Name change in North Dakota
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in North Dakota, 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
- An adult can ask a North Dakota state district court to legally change their name by filing a written petition, but only if they've lived in their current North Dakota county for at least the past 6 months, they are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident, and the request isn't made to defraud or mislead anyone, injure anyone, or compromise public safety.
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- Before a judge can consider the petition, you must publish notice of it in a newspaper in the North Dakota county where you live; the judge can consider the petition 30 days after that notice is published. A judge can waive the newspaper notice if the requested change is only to your first or middle name, or if you show you're a victim of domestic violence. An in-person hearing isn't required unless the judge decides one is necessary.
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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
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Step 3: Update your driver's license or state ID
- To change the name on your North Dakota driver license, bring certified documentation of the name change in person to any ND driver license site: a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or a certified court order with a seal. If you aren't also renewing your license, you'll pay a $3.00 fee and have a new picture taken.
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- You must visit an ND driver license site to purchase a corrected license within 10 days of your name change. Certified copies of North Dakota marriage or divorce records come from the county where they were issued or decreed; contact the vital records office if you aren't sure which county that is.
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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
- Legal Services of North Dakota — Statewide nonprofit that provides free civil legal help to income-eligible North Dakotans, including help with court filings such as a name-change petition.
- Fargo-Moorhead Pride — Volunteer-run LGBTQ+ community and events organization serving the Fargo-Moorhead area, with links to national resources such as Lambda Legal and the Trevor Project. It is not a legal-name-change service on its own.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — North Dakota identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on North Dakota 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.