Wyoming Name Change Laws: How to Legally Change Your Name

Wyoming covers name changes in a short, complete chapter of the code, Title 1, chapter 25, filed in district court after six months of residency in the state. The process is straightforward on its own terms: mandatory publication as the default notice method, with waivers for confidentiality orders, for good cause shown, and for joint-parent minor petitions.

What sets Wyoming apart is what its statute does not contain. Confirmed independently across the statute text itself and the state's official self-help materials, Wyoming has no felony or sex-offender restriction on who may petition for a name change, one of only two states in this ten-state batch without one, alongside South Dakota.

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 Wyoming

An adult petitions district court in the county of residence after being a bona fide Wyoming resident for at least six months immediately before filing (1-25-102). The six-month clock runs on residency in Wyoming, not in any particular county. Under 1-25-101 the verified petition must state how long the petitioner has been an actual bona fide resident of the county where it is filed, but that section sets no minimum county-residency period, so moving from one Wyoming county to another does not restart the six months. The Wyoming Judicial Branch's self-help center provides a full Adult Name Change packet, including the petition, a Motion for Grant of Confidentiality, the Notice by Publication, the Order on Name Change, a Certificate of Service, and the vital statistics form.

A filing fee of roughly $120 is commonly cited by secondary and self-help-adjacent sources, but it was not independently confirmed on an official fee-schedule page for this article. Newspaper-publication costs are a separate line item and can exceed the filing fee itself, so budget for both before filing. Confirm the exact current amounts with your district court clerk.

Changing a Minor's Name

Wyoming's minor procedure runs through the same chapter as the adult process. Publication notice may be waived upon good cause shown to the court, or when all of the minor's natural or adoptive parents, or legal guardians, sign the petition jointly (1-25-103). A related provision, 1-25-104, separately allows the court hearing an adoption to change the name of any child so adopted and enter an order to that effect, without limiting the new name to the adopting parents' surname. A second sentence of that same section is narrower and retrospective: a child already adopted in Wyoming may have his or her name changed to that of the adopting parents, on a petition filed by those parents on the child's behalf.

Restoring Your Name After Divorce

No dedicated Wyoming statute for divorce-based name restoration could be located, including a direct search of the state's Domestic Relations title. A divorced person appears to use the same general chapter 25 petition process as anyone else; confirm the current practice with your district court clerk or a family law attorney.

Publication Requirements

Public notice by publication is required, using the same method as service by publication on nonresidents in a civil action (1-25-103). The section names three separate grounds for skipping publication rather than two: a confidentiality order entered under W.S. 35-21-112 or any other court order allowing a party to keep addresses or other residence-identifying information confidential; good cause shown to the court; and a joint-signing route where the petitioners are a minor's natural or adoptive parents or legal guardians and all of them sign the petition.

One caveat on the second and third grounds: the statute places them in a single sentence that ends "with respect to a petition for a change of name of a minor," so whether good cause alone can excuse publication in an adult petition is not settled by the text. A petitioner should confirm with the district court clerk which ground, if any, the court will apply to their situation.

Restrictions: No Felony or Sex-Offender Bar

Wyoming has no felony or sex-offender restriction on who may petition for a name change. This was confirmed independently through two channels: the statute text of sections 1-25-101 through 104 itself, which contains no such language, and Wyoming's own official self-help page, which states directly that the only stated disqualifications relate to avoiding legal obligations, harming others, or a fraudulent purpose, without mentioning any criminal-history bar.

That makes Wyoming, alongside South Dakota, one of only two states in this ten-state batch with no criminal-history restriction on petitioning at all. It is worth stating this plainly on a comparison basis, since eight of the other nine states covered in this batch do restrict petitioning based on a felony or sex-offender-registration history. The court's own gatekeeping standard is that it must be satisfied the change is proper and not detrimental (1-25-101); no explicit clear-and-convincing-evidence standard was found in the accessible text.

Name Change After Marriage

Wyoming 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 Wyoming Records

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wyoming restrict felons or sex offenders from changing their name?

No. Wyoming has no felony or sex-offender restriction on who may petition, confirmed both in the statute text and the state's own official self-help materials, one of only two states in this batch without one.

How long do I need to live in Wyoming before I can change my name?

Six months in the state. Wyo. Stat. 1-25-102 requires bona fide residency in Wyoming for at least six months immediately preceding filing. There is no separate six-month county requirement: 1-25-101 asks only that the petition state how long you have been an actual bona fide resident of the county where you file, so moving between Wyoming counties does not restart the clock.

Does Wyoming require newspaper publication for a name change?

Yes, by default. Public notice by publication is required unless a confidentiality order protecting residence information applies, good cause is shown to the court, or all of a minor's natural or adoptive parents or legal guardians sign the petition jointly (1-25-103). The good-cause and joint-signing language appears in a sentence ending 'with respect to a petition for a change of name of a minor,' so ask the clerk how your court reads it for an adult petition.

How much does a Wyoming name change cost?

Roughly $120 per secondary sources, though this was not independently confirmed on an official fee schedule, plus separate newspaper-publication costs that can exceed the filing fee.

How do I get my maiden name back after a Wyoming divorce?

No separate divorce-restoration statute exists. A divorced person appears to use the same general chapter 25 petition process as anyone else; confirm with your district court clerk.