Adult Legal Name Change Requirements in Utah

At a glance

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).