Virginia Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name

Virginia covers nearly the entire name-change process, adult petitions, minor petitions, and felony and sex-offender restrictions, in a single, unusually comprehensive statute, Va. Code 8.01-217, filed in circuit court. There is no general newspaper-publication requirement anywhere in the process.

What Virginia uses instead of publication is direct notice: to a non-consenting parent in a minor's case, and to the local Commonwealth's Attorney for any petitioner disclosing a felony conviction or sex-offender-registration status, who then has a genuine 30-day window to respond and represent the Commonwealth's interests in the case.

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 Virginia

An adult files an application in the circuit court of the county or city where they reside, under Va. Code 8.01-217. An incarcerated person instead applies in the circuit court of the county or city where they are currently incarcerated. The statute does not set an explicit residency-duration requirement; venue simply follows current residence.

Virginia's Judicial System publishes standardized self-help forms for this process: CC-1411, Application for Change of Name (Adult), and CC-1427, Application for Change of Name (Child). There is no single statewide filing fee; costs are set locally. Two illustrative county examples: Hanover County lists $41 and Chesapeake lists $44, plus roughly $12 per copy for service of process where that applies. These are examples only, not authoritative statewide figures, so confirm the current fee with your circuit court clerk.

Virginia's statute was amended in the 2025 legislative session (2025, cc. 206, 220). The current, live text at law.lis.virginia.gov confirms that amendment is already incorporated, and every specific claim on this page, including venue, the incarcerated-person venue rule, disclosure requirements, the Commonwealth's Attorney's 30-day window, and the void-ab-initio enforcement mechanism described below, has been independently verified against that current statutory text.

Changing a Minor's Name

A minor with no living parent or guardian may apply through a next friend acting on their behalf. Where both parents are living, the parent not joining in the petition must be served with reasonable notice and has the right to object. An objection triggers a best-interest-of-the-minor hearing before the court decides whether to grant the change.

Restoring Your Name After Divorce

Virginia integrates divorce-based restoration directly into the general statute rather than creating a separate mechanism. Under Va. Code 20-121.4, when the court decrees a divorce from the bond of matrimony, it restores a party's former or maiden name by separate order, on that party's motion, explicitly applying the formal requirements of 8.01-217. That cross-reference makes Virginia's system unusually integrated compared to states where the two statutes operate independently of each other.

Publication Requirements

Virginia has no newspaper-publication requirement for the general public anywhere in the process. In its place, the law relies on direct service and notice: to a non-consenting parent in a minor's case, described above, and to the Commonwealth's Attorney for felony and sex-offender-registrant petitions, described below.

Restrictions: Felony and Sex-Offender Rules

The application must disclose the applicant's felony-conviction record. The court cannot accept an application from a person currently on probation, or from an incarcerated person, without a specific finding of good cause to proceed.

The application must also disclose Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry status, and the same good-cause requirement applies to registrant petitioners. What makes Virginia distinctive here is procedural: the attorney for the Commonwealth in the jurisdiction where the application was filed is entitled to respond and actively represent the Commonwealth's interests, with a genuine 30-day window to do so. That is a meaningfully more active layer of government review than most other states in this batch build into their restriction process. Subsection E of the statute confirms this enforcement mechanism directly: any order granting a change of name under subsection D that fails to comply with subsection D's disclosure and good-cause requirements is void ab initio, and the Commonwealth's Attorney is authorized to bring an independent action to void it.

Name Change After Marriage

Virginia 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 circuit court application. For the federal-level steps involved, see name change after marriage.

Related Virginia Records

For the marriage certificate or divorce decree that may support a filing, see Virginia marriage and divorce records. For how the state's court system handles filings and case access generally, see Virginia court records. For the broader dissolution process a name restoration is part of, see Virginia 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 Virginia name-change law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and the exact current statutory text change over time; verify current details with your circuit court clerk or a licensed Virginia 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.