Mississippi Minor Name Change

Who files: a parent, legal guardian, or next friend petitions the Chancery Court of the county where the child lives (Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-1(1); MRCP 17(c)). Mississippi’s age of majority is 21, so this packet covers a child under 21 — if the person whose name is changing is 18 to 20, ask the Chancery Clerk whether the court will accept a self-filed petition; a married or emancipated petitioner should note that status. A guardian attaches letters of guardianship. Mississippi publishes no statewide official minor form, so this packet’s instruments are PublicLegal-authored to the statute and current case law.

Both parents join — that is Mississippi’s rule: a child’s name change is not an ex parte matter; both parents join as parties. This packet covers every path: the other parent can co-sign the petition as a co-petitioner, sign the included Consent and Joinder of the Other Parent before a notary, or sign the included Acceptance of Service acknowledging Rule 81 process and waiving the 30-day notice. If the other parent will not sign, the clerk issues a Rule 81 summons — name changes are Rule 81(d) matters, so the other parent is served with a summons returnable to a hearing day at least 30 days after service and may appear and object. If there is no other legal parent — deceased, rights terminated, or never adjudicated or listed on the birth certificate — attach the proof and check that path on the petition.

The judge decides, not the parents: refusal to join is not a veto, but agreement is not a rubber stamp either — under In re Petition of S.M.-B., 407 So. 3d 1050 (Miss. 2025), the chancellor may grant the change only if it is clearly in the best interest of the child. The petition walks through the facts that show best interest: the child’s preference if old enough, how long the child has used the current name, the child’s relationship with each parent, and any harassment or embarrassment from either name.

What you file and fee: the court’s Civil Case Filing Form cover sheet (free from the clerk), the verified petition signed before a notary with a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate attached, the joinder or acceptance instrument if used, and the proposed order. Mississippi court files are public — keep Social Security numbers off the filed papers. The fee is county-set — recent figures run from under $100 to about $150 — and a pauper’s affidavit is available if you cannot afford it. Ask whether the child must appear; practice varies by county. No newspaper publication is required for the name change itself (Rule 81 publication is only a service step if the other parent cannot be located).

After the order: buy several certified copies, then update the child’s Social Security record first (SSA form SS-5, free), school and medical records, and passport if any; a Mississippi birth certificate is amended by presenting a certified copy of the order plus the amendment fee to the Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. A name change does not create or end custody, support, or parental rights — existing orders control. Correcting facts on the birth certificate itself is a different proceeding that joins the State Registrar of Vital Records (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-23); this packet does not cover it.