Name change in Ohio
These are the steps most people follow for a name change in Ohio, 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
- In Ohio you file your name change petition in the probate court of the county where you live, if you have lived there for at least 60 days.
Varies by court/clerk.
More detail
- Ohio Legal Help's Adult Name Change Form Assistant helps you find the forms for your county's probate court. You submit copies of a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license, state ID, or passport, along with proof of your reason for the change. Some counties also require you to request and pay for a BCI background check. The completed paperwork must be signed in front of a notary. A judge or magistrate may schedule a hearing if they need more information about your case; if a hearing is scheduled, the court may require you to publish notice in a local newspaper at least 30 days before the hearing, and you pay the publication cost. If a public name change would put you in danger, you can ask the court for a confidentiality request instead. The judge may approve or deny the request.
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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.
More detail
- 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 update the name on your Ohio driver's license or ID card, the Ohio BMV asks you to connect your birth name to your current legal name with an original or certified copy of a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or a court-ordered name change.
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- If you have had more than one marriage, you may need documents from each marriage and divorce to connect your birth certificate, passport, or U.S. Department of Homeland Security documents to your current legal name. Bring these documents to a deputy registrar license agency to get an updated card.
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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
- Ohio Legal Help — Ohio's statewide, LSC-funded self-help legal site, including county-specific adult name change form assistants and a topic guide covering court, driver's license, Social Security, and birth-certificate steps.
- Equitas Health — Gender Affirming Legal Resources — Connects Ohio residents with free legal clinics for name and gender-marker changes (including TransOhio's monthly Ohio Name Change Clinic and Equality Ohio's legal clinic) and DIY guides for updating state and federal identification.
- Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) — Ohio identity documents guide — Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) keeps a plain-language guide to changing your name and gender marker on Ohio 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.