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How to Change Your Name in New Jersey Form

In the case of wanting to change your legal name in the State of New Jersey, the following instructions can be used as a reference.

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The numbered steps listed below tell you what forms you will need to fill out and what to do with them.  
Each form should be typed or printed clearly on 8 ½ “x 11” white paper only.  Forms may not be filed on a 
different size or color paper. 
 
STEPS TO OBTAIN A COURT ORDER TO CHANGE YOUR NAME 
 
STEP 1:  Fill out the  Verified Complaint  
(Form A). 
The  Verified Complaint  (Form A) tells the court 
what your name is, what you want to change it to, 
and why you want it changed.  If you have ever been 
convicted of a crime, or if there are charges pending 
against you, you must include this information in 
your  Verified Complaint .  You must sign the 
certification which states that the information in the 
complaint is true to the best of your knowledge. 
 
 
STEP 2:  Fill out the  Order Fixing Date of 
Hearing  and the Final Judgment  Forms (Forms B 
and C). 
Enter the information requested.  Note that there are 
places on the Order Fixing Date of Hearing  and 
Final Judgment  that the court will complete. 
 
 
STEP 3:  Fill out the  Civil Case Information 
Statement  (CIS) (Form F). 
This form summarizes your case for the court.  The 
case type number for a name change is 151.  The 
Civil CIS	
 form with instructions	 can be found on our 
Represent Yourself in Court (Pro Se) Self-Help 	
Resource Center	. 
 
 
STEP 4:  Make a check or money order 
payable to Treasurer, State of New Jersey in the 
amount of $200.00. 
This is the fee for filing your papers. 
Note: If you are changing the names of multiple 
family members, the $200.00 fee covers all name 
change applications. 
 
 
STEP 5:  Check your completed forms and 
make copies. 
Check your forms and make sure they are complete.  
Remove all instruction shee ts.  Make sure you have 
signed all the forms wherever necessary.  You also 
need to make two copies of each form.  One copy 
will be sent to the court; the other is for your 
records.  Checklist 
- In Step 6 you will be directed to mail 
your documents to the court.  The following 
checklist will help insure  your package is complete: 	
− 	The original of each of the forms you filled out: 
Verified Complaint  (Form A), Order Fixing 
Date of Hearing  (Form B), Final Judgment 
(Form C) and the Civil Case Information 
Statement (Form F) . 	
− 	One copy of each of these forms:  Verified 
Complaint , Order Fixing Date of Hearing, Final 
Judgment and the Civil Case Information 
Statement. 	
−  	The filing fee in the amount of $200.  It must be 
a check or money order payable to the 
Treasurer, State of New Jersey. 	
− 	A stamped envelope addressed to yourself so 
that the court will be able to return the forms to 
you.  Be sure to include adequate postage. 
 
 
STEP 6:  Mail or deliver the forms to the court. 
You may mail or deliver to the court the original and 
one copy of all the forms:  Verified Complaint (Form 
A), Order Fixing Date of Hearing  (Form B), Final 
Judgment (Form C)  and the Civil Case Information 
Statement (Form F	
) along with a self-addressed 
stamped envelope and the filing fee.  The court 
address can be found on the Judiciary’s website, 
www.njcourts.com
.  If you mail the papers, we 
recommend that you use certified mail, return 
receipt requested. 
 
 
STEP 7:  Review copies returned from court. 
The court will return copies of the Verified 
Complaint and  Order Fixing Date of Hearing  to 
you.   Once you receive them, there will be a  docket 
number  written on all the copies.  The  docket 
number  is very important because it identifies your 
case.  It also lets the court know how to find your 
case.   You must use the docket number on all 
future papers you send to the court about your 
case.   The court will fill in the date on the  Order 
Fixing Date of Hearing .  That is the day you will 
appear before the judge to get the final judgment.  
The court will also indicate the name of a newspaper 
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in which you are to have the notice of your hearing 
date published. 
 
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PENDING CRIMINAL 
OR DELINQUENT CHARGES IN NEW 
JERSEY, SKIP TO Step 9. 
 
 
STEP 8:  Notify the State or County Prosecutor 
of your Application for a Name Change. 
If you have criminal charges pending against you in 
New Jersey, you must send a copy of the Verified 
Complaint and  Order Fixing Date of Hearing  by 
certified mail, return receipt requested to the 
Prosecutor of the county where the matter is being 
heard.  If the charges were brought by the Office of 
the Attorney General, you must send another copy 
of the  Verified Complaint  and Order Fixing Date of 
Hearing  by certified mail, return receipt requested 
to the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice 
in Trenton, New Jersey, at least  20 days before the 
hearing.  Mail a copy to: 
 
Director of Criminal Justice 
R. J. Hughes Justice Complex  25 W. Market Street 
P. O. Box 085 
Trenton, NJ 08625-0085 
 
 
STEP 9 : Publish the  Order Fixing Date of 
Hearing. 
In the Order Fixing Date of Hearing  that you receive 
back from the court, the judge will have specified 
the name of a local newspaper.  You must have the 
Order Fixing Date of Hearing  published in the 
newspaper the judge chooses.   It must be published 
in the newspaper  at least two (2) weeks before  the 
date of the hearing. You should talk to the 
newspaper about how to publish legal notices. 
Included in this packet as Attachment E is a  sample	
 
of the newspaper notice. 
 
 
STEP 10:  Send  Affidavit of Publication  to the 
court. 
Once you have published the Order Fixing Date of 
Hearing , the newspaper will send you an Affidavit of 
Publication , which is proof that you had the 
newspaper publish the  Order Fixing Date of 
Hearing .  You must send the original of this 
Affidavit of Publication  document to the court  immediately after you get it from the newspaper.  
Keep a copy of it for your files. 
 
IF YOU HAVE MAILED COPIES TO THE 
COUNTY PROSECUTOR OR THE 
ATTORNEY GENERAL, COMPLETE STEP 
11. 
 
 
STEP 11:  Complete 
Proof of Mailing (Form D) 
and send to court. 
After you have mailed the required copies of the 
Verified Complaint  and signed Order Fixing Date 
for Hearing , the post office will send you a green 
card (called a certified mail receipt) that shows the 
mail was delivered.  Once you get it back, fill out the 
form called  Proof of Mailing  (Form D) and check 
each entity to whom you sent a copy of the 
complaint and order.  Be sure to attach the original 
green certified mail receipt(s) to the original proof of 
mailing.  Send the proof of mailing to the court.  
Keep a copy of it for your files. 
 
 
STEP 12:  Appear in court on the date set by the 
judge for your hearing.  
 
 
STEP 13:  Publish the  Final Judgment in the 
newspaper. 
After the hearing, the cour t will record the original 
Final Judgment  signed by the judge.  As soon as you 
receive your copy of the  Final Judgment, you must 
send it to be published in  the newspaper chosen by 
the judge.  However, the newspaper published 
version of the final judgment shall not include your 
social security number.  The  Final Judgment must 
appear in the newspaper no more than 20 days after 
the date on the judgment.  After you have it 
published, the newspaper w ill send you an original 
Affidavit of Publication . 
 
 
STEP 14:  Send the  Affidavit of Publication  to the 
court. 
As soon as you receive the  Affidavit of Publication 
from the newspaper, send the original to the Court as 
proof that you had the newspaper publish the  Final 
Judgment .  Keep a copy for your records.   
 
 
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Name Change – Adult 
 
STEP 15:  Order a certified copy of the Final 
Judgment . 
You must order from the court a  certified copy with 
a raised seal  of the Final Judgment,  by mail or in 
person.  There is no charge for the first certified 
copy.  Additional copies can be ordered for $10.00 
each.  Keep this for your files.   Certified Copies with 
a raised seal of the Final Judgment  must be sent to 
the Department of Treasury (Step 16), the Registrar 
of Vital Statistics (Step 17), and presented in person 
at any Motor Vehicle Agency or Regional Service 
Center (Step 18). 
 
 
STEP 16:  Send a copy of the certified  Final 
Judgment to the Department of Treasury . 
Mail a certified copy  of the Final Judgment  to the 
Department of Treasury  within 45 days after the 
date of the Judgment.  You must include a check or 
money order payable to the  Treasurer, State of New 
Jersey  in the amount of $50.  Mail the  certified copy 
of the  Final Judgment  with the check or money 
order and a stamped self-addressed envelope to:    Department of Treasury Division of Revenue 
Judgment Name Change Unit  P. O. Box 453 
Trenton, NJ 08646 
 
  STEP 17:  Notify the Registrar of Vital 
Statistics of the State. 
You should send a 
certified copy of the Final 
Judgment to the Registrar of Vital Statistics of the 
State in which you were born.  You can locate the 
address of that office by contacting them by 
telephone.  Directory assistance can provide you 
with the telephone number of that office.  They are 
located in the capital city of the State in which you 
were born.  That office will tell you if there is a fee.  
If you were born in New Jersey, the address for this 
office is: 
  Bureau of Vital Statistics 
Attn:  Record Modification Unit 
P. O. Box 370 
Trenton, NJ 08625 
In New Jersey there is a $2.00 fee to process the 
legal name change.  There is also a $27.00 fee if you 
want to receive a corrected birth certificate.  Checks 
or money orders should be made payable to the 
Treasurer, State of New Jersey.   There is a $2.00 fee 
for each additional copy of the birth certificate. 
 
 
STEP 18:  Notify the Motor Vehicles 
Commission . 
If you are a licensed driver, a registered owner of a 
vehicle, or possesses a handicapped or non-driver 
identification card, you must present the  Final 
Judgment  in person at any Motor Vehicle Agency or 
Regional Service Center within two weeks of the 
date of the  Final Judgment .  Additional information 
is available at the MVC web site at  www.njmvc.gov	
 
regarding the list of acceptable documents to satisfy 
the 6 points of identification. 
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