Kansas Minor Name Change

Read first — this kit is the consent track: use it when both of the child’s legal parents consent to the name change, or when the child has one legal parent and that parent consents. If a parent or guardian does not consent, or cannot be found, the case becomes a contested best-interest hearing and the other parent is entitled to notice — that is beyond a self-help kit, so get legal advice first (Kansas Legal Services helps income-qualified filers free). The judge must consider the parents’ interests and the child’s best interests (In re Application to Change Name, 10 Kan. App. 2d 625 (1985)).

Who files: a parent or legal guardian signs the petition as the child’s next friend — the adult signs on the child’s behalf, and the child signs too, using the child’s current legal name (In re Application to Change Name, supra). The child must have lived in Kansas at least 60 days, and you file in the district court of the county where the child lives (K.S.A. 60-1402(a)). The petition asks for the child’s year of birth only — Rule 123 keeps full dates of birth off public filings.

What you file, in sequence: the verified petition signed before a notary; the other parent’s notarized Consent (included — or that parent may come to the hearing and consent on the record instead); and the Civil Cover Sheet, a required clerical form that is Judicial Council property — download it free at kjc.ks.gov; this kit deliberately does not include it. File everything with the clerk, pay the docket fee (approximately $195 statewide — confirm with your clerk; a Poverty Affidavit waiver under K.S.A. 60-2001(b) uses the parent’s income), and get the case number and division.

The notice waiver most minor cases should ask about: Kansas leaves the notice method to the court’s discretion (K.S.A. 60-1402(b)), and a minor typically has no creditors — so when both legal parents consent, there is usually no one left to notify. This kit includes an optional Motion to Waive Service by Publication with a proposed order: file it with the petition and ask the clerk how the court will answer. It is a request, not a right — the court may still direct notice by registered or certified mail, or by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in a county-authorized newspaper (K.S.A. 60-307(d)). Both notice forms are included so you are covered either way.

Hearing and after: bring the child and the proposed Order Changing Name of Minor Child — the judge may ask the child questions. After the judge signs, buy certified copies and update the child’s Social Security record first (SSA form SS-5, free), then school and medical records and passport if any. A Kansas birth certificate is not changed by the order — 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 the record is eligible for amendment (K.S.A. 65-2422a). A name change does not create or end custody, child support, or parental rights — existing orders control. Simpler path: just adding a parent’s last name for a child may be handled through a separate no-court-fee process (K.S.A. 23-2223, KDHE form VS211) — ask the clerk or KDHE before filing.