TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
Petition for Name Change
Several types of certificates and documents serve to designate a person's new name. Any of these court orders serve as legal certification of a name change:
- Marriage Certificates - the new name is recorded directly on the Certificate when signed and filed.
- Divorce Decrees - are court orders outlining all directives in a marriage dissolution. An individual has the opportunity to designate a name change in the final divorce documents filed with the court.
- Divorce Certificate - that concisely records the name change
- Adoption Documents - are court order example that legally records name changes.
- Birth Certificate - court order corrections. Some people simply petition the court because they didn't like their original birth name.
Once a name is legally changed, for whatever reason, many agencies and institutions need the new information such as:
- Banks amend account owner titling.
- The Social Security Administration,
- The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
- The U.S. Passport Agency
Once your name is legally changed, you need a Certified Copy to update your name with schools, banks, employers, and public agencies. Certified Copies certifying a legal name change are available through your county Vital Records or Public Health Office. Some institutions or agencies keep the original certificate, so having additional certified copies on hand expedites the process.
A Petition for Name Change issued from the local District Court (Federal Court) must be an original Certified Copy signed and stamped by thre Deputy Clerk of the District Court. This document should also include two embossments (one for each signature). In other words, a Petition for Name Change requires two apostilles:
1. Authenticate the Document through the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ)
2. Apostille the Document through the United States Department of State (USDOS)
Please Note - Documents issued by Federal Court can only be Apostilled through the United States Department of State (USDOS) in Washington D.C. This document cannot be notarized, copy certified, and no State Office can process this document. All United States Federal Documents are processed through the United States Secretary of State or the United States Department of State.
Once the English Petition for Name Change is properly prepared you can mail them to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation. If you need an original signed copy, contact the Court and speak with the Deputy Clerk for instructions.
Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille,