Change Your Name or a Minor Child’s Name

Note: The name change form for adults has been updated and is now available in a fillable and savable format. There is now available a name change form for a minor child, also in a fillable and savable format. 

Attention: If you are filing a petition for change of name in a county using the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS), you must use different eForms for electronic filing, also available in fillable and savable format.

Iowa Law

A person who is eighteen years of age or older and who has no civil disabilities may apply to the court to change the person’s name by filing a verified petition. If you are seeking a name change as part of a pending divorce, you should include your request for name change in your divorce papers rather than using this procedure.

A petition for name change must include:

• Your current name,
• Specific personal identifying information,
• Place of residence(s) for the past five years,
• Reason for request,
• The legal description of all real estate in Iowa you own, including property in which you have a full or partial legal interest, and
• The new name you want. 

You must attach a certified copy of your birth certificate. If your birth certificate is not available, you must explain why it is not available and attach another form of identification in its place.

If you are married, you must serve the petition on your spouse in the manner of original notice.

Form—For Adult Name Change Only

Complete the Petition for Change of Name (Adult), or the eForm Petition for Change of Name (Adult) if you are in an EDMS county, file it with the clerk of district court, and pay the filing fee. Do not use this form if you want to change the name of your minor child.

Limits

Iowa law allows only one name change per person under this procedure unless just cause is shown. This limit does not apply to a name change arising from a divorce proceeding. 

Form—Name Change for Minor Child

There are additional requirements for a name change that is for, or on behalf of, a child under the age of eighteen years old. If the child is fourteen years of age or older, you must provide the child’s written consent to the name change. If the child is under fourteen years old, both parents named on the birth certificate must file their written consent to the name change. 

If one parent does not consent, the court will set a hearing. At the hearing, the court may waive the need for both parents’ consent if it finds one of the following:

• The parent has abandoned the child.
• The parent has failed, without good cause, to support the child or contribute financially for the child’s birth.
• The parent does not object to the name change after receiving proper notice.

Complete the Petition for Change of Name of Minor Child, or the eForm Petition for Change of name of Minor Child if you are in an EDMS county, file it with the clerk of district court, and pay the filing fee.