Utah: Adult Legal Name Change Requirements

Requirements one by one

Complete one year in the filing county

Under Utah Code § 42-1-1, the petition goes to the district court of the
county where the petitioner resides. The petitioner must allege bona fide
residence in that county for the entire year immediately before filing. A move
between Utah counties can therefore restart the county-specific clock.

The statute requires the cause and proposed name. Current form 1730FAJ adds
birth and current legal names, birth date, pending cases, custody and
supervision status, registry status, the requested name, and statements about
fraud, creditors, criminal consequences, other people's rights, and notice. It
is signed under criminal penalty, not before a notary.

Obtain the registry certification

The current adult packet includes Department of Corrections form 1701FAJ.
The petitioner sends it to the Offender Registration Program, which searches
the Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry and Child Abuse Offender Registry and
returns the certification for filing.

This is a registry clearance, not a general criminal-background package. The
adult statute and current packet do not require applicant fingerprints or an
FBI/state criminal-history report.

Let the court set notice and attend the hearing

Utah does not impose automatic newspaper publication. Under § 42-1-2, the
court orders what notice, if any, must be given. After any ordered notice, the
petitioner must prove the petition's allegations and proper cause in open
court. Utah Courts' current instructions likewise say the court schedules a
hearing and the petitioner must attend.

A registry-listed petitioner has a fixed additional notice rule. §
53-29-303(3) requires notice to the department at least 30 days before the
hearing and permits the change only when it is not contrary to the public
interest.

Separate current supervision from registry status

Section 42-1-1 categorically bars a current "offender" as defined in §
64-13-1(13). That definition covers a qualifying convicted person who is
committed to Department of Corrections custody, on probation, or on parole.

Registry status alone uses a different track. A person who is no longer barred
as a current offender may petition while still registered, but must satisfy
the public-interest standard and notice rule. If granted, the court sends the
order to the department within 10 days, and the registry publishes the former
and changed names as aliases.

Budget the current $375 fee

Utah Courts' filing schedule, effective May 6, 2026, and its name-or-sex-change
cover sheet set a $375 fee for a name change, a sex-designation change, or
both in one case. Current form 1305GEJ provides a fee-waiver route for a person
who cannot pay.

Under § 42-1-3, the name-change proceeding does not alter a pending legal
action or an existing right, title, or interest. The signed order authorizes use
of the new legal name from the order date; updating Vital Records and other
agencies remains a separate post-order process.

What trips people up

• The residence period is county-specific. One year somewhere in Utah is
  not enough if the petitioner has not lived in the filing county for that year.
• No automatic publication does not mean no notice. The judge decides what
  notice is required, and the case still proceeds through an open-court hearing.
• Corrections supervision and registry status are not the same rule. A
  current § 64-13-1 offender cannot file; an otherwise eligible registered
  person uses the public-interest and 30-day-notice track.
• A combined name and sex-designation request uses the current combined
  forms. The sex-designation evidence and findings are separate from the
  ordinary name-change proper-cause showing.

Common questions

Must I publish in a newspaper?

Not automatically. Section 42-1-2 directs the court to decide what notice, if
any, must be given before the hearing.

Do I need fingerprints?

The current adult packet requires a Department of Corrections certification of
the two offender registries, not an applicant fingerprint card or general FBI
background report.

Can a registered person change their name?

Potentially, if the person is not currently barred as a § 64-13-1 offender.
The court must find the change is not contrary to public interests, the
department receives at least 30 days' prehearing notice, and both names will be
published as registry aliases after an order.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code §§ 42-1-1 to -3 — court, one-year county residence, petition,
  offender bar, court-set notice, open-court proof, proper cause, and effect.
  Official current Title 42
  PDF (accessed
  2026-07-26).
• Utah Code § 64-13-1(13) — current Corrections-offender definition.
  Official current Chapter 13
  PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Utah Code § 53-29-303(3) — registered-person public-interest standard,
  30-day department notice, order transmission, and public aliases. Official
  current Chapter 29
  PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Utah Courts forms 1730FAJ and 1701FAJ — current petition contents,
  declaration, combined petition, and registry certification. Official
  petition;
  official registry
  certification
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Utah Courts fee schedule and form 1305GEJ — $375 fee and current waiver
  route. Official current fee
  page;
  official waiver
  form
  (accessed 2026-07-26).