Nebraska Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name

Nebraska handles both adult and minor name changes through one consolidated statute, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,271. A petitioner files a verified petition in the district court of the county where they have lived for at least one year, publishes notice in a county newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks, and appears at a hearing. The court grants the change if it finds "proper and reasonable cause."

Two things make Nebraska's process a little more layered than most: the state's age of majority for these purposes is 19, not 18, and a parent filing to change a child's name uses a separate form series with a judge-made best-interest standard on top of the statute. Divorce name restoration, by contrast, is handled entirely inside the dissolution decree itself under a different statute. This page covers each of those pieces.

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

How to Legally Change Your Name as an Adult in Nebraska

File a verified petition in the district court of the county where you have been a bona fide resident for at least one year. The petition must state your residency, address, date of birth, reason for the change, and the name you are requesting. The court must find "proper and reasonable cause" and confirm proper notice was given before granting the change.

Nebraska's district court civil docket fee totals $144.00 under the fee schedule effective July 2026, made up of a base docket fee plus a series of smaller component fees for things like judges' retirement, legal services, and court automation. You will also need to pay the newspaper directly for publication, a separate and variable cost, so have those funds ready before you file. An in forma pauperis fee waiver is available from the trial court for petitioners who cannot pay.

Nebraska's self-help forms for an adult petition include DC 6:9.1 (Petition for Name Change), DC 6:9.2 (Legal Notice for Publication), DC 6:9.3 (Decree of Name Change), DC 6:9.4 (Confidential Party Information), DC 6:9.5 (Petitioner's Showing and Request for Waiver of Publication), and DC 6:6.8 (Affidavit of Mailing Published Notice), all available through the Nebraska Judicial Branch's self-help site.

The Age-19 Rule

Nebraska's general age of majority, set by § 43-2101, is 19, not 18, and minority ends early if a person marries before turning 19. For a name change, that threshold is an eligibility rule, not merely a notice rule. Section 43-2101 gives an 18-year-old only a short list of adult capacities: entering contracts and leases, executing promissory notes and security instruments, acquiring or conveying title to real property, and consenting to mental health services. Capacity to bring a lawsuit is not on that list. Section 25-307 then provides that "the action of an infant shall be commenced, maintained, and prosecuted by his or her guardian or next friend," and none of its exceptions covers a name-change petition.

The Nebraska Judicial Branch states the same rule in plain terms on its adult name change page: for this purpose an adult is "an individual who has attained the age of 19, is a minor who has been emancipated by court order, or is married," and "if you wish to change your name, and you are not 19, emancipated or married you will need your parent or guardian to file for you."

So an unmarried, unemancipated 18-year-old cannot file on their own; a parent, guardian, or next friend brings the petition for them. Separately, § 25-21,271(3) adds a notice step: when the petitioner is under 19 and has a noncustodial parent, notice of the filing must be sent to that parent by certified mail within 5 days after publication. A person 19 or older petitions on their own with no special notice obligation tied to age.

Changing a Minor's Name in Nebraska

Separately from the age-19 notice rule above, any adult (typically a parent) can petition in district court to change a child's name of any age. If the other parent consents, they sign form DC 6:11.3. If the other parent does not consent, is expected to contest the petition, or their address is unknown, notice must go out by certified mail within 5 days after publication (form DC 6:11.4), and the court holds an evidentiary hearing.

Nebraska's own statutory annotations point to a line of cases, including In re Change of Name of Andrews, 235 Neb. 170 (1990), applying a judge-made "substantial welfare of the child" standard that goes beyond the bare statutory text: a minor's surname is changed only when the child's substantial welfare requires it, weighing factors like parental misconduct, failure to support or maintain contact, how long the current surname has been used, and the child's own reasonable preference. The residency rule mirrors the adult track: the petitioning adult and the child must have lived in the filing county for at least one year.

Publication in Nebraska

Notice of the petition must be published in a county newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks. The court can waive that requirement if the petitioner shows publication would put them in danger, using form DC 6:9.5.

Nebraska's Address Confidentiality Program, run by the Secretary of State for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, provides a substitute mailing address for interactions with state and local agencies, but it does not mention name-change court filings, record sealing, or publication waivers anywhere in its own program materials. It is a separate program from the § 25-21,271 publication-danger waiver described above, which is the operative safety mechanism for a name-change case specifically. A reader worried about being located by an abuser should not assume the two-week newspaper notice is automatically waived; the danger showing has to be affirmatively made.

Restrictions: Sex Offenders and Criminal History

Nebraska's statute contains no explicit bar tied to a criminal history or felony conviction. The court's "proper and reasonable cause" requirement functions as a general discretionary gate, but there is no fingerprint-submission or felony-disclosure requirement written into § 25-21,271.

If the petitioner is on the sex offender registry, the clerk of the district court must deliver a copy of the name-change order to the Nebraska State Patrol's sex offender registration division and to the Department of Health and Human Services, which then cross-reference the changed name against the registry. That is a mandatory reporting step, not a bar to getting the name change. The new name does not let a registrant evade registry tracking.

Name Change After Marriage in Nebraska

No standalone Nebraska statute grants a right to change a surname upon marriage. As in most states, this is handled at the agency level: a newly married person presents a certified marriage certificate to the Social Security Administration or the Department of Motor Vehicles to update their name, without going through a court process.

Name Change After Divorce in Nebraska

Divorce name restoration in Nebraska is its own statute, separate from the general name-change process above. Under § 42-380, a plaintiff or defendant in a dissolution or annulment proceeding may request restoration of a former name, and the court "shall" approve the request "except for good cause shown." The statute expressly states that a parent and child having different surnames after the dissolution is not, by itself, sufficient cause to deny restoration. The change takes effect on the same date the decree is entered, and the decree must state both the former and new name.

This route only works if you request it inside the dissolution or annulment case itself. Someone who skipped that step has to use the general adult petition process under § 25-21,271 instead, with its residency, publication, and fee requirements.

Related Nebraska Records

See Nebraska marriage and divorce records for documenting a name restored in a divorce decree, Nebraska court records for how a name-change case fits into the state's broader court records, and Nebraska divorce laws for the dissolution process itself.

For the national picture, see how to legally change your name, how much does it cost to change your name, and the name change checklist. For every state side by side, see name change laws by state.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Nebraska name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and court procedures change; verify current details with your Nebraska district court clerk or a licensed Nebraska attorney before relying on anything here for a specific filing.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to change your name in Nebraska?

The total district court civil docket fee is $144.00, plus a separate cost to publish notice in a newspaper, paid directly to the paper. A fee waiver is available for petitioners who cannot pay.

Do I have to publish notice of my name change in Nebraska?

Yes, once a week for two consecutive weeks in a county newspaper, unless the court waives it on a showing that publication would endanger you.

Can an 18-year-old change their name in Nebraska without a parent?

Not on their own, unless they are married or emancipated by court order. Nebraska's age of majority is 19 under § 43-2101, and the Nebraska Judicial Branch treats an adult petitioner as someone who is 19 or older, emancipated, or married. Anyone else needs a parent, guardian, or next friend to file the petition, and a petitioner under 19 with a noncustodial parent also triggers certified-mail notice to that parent within 5 days after publication.

Can a registered sex offender change their name in Nebraska?

Yes. Nebraska does not bar it. The court clerk must forward the order to the state patrol's registry division so the new name is cross-referenced, but the change itself is not blocked.

Does a Nebraska divorce automatically restore my former name?

Only if you request it inside the dissolution or annulment proceeding under § 42-380. If you did not, you can still use the general name-change petition process afterward.