New York Adult Name Change

Researched filing overview

New York Adult Name Change Filing Overview

Who files and where

an adult 18 or older files the statewide Name Change and/or Sex Designation Change Petition (UCS-NC1) in the county where they live — no minimum length of residency. Outside New York City, choose the Supreme Court or the County Court ($210 index-number fee); inside New York City, the Civil Court of the City of New York ($65) or Supreme Court. For a name-only change, check "Name Change," complete Sections A and C, and leave Section B blank. The petition is an unsworn affirmation — you sign it yourself, with no notary — and it asks about criminal convictions, bankruptcies, judgments or liens, pending lawsuits, prior petitions, and support obligations, so gather the courts, dates, and case numbers first. Attach proof of birth: New York-born petitioners need a certified copy or certified transcript of the birth certificate (NYC births: city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; elsewhere in the state: NYS Department of Health Vital Records); petitioners born outside New York may use a birth certificate, passport, or other legal document, with a certified translation if it is not in English.

Fees, waiver, and the RJI

the fee is $210 in Supreme and County Court (CPLR 8018) or $65 in NYC Civil Court, and a fee waiver is available through the CPLR 1101 poor-person application (Supreme/County) or the Civil Court fee-waiver form. In Supreme Court only, also file a Request for Judicial Intervention (form UCS-840) to have a judge assigned — there is no fee for the RJI in a name-change case, and it is never filed in County Court or NYC Civil Court. Many Supreme Court counties e-file through NYSCEF; self-represented filers may e-file or opt out and file on paper.

No publication, privacy, and the order

New York eliminated the newspaper-publication requirement in 2021 — the court may not require any pre-hearing publication, and the clerk keeps the case inaccessible to the public while it is pending; for permanent sealing for personal safety, answer "Yes" at petition question 28. Petitioners with qualifying felony convictions, or who are incarcerated or on parole or probation, give notice to the district attorney or sentencing court (and facility or agency) under Civil Rights Law § 62(2). Complete only the caption and the fields you know on the proposed Order (UCS-NCO1) and submit it with the petition — the judge signs it, and most cases are decided on the papers. After the grant, buy several certified copies from the clerk, then update Social Security (free, form SS-5), your New York driver license or ID, your passport, and your birth certificate (NYC-born: DOHMH; born elsewhere in NY: NYS DOH; born in another state: that state's registrar), in that order. New York agencies must honor the order (§ 64(3)).