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Eligibility

If you are under the age of 18 you are considered a minor in the State of Illinois. A parent or guardian can petition to change your name on your behalf. The instructions below are for parent(s) and/or guardian(s) of a minor for whom a name changed is requested.

 

Obtain the Forms

Obtain and complete the following forms on the Lake County Circuit Clerk website under the section titled "Name Change":
 

• Petition for Name Change (Minor) (2 copies required)
• Name Change Decree (3 copies required)
• Notice of Motion   (3 copies required).                                                                                       The Notice of Motion is used only when the natural parents are not cohabitating.
• Notice of Publication (2 copies required).                                                                                  The Notice of Publication is used only when the whereabouts of the Non-Custodial parent is unknown and can not reasonably be determined.

The Petitioner shall provide to the Court a photocopy of the parents' or guardians' driver's license as well as a photocopy of the minor's birth certificate. These items will be collected by the court clerk and sealed so that members of the public will not have access to them.

Procedures for Biological Parents in Agreement

When both biological (birth) parents are in agreement of the name change, both parents complete and file the Petition for Change of Name (Minor) and the Notice of Motion in the Circuit Clerk’s office. The Petition for Change of Name (Minor) has to be notarized prior to filing. The Clerk requires a filing fee of $291.00 in cash, money order or credit card. No personal checks are accepted. The Circuit Clerk will provide a date to appear in court. Both parents must appear on this date. This date can be any day Monday through
Thursday at 9:00am or 1:30pm.

Procedures for Biological Parents not in Agreement

If the biological (birth) parents of the minor are not cohabitating, or consenting in writing to the name change, the custodial parent must complete and file the Petition for Change of Name (Minor) along with a Notice of Motion and mail a copy by certified mail to the non-custodial parent. 

Procedures for Missing Non-Custodial Parent

When the whereabouts of the non-custodial parent is unknown, the custodial parent must complete and file the Petition for Name Change (Minor) and publish the change of name request in the newspaper. The Petition for Change of Name (Minor) must be notarized. The Circuit Clerk will provide a date to appear in court. Next you have to publish your intention to change the name in a newspaper of general circulation in Lake County. The Circuit Clerk’s office will forward your Notice of Publication to the newspaper. There is a publication cost, which the newspaper will contact you about. You can contact the newspaper to find out what is the cost for publication. The Notice has to be published for three consecutive weeks after the Petition for Change of Name is filed, with the first insertion at least six weeks before your court date. After publication is completed, the newspaper will mail the Petitioner a Certificate of Publication. Make sure to bring this Certificate to your Court hearing.

Court Day

On the day of your court hearing, plan to arrive at the assigned courtroom at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Check-in with the Clerk in the courtroom and your case will be called. After court, you will then be instructed to return to the Circuit Clerk’s office to obtain certified copies of your Name Change Decree. The fee is $6.00 for the first copy and $15.00 for each additional copy. 

Special Disclaimer

Posted fees can change without notice. Please check the Circuit Clerk's Filing Fee page for the current fees.

Obtaining a New Birth Certificate

To change an Illinois birth record by court order to your or your minor’s new name, send the following to:

Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
925 E. Ridgely Ave.
Springfield, IL 62702-2737
Email: dph.vitals@illinois.gov
Web: http://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/birth-death-other-records/birth-records

     a)    A completed and notarized State of Illinois Affidavit and Certificate of Correction Requested, available online at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/sites/default/files/forms/affidavitcertcorrection_0.pdf.  
     b)    A certified copy of the Name Change Decree.    
     c)    A copy of a non-expired, government issued photo ID of the person requesting the correction.
     d)    Documentation required to complete the correction requested. Please visit http://www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords/correctioninfo.htm for more information concerning the types of documents needed.     
     e)     Check or money order for $15.00 (payable to the IL Dept. of Public Health).

If you have any additional questions on obtaining a corrected birth certificate, contact the Division of Vital Records at (217) 782-6554 or by email at dph.vitals@illinois.gov.

Born Outside of Illinois

If you were born outside of Illinois, contact the office that keeps the birth records in the state in which you were born to find out the proper procedures and fees.