Name change in Alabama
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Alabama, in order. Each links to its official source and the date we last checked it. When you're ready, build a personalized checklist that covers every document at once.
This is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change, so always confirm with the official source linked on each step, and talk to a lawyer or legal-aid organization about your specific situation.
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Step 1: Get a court order for your name change
- To change your name as an adult in Alabama, you complete a Request to Change Name (Form PS-12) and file it in the probate court of the county where you live. You must be at least 19 years old and of sound mind, and you sign the form in front of a notary.
- Alabama probate courts set their own fee for an adult name change. Jefferson County's court-costs schedule lists $125.00, cash only, to set an adult name change for a hearing — a different, higher fee than the $27.00 over-the-counter fee for changing a minor's name.
Varies by court/clerk.
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- Attach a certified copy of your birth certificate and a copy of your photo ID. The form asks you to state that you are not facing criminal charges or involved in another pending court case, that you have never been convicted of a criminal sex offense (as Alabama Code Section 15-20-21 defines that term), a crime of moral turpitude, or a felony, and that you are not changing your name to avoid a debt or commit fraud. The form does not name a state law that sets out this process, and it does not describe a newspaper-notice requirement.
- This is one county's example, not a statewide fee. Contact the probate court in the county where you'll file for its current amount.
📝 Get the official form: Form PS-12 — Request to Change Name (For An Adult)
Sources
- Alabama Administrative Office of Courts — Request to Change Name (For An Adult), Form PS-12 — We cannot check this source automatically for changes. Check it yourself before you file.
- Jefferson County, Alabama Probate Court — Filing Fees —
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Step 2: Update your Social Security record
- Social Security still changes the legal name on your Social Security record. A valid court order for a name change is one of the events Social Security recognizes as changing your legal name, and you apply with Form SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card.
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- Social Security's policy manual defines your legal name as your first name and last name — the name you use to sign legal documents. For a person born in the United States, that is generally the name shown on the birth certificate, unless the name changed through an event such as a marriage or a valid court order for a name change. The sex marker on your record is handled separately and under a different rule — see the Social Security sex marker step.
📝 Get the official form: Form SS-5 — Application for a Social Security Card
Sources
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Step 3: Update your driver's license or state ID
- To update the name on your Alabama driver's license or ID after a legal name change, you visit a local probate or licensing office, or an ALEA Driver License Office, to be issued a duplicate license at the normal duplicate fee. You bring documents that support the name change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, court order, or other legal name-change document.
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- ALEA also asks you to show proof that your name has already been changed with the Social Security Administration. A separate ALEA list of acceptable identification documents names a "name-change decree" from a court of record as one document accepted for a license or ID transaction.
Sources
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Step 4: Update your U.S. passport
- To update the name on your U.S. passport, submit a passport application with an original or certified copy of the document that legally changed your name, such as a court order.
More detail
- If your name changed within 1 year of your most recent passport being issued, mail Form DS-5504 with the name-change document — you will not have to submit any fees for this service. If it has been more than a year, renew by mail with Form DS-82 and a certified name-change document, or apply in person with Form DS-11. If you have no legal documentation of the change, you apply in person with Form DS-11 plus Form DS-60, Affidavit Regarding a Change of Name.
📝 Get the official form: Form DS-82 — U.S. Passport Renewal
Sources
- U.S. Department of State — Change or Correct a Passport — We cannot check this source automatically for changes. Check it yourself before you file.
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Where to get help
- ACLU of Alabama — The Alabama affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union tracks LGBTQ+ policy in the state and publishes know-your-rights information relevant to transgender residents.
- Legal Services Alabama — A statewide nonprofit that provides free civil legal aid to low-income Alabamians, including help with legal filings such as a name-change petition.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Alabama identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Alabama documents. Their staff write and update it. Read it alongside this checklist.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — National advocacy organization (formerly the National Center for Transgender Equality) with plain-language guides to updating federal identity documents (Social Security, passport) after a name or gender-marker change.
- Lambda Legal Help Desk — National LGBTQ+ legal organization offering a free legal help desk for questions about discrimination and legal name/gender-marker changes.