Adult Legal Name Change Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Start with two fingerprint-based history checks

Every adult in the ordinary route is over the statute's age-14 screening threshold. Before filing, obtain certified fingerprint-based criminal-history checks from both the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. Each must be dated within 90 days before filing. The adult supplies and pays for the fingerprints and checks and must provide certified dispositions missing from the reports.

There is one narrow screening alternative. A petitioner at least 70 years old who needs to harmonize name discrepancies to obtain a Colorado identification card may use name-based CBI and FBI checks if attempted fingerprints were inconclusive or unreadable. That petitioner signs a no-felony perjury attestation and does not publish.

File the sworn petition in the county of residence

Under § 13-15-101(1), an adult files in county or district court in the county where the adult resides. Current JDF 432 directs ordinary filers to county court as the usual, lower-cost choice. Colorado states no minimum number of days or months of residence.

The filer completes JDF 433 with the current and requested names, birth date, adult status, county residence, no-felony statement, attached FBI and CBI checks, reason, proper-and-not-detrimental statement, and publication request or exemption. Sign before a clerk or notary.

Publish three notices unless the court waives publication

If publication applies, the court signs JDF 426. The filer gives JDF 427 to the newspaper and publishes at least three times within 21 days after the order. The newspaper must be published in the residence county, or another county newspaper the court directs when none is published there. File proof before the final decree.

Section 13-15-101(1.5) allows a discretionary waiver for good cause. Section 13-15-102 makes the waiver mandatory for the listed domestic- violence crime victim, child-abuse victim, and domestic-abuse victim categories, and when the adult changes a name to conform with gender identity.

The gender rule removes publication; it does not automatically suppress an adult court file. Colorado's 2026 automatic record-suppression act applies only when the petitioner was under 18 at filing.

Most ordinary cases are decided without a hearing

Current JDF 432 says most courts do not hold a hearing, although some counties do. A hearing, when used, lets the judge review the packet, ask questions, and order or waive publication. Check the filing court's process rather than assuming an appearance or a papers-only order.

After proof of publication—or a waiver—the court grants the change if it is proper and not detrimental to another person's interests. The signed JDF 448 is the final decree.

A prior felony has a narrow license-or-ID route

The ordinary statute bars a petitioner with a prior felony conviction or a felony-equivalent juvenile adjudication. Section 13-15-101(3) creates a narrow exception only when the legal change is needed for the Department of Revenue to issue a driver's license or identification card in that name.

Before filing under that route, the petitioner requests addition of the proposed name as a CBI criminal-history alias, notifies every district attorney's office for a felony conviction, and—if in DOC custody, jail, probation, or community corrections—notifies the supervising agency. The district attorney sends notice to any victim in its records. The court must also find no fraud, conviction- consequence avoidance, or criminal facilitation and that the change is proper and not detrimental.

Ordinarily the new name must be a name under which the person was convicted or adjudicated. The court may allow another name for good cause, and the statute expressly includes conforming a name to gender identity as good cause. That does not eliminate the license-or-ID gateway, and the court may still require publication in this prior-felony gender case.

Separate court fees from outside-provider costs

JDF 432 currently lists $98 in county court and $268 in district court, plus $20 for a certified decree. Fingerprinting, CBI/FBI reports, and the newspaper charge are separate.

An eligible filer may request court-fee relief under § 13-16-103 using JDF 205 and JDF 206, or use JDF 209 when qualifying through listed public benefits. The court can waive its own fees, not charges owed to outside providers.

After proof of publication or a waiver, the court sends the signed decree. The petitioner orders needed certified copies and separately supplies them to each agency or business whose record must change.

What trips people up

• The 90 days run backward from filing. A report older than 90 days does not satisfy the ordinary packet.
• Gender identity is an automatic publication exemption in the ordinary route. It is not merely a discretionary safety argument.
• No publication is not the same as a sealed adult case. The 2026 automatic suppression rule is limited to petitioners under 18.
• The prior-felony gender rule is not a general felony exception. The petitioner still must need the change for a Colorado license or ID and meet the special notice, alias, and findings requirements.

Common questions

Which court should an ordinary adult use?

The statute permits county or district court in the residence county. Current JDF 432 identifies county court as the most common and less expensive choice; ask the local clerk about its filing process.

Is a hearing required?

Not statewide. Most courts do not hold one, but some counties do. The local court controls scheduling and whether it needs live questions before ordering or waiving publication.

Does a court fee waiver cover fingerprints and the newspaper?

No. JDF 205 states that the court can waive its own fees. Fingerprinting, criminal-history reports, and publication are outside-provider charges.

Statutes and sources

• C.R.S. § 13-15-101 — residence-county filing, sworn petition, FBI/CBI checks, grant standard, ordinary felony bar, narrow prior-felony route, and age-70 ID route; § 13-15-102 — three publications and exemptions. Official 2025 CRS Title 13, linked from the General Assembly's current download page (accessed 2026-07-26).
• JDF 432 and JDF 433 — current adult instructions, fees, local hearing practice, mandatory petition fields, oath, and attachment mechanics. Official JDF 432 revised March 9, 2026; official JDF 433 (accessed 2026-07-26).
• JDF 426, JDF 427, and JDF 448 — publication order, three-notice newspaper form, proof, and final decree. Official JDF 426; official JDF 427; official JDF 448 (accessed 2026-07-26).
• C.R.S. § 13-16-103 and JDF 205 — discretionary indigency waiver for court costs. Official statute in Title 13; official current waiver form (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Colorado SB 26-018, chapter 55 — 2026 automatic suppression and no- publication rules limited to under-18 petitioners, leaving the adult record rule unchanged. Official enacted bill page (accessed 2026-07-26).