Utah
Utah Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name
An adult petitions Utah's district court for a name change after establishing one year of county residency, and the court decides what notice, if any, the petition needs, rather than requiring newspaper publication for the general public. That single design choice, discretionary notice instead of mandatory publication, shapes most of what makes Utah's process different from its neighbors in this batch.
Utah's criminal-history restriction is structurally unusual: it does not live inside the name-change statute at all. A person defined as an «offender» under a separate corrections-code title is barred from filing outright, while sex, kidnap, and child-abuse-registry petitioners face an entirely different layer of registry-notice and publication duties pulled in from the state's Public Safety Code.
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 Utah
An adult files a petition in district court after being a bona fide resident of the county for the full year immediately preceding filing. Utah Courts' self-help center provides Form 1700FA, Petition for Name Change, as the standard starting document.
A fee figure of $375 is commonly cited by secondary and self-help-adjacent sources referencing Utah Code 78A-2-301, but it could not be independently confirmed on an official utcourts.gov fee-schedule page this session, so treat it as a starting estimate rather than a confirmed statewide number and verify with the district court clerk before filing. A Motion to Waive Fees, along with a related Order on Motion to Waive Fees, is available through utcourts.gov for petitioners who cannot afford the cost.
Utah's own legislative website, le.utah.gov, loads as a script-dependent page that could not be rendered directly for this article across multiple attempts. The statute citations below point to that official domain, consistent with never linking to a mirror site as the citation source, but the specific wording described here was cross-verified through Utah court self-help materials and form references rather than a direct read of the statute text itself. Confirm exact statutory language with a current Utah Code printout or a licensed Utah attorney before relying on any specific phrase.
Changing a Minor's Name
No dedicated minor-specific name-change statute could be identified. Utah's general name-change provision uses broad «any natural person» language, which is presumed to allow a parent to petition on a child's behalf, but no separate consent, notice, or best-interest standard specific to minors was found in the accessible text. Anyone pursuing a minor's name change, particularly a contested one, should confirm the current procedure with the district court clerk or a family law attorney.
Restoring Your Name After Divorce
No dedicated Utah statute for divorce-based name restoration could be located. A commonly cited Domestic Relations Code section did not resolve to any content when checked directly. A divorced person appears to use the same general district-court petition process available to any adult, though this remains genuinely unresolved rather than confirmed, and a reader in this situation should ask the district court clerk directly whether the divorce decree itself can include the restoration.
Publication and Notice Requirements
Utah does not require newspaper publication for the general public. The court has discretion over what, if any, notice of the hearing is given. That is a meaningfully lighter-touch approach than the mandatory publication several neighboring states in this batch require.
A separate and narrower publication duty applies specifically to sex, kidnap, and child-abuse-registry petitioners: 30 days' advance notice to the Department of Public Safety, along with publication of both the former and new names on the sex-offender registry website itself. This is a registry-specific notice track, not a general public-notice requirement.
Restrictions: A Structure Split Across Two Other Titles
Utah's restriction story is unusual because neither piece of it lives inside the name-change chapter. A person defined as an «offender» under Title 64 of the Utah Code, the state's corrections title, may not file a name-change petition at all. That is an outright bar rather than a heightened-scrutiny standard, and it is easy to miss because it is written into a different part of the code entirely.
Separately, a petitioner required to register under the state's Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry must disclose that status on the petition and comply with the added Department of Public Safety notice and registry-publication steps described above. The change must be found «not contrary to the public interest» for a registrant to obtain it. A reader relying only on the general name-change statute would miss both restrictions, since each one is cross-referenced in from a separate title of the Utah Code.
Name Change After Marriage
Utah has no statute dedicated to marriage-based name changes. A spouse who wants to adopt a new name at marriage does so administratively, presenting the marriage certificate to 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 Utah Records
For the marriage certificate or divorce decree that may support a name-change filing, see Utah marriage and divorce records. For how the state's court system handles filings and case access generally, see Utah court records. For the broader dissolution process, see Utah divorce laws. For the full agency-by-agency update process once a change is granted, see the name change checklist and how to legally change your name.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Utah name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Utah's official code website could not be directly read for this article; specific statutory wording should be confirmed with a current Utah Code printout, the district court clerk, or a licensed Utah 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
How long do I need to live in Utah before I can change my name?
One year. Utah requires bona fide residency in the county for the full year immediately preceding filing.
Does Utah require newspaper publication for a name change?
No, not for the general public. The court has discretion over what notice, if any, is required. Sex, kidnap, and child-abuse-registry petitioners face a separate registry-website publication duty instead.
Can an offender change their name in Utah?
A person defined as an offender under Utah's corrections code, Title 64, may not file a name-change petition at all. This restriction lives outside the name-change chapter itself.
How much does it cost to change your name in Utah?
A figure of $375 is commonly cited by secondary sources, but it was not independently confirmed on an official fee-schedule page. Confirm the current amount with your district court clerk.
Does a sex offender face extra requirements to change their name in Utah?
Yes. A person required to register under Utah's Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry must give the Department of Public Safety 30 days' notice and publish both names on the registry website, and the change must be found not contrary to the public interest.
Updates
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Sources and References
- Utah Courts, Self-Help: Name Change(utcourts.gov).gov
- Utah Courts, Form 1700FA, Petition for Name Change(utcourts.gov).gov
- Utah Code § 42-1-1, Application to District Court for Change of Name(le.utah.gov).gov
- Utah Code § 64-13-1, Definitions(le.utah.gov).gov
- Utah Code § 53-29-303, Change of Name(le.utah.gov).gov