What information must I provide if I wish to file a petition to change my name?
Answer: All name change petitions must include the following information:
What type of criminal history/background check is required?
Answer: The fingerprint-based criminal history check shall include arrests, conviction records, any criminal dispositions reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation and federal bureau of investigation records, and fingerprint processing by the federal bureau of investigation and the Colorado bureau of investigation. The petitioner shall be responsible for providing certified copies of any criminal dispositions that are not reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation or federal bureau of investigation records and any other dispositions which are unknown.
The petitioner is responsible for supplying fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation. Petitioner must also obtain the fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. The petitioner is also responsible for the cost of such checks.
Is there a publication requirement?
Answer: Yes. With regard to publication, Section 13-15-102 of the Colorado Revised Statutes provide as follows:
Where should an application for Name Change be filed in the state of Colorado?
Answer: You should file the Name Change petition in the district of county court of your residence.
What fees or costs are generally incurred in Name Change proceeding?
Answer: The filing fees for Name Change is $100.00, but it may vary from county to county, or district to district. Some additional fees may incur, such as: publication fee (may be payable to the court or newspaper); copy of documents, certification fee $20.00 per document; cost of fingerprints (varies); criminal history check fee $16.50 payable to CBI and $18.00 payable to the Treasury of the United States.
What if I want to change my child's name?
Answer: If you are filing the name change petition for a minor, the child must be a resident of the county in which you are filing the Petition. However, if the child is a subject of an ongoing action concerning child support, allocation of parental responsibilities, or parenting time, the Petition for Name Change must be filed in the District Court that has jurisdiction over the proceeding.
Answer: All name change petitions must include the following information:
- Your full name;
- The new name that you wish to use;
- A brief statement explaining the reason(s) why you wish to change your name;
- Petitioners who are over fourteen years of age must include, as part of their petition, the results of a certified fingerprint-based criminal history check conducted within the ninety-day period preceding the date of the filing of the petition.
- Petitioners who are under nineteen years of age must include the caption of any proceeding in which a court has ordered child support, allocation of parental responsibilities or parenting time with regard to the petitioner. If the petitioner is the subject of a proceeding involving one of these issues (child support, allocation of parental responsibilities or parenting time), his/her petition should be filed in the court exercising jurisdiction over those issues.
What type of criminal history/background check is required?
Answer: The fingerprint-based criminal history check shall include arrests, conviction records, any criminal dispositions reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation and federal bureau of investigation records, and fingerprint processing by the federal bureau of investigation and the Colorado bureau of investigation. The petitioner shall be responsible for providing certified copies of any criminal dispositions that are not reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation or federal bureau of investigation records and any other dispositions which are unknown.
The petitioner is responsible for supplying fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation. Petitioner must also obtain the fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. The petitioner is also responsible for the cost of such checks.
Is there a publication requirement?
Answer: Yes. With regard to publication, Section 13-15-102 of the Colorado Revised Statutes provide as follows:
- Public notice of a change of name shall be given at least three times within twenty-one days after the court orders publication pursuant to section 13-15-101 (1.5). The person changing his or her name shall cause such public notice to be given in a newspaper published in the county in which the person resides. If no newspaper is published in that county, such notice shall be published in a newspaper in such county as the court directs.
- Public notice of such name change through publication as required in subsection (1) of this section shall not be required if the petitioner has been:
- The victim of a crime, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3(1), C.R.S.;
- The victim of child abuse, as defined in section 18-6-401, C.R.S.; or
- The victim of domestic abuse as that term is defined in section 13-14-101(2).
Where should an application for Name Change be filed in the state of Colorado?
Answer: You should file the Name Change petition in the district of county court of your residence.
What fees or costs are generally incurred in Name Change proceeding?
Answer: The filing fees for Name Change is $100.00, but it may vary from county to county, or district to district. Some additional fees may incur, such as: publication fee (may be payable to the court or newspaper); copy of documents, certification fee $20.00 per document; cost of fingerprints (varies); criminal history check fee $16.50 payable to CBI and $18.00 payable to the Treasury of the United States.
What if I want to change my child's name?
Answer: If you are filing the name change petition for a minor, the child must be a resident of the county in which you are filing the Petition. However, if the child is a subject of an ongoing action concerning child support, allocation of parental responsibilities, or parenting time, the Petition for Name Change must be filed in the District Court that has jurisdiction over the proceeding.