Arkansas Name Change Laws: The 2023 Redaction Reform and How to Petition

Arkansas updated its name-change law in 2023. Act 331 added two requirements that did not exist before: the petition filed in circuit court must be verified, meaning signed under oath, and the court clerk must keep confidential identifying information out of the public case file. Anyone relying on an older description of Arkansas's process is likely reading pre-2023 law.

This guide covers the current circuit-court petition process, the 2023 redaction reform, what happens for minors and after divorce, and the restrictions that apply to registered sex offenders.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Adult Petition Process

Adults petition the circuit court in the county where they live. Ark. Code Ann. Section 9-2-101 gives the circuit court power, on good reasons shown, to change a person's name, but the practical process changed substantially in 2023. Act 331 (HB1473), effective March 21, 2023, added two new requirements: the petition must be verified, meaning signed under oath before a notary, and the court file must be redacted of confidential identifying information under Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 19.1. The clerk keeps a redacted version in the public file and sends an unredacted version only to the Arkansas Crime Information Center, Driver Control, and, on request, Vital Records.

That redaction requirement is a genuinely useful, current privacy protection, worth knowing about regardless of why you're changing your name: Arkansas now automatically limits what appears in the public court file, rather than requiring a petitioner to separately ask for confidentiality.

Filing Fee

No official statewide circuit-clerk fee schedule was confirmed for this guide. Legal Aid of Arkansas estimates the cost at around $165, but that figure comes from legal-aid guidance, not an official court fee schedule, so confirm the current cost with your county circuit clerk. An In Forma Pauperis (IFP) petition is available for petitioners who cannot afford the fee.

Minor Name Changes

Arkansas does not appear to have a distinct statutory minor name-change provision separate from the general Section 9-2-101 process. Per Legal Aid of Arkansas guidance, both parents must consent, with notarized signatures, and a non-consenting parent must be formally served with the petition and may contest it. If a legal guardian is filing, the child's parents must consent as well.

Name Change After Divorce

Arkansas law lets a court restore a party's former name as part of the divorce case itself. Ark. Code Ann. Section 9-12-318 allows the court, when it finds either party entitled to a divorce, to restore that party to the name they used before the marriage. The statutory language is older and gendered, referring to restoring «the wife,» but the mechanism applies as part of the divorce proceeding regardless of which spouse is requesting the change. See Arkansas divorce laws for the broader divorce process.

Publication

Arkansas has no newspaper-publication requirement for an ordinary adult name change. The state's real confidentiality mechanism, since 2023, is the redaction requirement described above rather than a publication waiver.

Restrictions

A judge can deny an Arkansas name-change petition for fraud, to avoid debts, to hide from law enforcement, or another improper purpose, and a name change does not erase existing criminal history, debts, or child-support obligations. Registered sex offenders face an additional, specific bar: Ark. Code Ann. Section 12-12-906 prohibits a name change unless it is incident to a change in marital status or necessary to exercise religion, and any approved change must be reported to local law enforcement within 5 calendar days.

Marriage-Based Name Change

Arkansas has no statute specifically codifying marriage-based name changes. A newly married person typically updates their last name by presenting a marriage certificate to the Social Security Administration and the Arkansas driver's license office, the customary practice used in most states.

Domestic Violence and Safety Considerations

Arkansas's 2023 redaction reform functions as a meaningful, built-in privacy protection: the public circuit court file no longer displays the identifying details of a name-change petition, regardless of the petitioner's reason for filing. That said, a redacted state court file does not automatically make a new name confidential with the Social Security Administration or the U.S. State Department, which apply their own separate rules. Anyone changing their name specifically for safety reasons should raise the concern directly with the circuit clerk and consider Arkansas's separate Address Confidentiality Program options.

Related Arkansas Records

See Arkansas marriage and divorce records for obtaining certified copies your petition may require, and Arkansas court records for how name-change case files fit into the state's broader court-records rules.

For the general nationwide process, see how to legally change your name, what it costs to change your name, and the post-name-change checklist.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Arkansas name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Arkansas's official statute portal is not freely accessible online, so several details in this guide rely on Legal Aid of Arkansas guidance rather than a directly quoted statute. Verify current details with your county circuit clerk or a licensed Arkansas attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.