Resources

Name Change Steps: 

1. 1. Filing
   2. Schedule Hearing
   3. Publication
   4. Hearing

Generally, step one is filing a petition with the court. Asking the court to change your name and file confidential party document. Afterwards, you call or email the bailiff for the judge you were assigned to for a hearing that is at least 6 weeks out from that date. After that, file a publication notice and contact a newspaper in the county you are changing your name to publish for four consecutive weeks. After the four weeks of publication, you will receive from the newspaper an affidavit of publication that you will send to your bailiff. Then you will prepare a decree of name change, which is what the judge signs, and you’ll take that with you to the hearing. At the hearing, you will make statements as to your old name, your address, publication, your new name, and the reason for change. The judge will sign the order. 

Initial Eligibility Questions: 

To change your name as an adult in Nebraska, you must have lived in the county you are seeking a name change in for at least one consecutive year and be at least 19 years of age. If you have not lived in your county for at least one consecutive year, you must wait for the required amount of time. If you are under the age of 19 and want to change your name, there is a slightly different process that requires your parent or guardian’s consent, explained at this website. 

1. 1. Filing

In the initial stage of the process, you will need to complete two documents and file them with your county’s district court clerk. The first is the petition and the second is a confidential party information form.

Fill out the petition as directed. Leave the case number section blank, this will be assigned by the clerk after you file the petition. When you put your current legal name in the first blank, it may auto-populate the remaining blanks. For item five, put your current legal name on the left most blank and put your chosen name on the right most blank. Make sure that the spelling of your chosen name is correct! For item six, you will explain why you want your name changed. This does not have to be a long or personal answer. Examples include:

“I want my legal name to be my chosen name.” 

“I want my legal name to be what my friends and family calls me.” 

“I want my documents to reflect the name that I am referred to in my community.” 

“I want my legal name to reflect my gender identity.”

At the bottom of the petition, it will ask you whether you are able to receive updates from the court via email. If you are unable to receive updates via email for any reason, check the second box and explain why. This can be any explanation for why you cannot, for example: “I don’t have reliable internet access.”

After completing the petition, you will need to complete the confidential party information form. As with the petition, you will leave the case number part blank. When the documents are complete, you will use this website to find out who you need to contact to file the case. You should call or email the clerk of your county to determine how the case should be filed. Depending on which county you live in, you may be able to email your documents, but some counties still require that you drop off the documents in person. Here is the website to find the clerk of the district court information for each county. You will file with the district court for your county; county courts cannot complete your name change.

1. 2. Schedule Hearing

After your case has been filed with the clerk of the district court, it will be assigned to a judge and given a case number. If you provided your email on the petition, this update will be emailed to you. You will need to determine the bailiff for your judge. The best way to do this is to type your judge’s name and the word bailiff into google. Contact the clerk if you are unable to find this online. Email or call the bailiff for your judge to schedule a hearing at least six weeks out from the date that you filed. The bailiff will need the case number and approximately when you would like the hearing. The court’s calendar will determine the available times, so anticipate taking off work or finding childcare, if need be. The bailiff will assign you a date and time for your hearing.

1. 3. Publication

Nebraska law requires notice of adult name changes to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in your county for four consecutive weeks prior to the hearing. You will first need to complete this form and send it to a newspaper in your county that publishes legal notices. Complete the form as directed with information from your petition. The time and date blanks will be the time and date from the stamped petition that you received back from the clerk after you filed your petition. Include the location and the date and time of your hearing that you scheduled with the Bailiff. At the bottom where it says “Petitioner (print name)” be sure to put your current legal name.

After completing the form, contact a newspaper of general circulation in your county and tell them you would like to publish a legal notice. Most newspapers have an online form to request for publication, some will have a phone number or email address on their website for you to contact about getting your notice published. Work with the newspaper to publish the notice for four consecutive weeks. You do not have anything to do during those four weeks. Vibe!

After the notice has been published for four consecutive weeks, the newspaper will send you the Affidavit of Publication. You will need to send this to the Baillif and print out a copy to bring to your hearing. 

1. 4. Hearing

Your hearing will be unopposed, there will be no one present in the court for the hearing other than you. The hearing will either be in person or virtual, depending on the judge’s preference. The hearing will last no more than 15 minutes. You do not have to be in a suit; wear something that you are comfortable in and is presentable. 

Prior to the hearing, you will need to prepare a proposed decree. This is the order that will be signed by the judge to change your name, so make sure to double check the spelling! Complete the decree as directed on the form. Be sure to include the case number on the proposed decree and the name of the newspaper that you published the notice in. For the date blank, put the date from the stamp on the petition that you got back from the clerk. Print off two copies of the proposed decree. 

Arrive fifteen minutes before your hearing is scheduled. At the hearing, the judge will call your case by reading the case number and the case caption. The judge will ask if you are ready to proceed and you will ask the court to swear you in to testify. You will provide the court with your prepared decree and a copy of the Affidavit of Publication. You should ask the judge if you can approach the bench to provide them with these documents. The court provides this script which you can then read to the judge. This script should be filled out as instructed in advance. For item four, you can use the same reasoning that you used in the petition. The judge may ask additional questions, but after that, the matter will be closed and the judge will sign your decree. Congrats! Your name is now legally changed, and you can pick up a certified copy of the decree from the clerk of the district court. Certified copies are needed to update your name at different places. Three certified copies is typically all that you will need, but you can always go back to the clerk to get more copies. 

Cost: 

Legal process costs around $160 split between the filing fee for the petition and the cost of publication in the newspaper

Documents:

1. 1. Petition
   2. Confidential Party Information
   3. Publication Legal Notice
   4. Decree

Rename “Change Name of Minor Child” to “Minor Name Change” 

Add the following: “A minor child is anyone under the age of nineteen in the state of Nebraska. Minors generally follow the same steps listed in the Adult Name Change section above. However, there are the following differences:

• • Case must be brought by parent on behalf of minor.
  • Both parents must consent (if only one parent, that must be stated) or notice must be provided to non-consenting parent.
  • Minors only have to publish their name change for two consecutive weeks in the newspaper, as opposed to the four needed for adults.”

MORE RESOURCES

This link includes all the forms relevant to an adult name change in Nebraska.

The National Center for Transgender Equality resource hub provides information on the legal name change process for Nebraska.

Consent of both parents is required or notice must be provided to a non-consenting parent(s).

After filing the petition, the petitioner must publish notice of the filing in a local newspaper. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21, 271 (2016). The adult who files the petition is required to attend a hearing in district court and to testify under oath to certain issues raised in the petition. Whether the minor is required, or permitted, to attend the hearing depends on the rules of the local court. Contact the clerk of the local court for information on a minor’s attendance at the hearing.

Name Change

After you obtain a court order changing your name, you can update your name with the Department of Motor Vehicles.  

State law requires you to change your name on your driver’s license within 60 days of your name change hearing.  You cannot apply online for a name change; instead, you must go to your local DMV to change your name.  This DMV page provides a guide of the documents needed to change your name and the associated costs.  It is important to note that you provide the DMV with a certified copy of the court order changing your name.  You can obtain certified copies of the court order by requesting them from the clerk at the courthouse that conducted the hearing. 

Gender Marker Change

To change your gender marker, you need to provide the DMV in-person this form signed by a licensed doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, physician’s assistant, advanced practice nurses, or chiropractic doctor certifying that the applicant has undergone the necessary gender-affirming care procedures required for social gender recognition.

Although the form utilizes outdated language, it is quite broad in who can sign off on the gender-affirming care requirement and leaves discretion of what constitutes necessary medical care.  

In 2009, the ACLU of Nebraska worked with the DMV to update forms that asked invasive medical questions for transgender people to change their gender marker. This process still requires licensed physician sign-off; however, the ACLU of Nebraska is committed to making these forms better represent Nebraskans and eliminating the invasive questions about an individual’s medical histories.

For more details on Nebraska Replacement License, Permit, and State ID Cards, visit this webpage. For additional information on LGBTQ+ care, visit Planned Parenthood and the University of Nebraska Medical Center transgender clinics. 

Birth certificates must be changed in the state where you were born.

If you were born in Nebraska, you are able to change your name and gender on your birth certificate; however, surgery is required to change the gender marker. Visit the State’s Vital Records Office and provide your name change court order. If you are also seeking a changed gender marker, bring a notarized letter from your surgeon stating the date of the procedure. When a name is changed on a birth certificate, the old name is crossed out and the new name is typed above it. The record will be sealed and can only be accessed by a court order. Also, bring a current ID and payment for fees. Changes to a birth certificate are $16.00 and copies of a birth certificate are $17.00 per copy.  

Download Application for Amendment form.

Name Change

If you are updating your legal name only (no gender marker update) on an existing valid passport, you will need to complete and submit to the State Department an Application for a Passport Renewal (Form DS-82), your most recent passport, a recent color photograph of yourself 2×2 inches in size, and a certified copy of your order for a name change.  

There is a fee associated with renewing your U.S. passport, which can be calculated on the State Department’s Passport Fees webpage. You do not have to apply in person to change only your name on your passport.  

Gender Marker Change

A current executive order bans gender marker changes on passports, however that order is being litigated. See the above discussion of the executive orders for more information. For now, we do not recommend individuals attempt to change their gender marker on their passport. 

Name Change

To change the name on your Social Security card and record, you can apply through the mail or in person at a local Social Security office. This process can be done at the same time as applying for a gender change. You must submit an application for a Social Security Card. You will also need to provide proof of your identity and citizenship or immigration status, as well as acceptable proof of the name change.

For additional information on required documentation, visit the SSA page on Cards for Adults.

If you decide to submit these materials in person, SSA won’t accept photocopied or notarized copies of documents, only originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. They will return any documents you mail with a receipt.

Gender Marker Change

A current executive order bans gender marker changes for social security records, however that order is being litigated. See the above discussion of the executive orders for more information. For now, we do not recommend individuals attempt to change their gender marker with the Social Security Administration.