discrimination
Many queer people face discrimination for being who they are. If this pertains to one, they can protect themselves by not publishing
You have or have previously been granted a protective order.
We want to preface that the courts do not investigate these when marked for ADULTS. For MINORS, the ideas of child abuse and domestice violence may be seen by the court as more dangerous. They may call in investigators for the family. We want to caution this because the parents are involved in the process for minors vs. adults.
If you are publishing in either Madison or St. Clair County, the main legal newspaper for both is Belleville News-Democrat - use: https://bnd.column.us/place/
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Order on Motion to Waive Notice and Publication
Enter the county you are submitting in, name, and case number given to you by the clerk. The rest will be done by the judge.
This document is a form that the judge will use to confirm or deny the publishing of the name change. Essentially you would be bringing this document to make the judge's life easier instead of them printing it off.
Here is the link where the form can be found, completed, and printed before filing as pro se documents with the court. CLICK HERE
Filing Fees
There are two ways to pay for the name change process:
A person can pay for it themselves or get the funding from community. Make sure you have the funds in CASH (debit/credit usually not accepted).
Depending on the county, the cost can range from about $120 to $180. Check with your local clerk to see how much it costs.
The courts have an option for people to "File as a Poor Person" in a process called In Forma Pauperis.
This document may need to be signed by a judge before filing all the documents.
They court may tell you to go to a specific judge, but any judge can sign this form.
The court can be asked to complete this form to waive the fees of filing. Ask the clerk about completing this form. CLICK HERE
Next Steps
YAY! You filled out all the forms. Now, you can go to the court and get it done.
Take the papers to the county clerk in the county courthouse. (Some counties require you to file everything online, so make sure you ask!) You will typically be assigned a court date.
Since you are representing minor without an attorney, your county may require you to watch a video in person or online
If you are "Filing as a Poor Person," you may have an additional steps to take like talking to a judge before filing.
After you file everything, it will take about four-six weeks. The court will mail you the judgment. If it was successful, you will receive two copies of the judgment to do the next steps of the process for your child's birth certificate, ID, social security, and all other documents.
Read our After the Courts page for more details!