Name change in Missouri
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Missouri, 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 legally change your name in Missouri, you present a petition verified by affidavit to the circuit court in the county where you live, stating your full name, the new name you want, and a concise reason for the change. The judge must order the change if satisfied it would be proper and not detrimental to the interests of any other person.
- After a Missouri court grants your name-change petition, you must give public notice of the change at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where you live, and file proof of that notice with the court clerk within 10 days after the last publication.
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- Missouri law does not let a person who is required to register under Missouri's sex-offender registration law (sections 589.400 to 589.425) change their name for as long as they must stay registered.
- Missouri's official Judgment for Change of Name form states that this publication step is skipped when the petitioner is the victim of domestic violence, child abuse, or abuse by a family or household member, as those terms are defined in Missouri statute. Missouri's courts say a filing fee applies and that the court may waive it — sometimes called filing "in forma pauperis" — for someone who can't afford it. This project could not automatically verify this page's exact current wording: Missouri's courts website blocks automated fetching, so a human read it directly.
Sources
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes — RSMo § 527.270 (Petition, Where Presented — Contents — Proceedings — Name Change Prohibited, When) —
- Missouri Courts — Name Change (Represent Yourself) — We cannot check this source automatically for changes. Check it yourself before you file.
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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 change your name on a Missouri driver's license or ID, you take documents that verify your identity, Social Security number, Missouri residency, and your legal name change to a Missouri license office, then apply and pay for a duplicate license or ID with your new name.
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- Acceptable name-change documents include a certified marriage license, a certified divorce decree, a certified court order, or certified adoption papers — each must show your prior full legal name, your court-ordered legal name, and your date of birth, and be stamped with the official court seal (a date stamp or file stamp isn't enough) — or an original certified amended birth certificate. Photocopies and faxes aren't accepted, and more than one document may be required if you've had more than one name change.
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
- PROMO — Missouri's statewide LGBTQ+ public-policy and advocacy organization, based in St. Louis, with a Transgender Justice program area.
- Legal Services of Eastern Missouri — Free civil legal assistance for low-income and elderly residents of 21 counties in eastern Missouri, including St. Louis.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Missouri identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Missouri 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.