Kansas Adult Name Change

Who files: an adult 18 or older who has lived in Kansas for at least 60 days petitions the district court of the county where they live (K.S.A. 60-1402(a)). Kansas district courts sit in 31 numbered judicial districts covering one or more counties — file with the clerk of the district court, who can tell you your district number. The petition states your county of residence, your year of birth — Kansas Supreme Court Rule 123 keeps full dates of birth and Social Security numbers off public filings, and this packet’s instruments ask for the year only — your present and desired names, and the reason for the change.

What you file, in sequence: the verified petition signed before a notary (Kansas law requires a signed petition under K.S.A. 60-211; clerks and Kansas practice guides expect the notary block), plus the Civil Cover Sheet — a required clerical form that is Judicial Council property, so this kit deliberately does not include it: download it free at kjc.ks.gov and check the “Other Civil” box. File both with the clerk, pay the docket fee, and get your case number and division assignment. Then ask the clerk — or the assigned judge’s administrative assistant — for a hearing date, and ask which notice that court requires: Kansas leaves the notice method to the court’s discretion (K.S.A. 60-1402(b)).

Notice — mail or publication, the court chooses: there is no automatic publication requirement in Kansas. By mail, send the Notice of Hearing by registered or certified mail to the parties of interest the court names — for most adults, creditors — and file the signed receipts with the clerk. By publication, run the Notice of Hearing once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in your county and authorized for legal notices (K.S.A. 60-307(d)(1)), and file the newspaper’s affidavit of publication. This packet includes both notice forms so you are covered either way — without proof of notice, the hearing stalls.

Fees and the hearing: the Chapter 60 filing fee is approximately $195 statewide — the $173 docket fee plus a $22 surcharge — but confirm the current figure with your clerk, and add the newspaper’s charge if publication is ordered. If you cannot afford the fee, Kansas waives it on a Poverty Affidavit (K.S.A. 60-2001(b)) — free from the Judicial Council or Kansas Legal Services. At the hearing, the judge signs the order if satisfied the petition’s statements are true and reasonable cause exists (K.S.A. 60-1402(c)); Kansas does not require a compelling reason. No fingerprints or background check are required for a Kansas name change.

After the order: buy several certified copies from the clerk, then update records in order — Social Security card first (SSA form SS-5, free), Kansas driver license or ID at a driver licensing office, U.S. passport, then banks and insurers. A Kansas birth certificate is not changed by the order itself: apply to the KDHE Office of Vital Statistics Amendment Unit, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 120, Topeka, KS 66612-2221, with a certified copy, and ask KDHE whether your record is eligible for amendment (K.S.A. 65-2422a). Simpler paths first: restoring a former name in a Kansas divorce uses a free Judicial Council affidavit in the divorce case itself (K.S.A. 23-2716), and a change from marriage usually needs only the marriage certificate.