How To Legally Change Your Name in the State of Nevada
Published December 5, 2022
There are several reasons to want to change your name. Perhaps there was a mistake in your marriage, and it wasn’t changed properly. Maybe you got divorced, and you want to change it back.
People often forget that the change doesn’t happen automatically.
Others do it due to gender identity issues or identity issues in general. No matter your reason, the process will remain roughly the same. However, the ‘process’ may vary from state to state.
If you reside in Nevada, here’s how you can perform a Nevada name change legally.
Let’s start by going over the basic requirements.
Basic Requirements For Nevada Name Change
In the context of legal matters, ‘basic requirements’ refer to the conditions you must satisfy to be eligible for legal action. Most legal requests have basic requirements, from getting Nevada birth certificates to getting a marriage certificate. The basic requirements for a Nevada name change are:
- You must be able to provide your current documented legal name, the new name you intend to take, and a couple of reasons behind the change.
- Your reason for changing your name must not be to avoid legal obligations.
- You must provide details about felony convictions to the court if any. In this case, you will have to provide your fingerprints to the Court.
- You must have included a notice of your intent to change your name in a publication in a newspaper from Clark County.
- You must have lived in the state for over six weeks, and you intend to remain in the state for the foreseeable future.
If the person looking for a Nevada name change is a child, they must:
- have a parent/guardian that would apply for the name change on their behalf,
- be 14 years or older,
- give full consent to the name change, and
- have both parents consent to the name change.
Once you fulfill these conditions, you can proceed to the actual Nevada name change process.
Step-by-Step Process for Nevada Name Change
1. Fill Up the Necessary Papers
Unlike other legal matters, you don’t have to bring personal documents like birth certificates and IDs with you for a Nevada name change. You only have to fill up the following documents:
The Civil Cover Sheet tells the court about you, the Petition for Change of Adult Name explains why you need to change your name, and the notice is for the publication requirement mentioned earlier.
You can download the forms, fill them out, then print them in one sitting.
You may also want to fill up the Order for Name Change form. It’s not necessary until the last step, but you can prepare it in advance to save time.
2. Publish the Notice
There’s one more legal paper you need before you file the papers to your court, and that would be the Affidavit of Publication. This legal document isn’t something you fill out yourself.
Instead, it’s a document that the Clark County newspaper would provide once they publish your Notice of Petition for Change of Adult Name. You simply have to contact the newspaper and arrange for the notice’s publication. After that, they’ll send you the document or file it directly to the court.
3. File the Papers
Once the papers are on hand, you need to file them with the district court in your region or county. If you don’t know where your local court is, you can use this Find My Court website for help.
4. Submit the Order for Name Change Form to the Judge
The last step would be to submit the Order for Name Change form you filled you earlier to the judge.
The judge can only approve your order ten days after your notice is published in a newspaper, so you may have to wait. That’s why publishing the notice is one of the first steps you must take.
Once that’s done, you must also fill out the Request for Summary Disposition & Declaration in Support form, then file it with the clerk. It’s a form asking the judge to approve the name change without a hearing. Most name changes are approved this way as long as the requirements are met.
What To Expect After the Nevada Name Change
After the name change, you shouldn’t expect to find all your records in banks, government agencies, and other institutions to change accordingly. The change won’t apply to their records automatically.
Instead, you must call them one by one to inform them of your name change.
Keep in mind that these institutions may need to see a certified copy of your name change order to change your name on their records. That’s why before you make the name change, it’s advisable to create a list of all the agencies that you must contact afterward. This should minimize the confusion.
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About The Author
Lenard Arceo is an experienced blogger and writer who enjoys learning to code in his spare time. His commitment to delivering factual content is what has helped him create hundred of helpful articles that have reached millions of people.
