Tennessee
Tennessee Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name
Tennessee lets circuit, probate, and county courts each handle a name-change petition, and in practice many counties, including Nashville and Davidson County, route the filing through the Chancery Court Clerk & Master as a matter of local custom. There is no statewide newspaper-publication requirement anywhere in the process.
What sets Tennessee apart in this batch is the severity of its criminal-history restriction. A person convicted of first- or second-degree murder, or required to register as a sex offender, is permanently barred from legally changing their name, not merely subject to extra scrutiny. Every other felon faces a real but rebuttable presumption of bad faith they must personally overcome in court.
Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
How to Legally Change Your Name in Tennessee
Circuit court, probate court, and county court all have concurrent jurisdiction over a name-change petition under TCA 29-8-101(a). Many counties administer the filing through their Chancery Court, including Nashville and Davidson County's Chancery Court Clerk & Master, though this reflects local practice rather than a single statewide venue rule.
The statute text itself states only that a petitioner must be «a resident of the county» where the petition is filed, without spelling out a specific residency duration. A six-month figure is commonly cited by self-help and secondary sources, but it could not be confirmed as written into the statute text itself, so treat it as a common but unconfirmed convention rather than a fixed requirement.
Tennessee does not post a single statewide filing fee. TCA 29-8-104 sets the clerk's fee at the same rate charged for like services in other civil cases, meaning the county clerk's fee schedule controls the actual cost. Confirm the exact figure with your county court clerk before filing.
Changing a Minor's Name
Tennessee's general name-change statute applies broadly to «any resident» without spelling out a dedicated procedure or standard for a minor's petition. In practice, a parent is presumed to file as petitioner on a child's behalf, but the accessible statute text does not describe a separate consent, notice, or best-interest framework the way many other states' statutes do. Anyone pursuing a contested minor's name change, particularly where a non-petitioning parent objects, should talk with a family law attorney given how thin the published procedure is.
Restoring Your Name After Divorce
Tennessee has no dedicated divorce-restoration statute. TCA 29-8-101(b)(4) only exempts a name change that results from marriage, divorce, or adoption from the felony bad-faith presumption described below; it does not create a separate, streamlined restoration mechanism. A divorced person appears to use the same general chapter 29-8 petition process as anyone else petitioning for a name change.
Publication Requirements
Tennessee has no newspaper-publication or public-notice-by-publication requirement anywhere in chapter 29-8. That distinguishes it from several neighboring states in this batch, such as South Dakota and Wyoming, where publication is a mandatory step.
Restrictions: Felony and Sex-Offender Rules
This is Tennessee's defining feature among the states in this batch. A person convicted of first- or second-degree murder, or required to register under the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration Act, «shall not have the right to legally change their names.» That bar is permanent, with no stated expiration date and no path back once it applies.
Every other felony conviction triggers a rebuttable presumption that the petition is made in bad faith. The petitioner carries the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the change is not fraudulent, is made in good faith, will not injure anyone, and will not compromise public safety. This presumption does not apply, however, if the name change is the result of a lawful marriage, marital dissolution, or adoption. Separately, no public funds may be spent changing the name of a person incarcerated in a Department of Correction facility.
This is worth stating plainly rather than softening it: Tennessee's murder and sex-offender-registrant bar is an absolute, permanent prohibition, not a heightened-scrutiny standard a petitioner might eventually overcome.
Tennessee's official code is hosted through a state-designated LexisNexis portal that renders as an inaccessible page for ordinary readers trying to view it directly, so the specific text of two related sections, TCA 29-8-102 and 29-8-105, could not be independently confirmed for this article beyond the core murder and sex-offender bar described above, which is confirmed current through an official Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reference document.
Name Change After Marriage
Tennessee has no statute dedicated to marriage-based name changes. A spouse who wants to adopt a new name at marriage does so by custom, presenting a marriage certificate to agencies like the Social Security Administration and the DMV rather than filing a court petition. For the federal-level steps involved, see name change after marriage.
Related Tennessee Records
For the marriage certificate or divorce decree that may support a name-change filing, see Tennessee marriage and divorce records. For how the state's court system handles filings and case access generally, see Tennessee court records. For the broader dissolution process, see Tennessee divorce laws. For the full agency-by-agency update process once a name change is granted, see the name change checklist and how to legally change your name.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Tennessee name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and residency practices vary by county and change over time; verify current details with your county court clerk or a licensed Tennessee attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a sex offender change their name in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee permanently bars anyone required to register as a sex offender from legally changing their name. This is an outright, ongoing prohibition, not a heightened-scrutiny standard.
Does Tennessee require newspaper publication for a name change?
No. There is no publication requirement anywhere in TCA chapter 29-8, unlike several neighboring states.
What court handles a name change in Tennessee?
Circuit, probate, and county courts all have jurisdiction under TCA 29-8-101(a). Many counties, including Nashville and Davidson County, route filings through the Chancery Court Clerk and Master.
Can a felon change their name in Tennessee?
A felony conviction other than murder creates a rebuttable presumption of bad faith the petitioner must overcome with clear and convincing evidence, unless the change comes from a marriage, divorce, or adoption. A murder conviction or sex-offender registration duty is a permanent bar with no exception.
How much does a Tennessee name change cost?
There is no statewide fee. TCA 29-8-104 ties the clerk's fee to the rate charged for similar civil filings, so the actual cost depends on the county clerk's fee schedule.
Updates
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Sources and References
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-8-101, Change of Name, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reference copy(sor.tbi.tn.gov).gov
- Tennessee State Courts, Self-Help Center: Change Name(tncourts.gov).gov
- Tennessee State Courts, Self-Help Center Programs Overview(tncourts.gov).gov
- Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Chancery Court Clerk & Master: File a Name Change Petition(nashville.gov).gov