Adult Legal Name Change Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

Requirements one by one

File CC-DR-060 in a circuit court tied to one of five connections

Rule 15-901 does not require six months, one year, or any other minimum period of Maryland residence. An adult may file in the circuit court for the county or Baltimore City where the adult lives, carries on a regular business, works, habitually engages in a vocation, or was born. Residence is therefore one venue basis, not a universal eligibility condition.

Current form CC-DR-060 asks for the adult's current name, address, telephone and email; birth date and place; venue basis; birth name; each later name and reason; requested new name and reason; and current or prior sex-offender- registration names and states. The adult certifies that the request is not for an illegal or fraudulent purpose and signs under penalties of perjury. Attach a birth certificate or another document showing the current name.

Do not order fingerprints or a general criminal report

Rule 15-901 and CC-DR-060 do not require the adult to submit fingerprints, an FBI or Maryland State Police report, or a schedule of arrests and convictions. The mandatory form instead asks only whether the adult has ever registered or been required to register as a sex offender and, if so, the registered names and states.

Registration is not stated as a categorical bar. If a registrant receives the order, Criminal Procedure § 11-705(g) requires written notice to each local law-enforcement unit where the registrant resides or habitually lives within three days.

Wait through the 30-day objection period, not a newspaper cycle

An ordinary adult petition is not published in a newspaper or posted at the courthouse. Rule 15-901's Committee note expressly says there is “no publication or other required notice” and explains that the 30-day delay gives a person who learns of the request time to object.

Anyone with a valid, personally known reason may object within 30 days after the petition was filed. Current form CC-DR-115 requires the objector to serve the petitioner. The petitioner may file a written response within 15 days after service of the objection.

After those periods expire, the court may hold a hearing or decide the adult petition on the papers. It cannot enter an order earlier than 30 days after filing, and it cannot deny the request without a hearing if the petitioner asked for one.

Choose the privacy route before filing sensitive information

An ordinary Rule 15-901 file is not confidential automatically. Maryland Courts directs a person seeking restricted inspection to file CC-DC-053 and give a special and compelling reason. The current form requires the filer to identify the specific record and facts supporting restricted access.

Rule 15-902 provides a separate judicial declaration of gender identity that may include a name change. An adult declaration petition uses the same five venue connections. The court may grant all requested relief without a hearing, but may not deny any requested relief without a hearing. Maryland Courts states that these cases are confidential by case type and no separate action is needed to prevent public inspection.

Budget for the filing and request record changes separately

Maryland Courts currently lists a $165 filing fee for either adult route. A person unable to prepay costs may submit CC-DC-089 with the petition under Rule 1-325. An initial prepaid-cost waiver may not eliminate costs ultimately left open at the end of the case, so read the order the judge issues.

The clerk must notify the State Board of Elections of the court-ordered name change. CC-DR-060 warns that the elections database may retain a link between the former and new names even when the court case is confidential.

A Maryland birth certificate does not change merely because the court entered the order. Under Health-General § 4-214(c)(1), the Maryland-born person—or the listed representative—must request the amendment and provide the order. Other agencies use their own update processes.

What trips people up

• The newspaper instruction is obsolete for an ordinary adult filing. The Supreme Court's current Rule 15-901 deleted the old publication step. Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2201 still refers to waiving a “publication requirement,” but the current rule imposes none.
• The 30 days run from filing, not from publication or service. CC-DR-115 now states that deadline directly.
• Ordinary sealing and gender-declaration confidentiality are different. The first requires a petition and supporting reason; the second is a restricted case type.
• The election notice can preserve an old/new-name link. Read CC-DR-060's warning before assuming a confidential court file also severs MDVOTERS data.

Common questions

Must I live in Maryland to use Rule 15-901?

Not necessarily. Residence is one of five venue connections. Regular business, employment, habitual vocation, or birth in the filing county can also supply venue, and the rule states no minimum residence duration.

Will the court schedule a hearing?

It may, especially if there is an objection or the judge needs more information. After the 30-day period, Rule 15-901 permits a papers-only order, but does not guarantee one.

Does a fee waiver make the case confidential?

No. A cost waiver and restricted inspection are different requests. Use the current sealing form for an ordinary case, or the separate confidential Rule 15-902 route when seeking a judicial declaration of gender identity.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Rule 15-901 — five adult venue connections, no ordinary publication, 30-day minimum before an order, and discretionary hearing. Official Rules Order RO-211 (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Maryland Courts forms CC-DR-060 and CC-DR-115 — mandatory petition fields, perjury affirmation, attached current-name document, elections warning, 30-day objection, service, and possible hearing. Official adult petition; official objection (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Md. Rule 15-902 and Maryland Courts gender-identity guidance — adult declaration with an optional name change, possible no-hearing grant, hearing-before-denial protection, and automatic confidentiality. Official Rules Order; official guidance (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 11-705(g) — three-day registrant notice. Official current statute (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Maryland Courts fee, waiver, and record-access materials — $165 filing, CC-DC-089 prepaid-cost request, and CC-DC-053 ordinary sealing petition. Official name-change guide; official fee-waiver guide; official sealing form (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Md. Code, Health-General § 4-214(c)(1) — requester-driven Maryland birth- certificate amendment. Official current statute (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2201 — codified publication- waiver language that remains on the books despite the current rule's removal of ordinary publication. Official current statute (accessed 2026-07-26).