Florida: Adult Legal Name Change Requirements

Requirements one by one

File a verified petition in circuit court

A Florida adult files in the circuit court for the county where the petitioner
is a bona fide resident and domiciliary. Section 68.07 states no minimum period
of residence. The approved adult form is 12.982(a) and must be signed before
a notary or deputy clerk.

Florida's petition is unusually detailed. It reaches residence since birth,
parents, spouse and children, prior changes and other used names, five years of
employment or business/professional history, bankruptcy, criminal contacts
regardless of adjudication, registry status, money judgments, civil-rights
restoration, and the no-illegal-purpose/no-rights-invasion declarations.

Fingerprints and both background checks precede the hearing

Except for restoration of a former name, the petitioner must submit electronic
FDLE-approved fingerprints for state and FBI checks. FDLE sends the results to
the clerk and identifies sexual-predator or sexual-offender registration. The
petitioner bears the fingerprint and processing cost.

The petitioner cannot request the ordinary hearing until the clerk receives the
results. A former-name-restoration hearing may occur immediately after filing;
another hearing may occur immediately after the background results arrive.
Local procedure determines scheduling and whether the petitioner must attend.

Adult self-petitions require no newspaper publication

Section 68.07 contains no publication or general third-party notice for the
adult's own petition. Its express publication rule concerns a minor petition
with a nonresident other parent, which is outside this survey.

The section likewise creates no adult name-change-specific confidential filing,
sealed-record, or gender-identity track. That does not decide whether another
generally applicable court rule may protect information in a particular case;
it means § 68.07 itself supplies no such special adult route.

The court screens purpose, rights, and criminal information

The petition must swear that it is not filed for an ulterior or illegal purpose
and that granting it will not invade others' partnership, patent, goodwill,
privacy, trademark, or other property rights. It must disclose civil-rights
suspension and full restoration, if applicable. Criminal and registry history
is disclosed and considered, but § 68.07 does not impose a categorical felony
or registry disqualification.

Fees are local and background costs are additional

Section 68.07 states no filing-fee amount. Current official examples list
$400 in Lee County and $401 in Miami-Dade, so confirm the current amount
with the filing clerk. Fingerprint and background-check costs are separate.

The statewide civil-indigence application says qualifying applicants receive a
waiver of filing and summons fees, but not other costs and fees.

After judgment, the clerk reports a Florida-born petitioner's change to Vital
Statistics and reports the judgment to FDLE. The ordinary FDLE deadline is five
business days; the predator/offender electronic-notice deadline is two business
days.

What trips people up

• No publication does not mean no screening. Florida replaces newspaper
  notice with extensive sworn disclosures and state/federal record checks.
• Former-name restoration is the fingerprint exception. It is not a general
  waiver available for every requested name.
• The filing fee is not the total cost. Fingerprinting, background checks,
  notarization, and certified copies may be separate.
• The statute requires arrest and charge history, not convictions alone. It
  expressly reaches pleas and offense findings regardless of adjudication.

Common questions

Must I publish my adult petition?

No. Section 68.07 does not require newspaper publication for an adult self-
petition.

Can I set the hearing before the background check returns?

Not for the ordinary route. The approved form says the petitioner may not
request the hearing until the clerk has the state and national results.

Is a felony an automatic bar?

Section 68.07 requires disclosure and court consideration but states no
categorical felony bar. It does require full restoration if civil rights were
suspended.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 68.07(1)-(3), including § 68.07(3)(b)-(l) — court,
  domicile, fingerprints, results, costs, and verified petition contents.
  Official 2025 statute
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Fla. Stat. § 68.07(4)-(6) — hearing timing and clerk reports to Vital
  Statistics and FDLE. Official 2025 statute
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms 12.982(a)-(b) — filing,
  notarization, background-check sequence, local hearing process, and judgment
  findings. Official adult petition;
  official judgment
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Florida Courts civil-indigence application — qualifying filing/summons-fee
  waiver and exclusion of other costs. Official form
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Official local fees — current $400 Lee County other-domestic-relations fee
  and $401 Eleventh Circuit adult-name-change filing example. Lee County fee
  schedule; Eleventh Circuit
  packet
  (accessed 2026-07-26).