Massachusetts Name Change: Filing a Petition in Probate Court

Changing a name by court decree is one of the procedures grouped under Massachusetts vital records, certificates, and state IDs. This article covers the adult petition: when a court filing is required, what goes in the packet, what it costs, how the court reviews and gives notice, and which agencies take the decree afterward.

When a court decree is required

The change-of-name statute is short. G. L. c. 210, § 12 sends the petition to the division of the Probate and Family Court in the county where the petitioner resides, and it directs that the change “shall be granted unless such change is inconsistent with public interests.” There is no residency waiting period and no requirement to give a reason the court finds sympathetic.

Several name changes happen without a separate petition. A person who marries in Massachusetts can take a new surname through the marriage record. A party to a divorce can ask to resume a former name in the Complaint for Divorce (CJD-101), the Joint Petition for Divorce (CJD-101A), or a Counterclaim for Divorce (CJD-202) before judgment enters. A person becoming a naturalized citizen can request the new name through the federal naturalization process. The Probate and Family Court sets out all three exceptions in its instructions for filing an adult name change.

Uniform Probate and Family Court Practice XXXV, amended effective January 6, 2026, states the same rule in court-rule form: a petition is required unless the change comes through a divorce under G. L. c. 208, § 23, an adoption under G. L. c. 210, § 6, or an order to amend a birth certificate in a parentage judgment under G. L. c. 209C, § 8.

What goes in the adult petition packet

A petition that is missing a document sits at the clerk’s counter instead of moving to review. Practice XXXV(c) lists what a properly filed adult request contains: the petition itself, a certified birth record, a criminal-record release form, a certified copy of any earlier name change, and the fee. The court’s checklist of forms for an adult name change tracks that list item by item.

1. Complete and notarize form CJP 27

   The Petition to Change Name of Adult (CJP 27) asks for the current legal name, the requested name, and the petitioner’s address. It is signed in front of a notary public, who requires photo identification. When the name on that identification does not match the petitioner’s legal name, a Motion (CJD 400) can ask the court to waive the notarization requirement.

2. Obtain a certified copy of the birth record

   The court will not enter a decree without a certified copy of the birth record on file, a condition written into G. L. c. 210, § 13. A birth certificate in another language is filed with a professional English translation and a notarized statement from the translator attesting to its accuracy.

3. Attach proof of any prior name change

   Someone whose name already changed once files a certified copy of that record: a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or the earlier court order. G. L. c. 210, § 13 allows a judge to dispense with the copy if satisfied it cannot be obtained.

4. Sign the CARI and WMS release

   Form CJP 34 authorizes the Probation Department to run a Court Activity Record Information and Warrant Management System check. Practice XXXV(f) requires that check for every person 12 years of age or older who is the subject of a name-change petition.

5. File in the right county

   The packet goes to the Probate and Family Court that serves the county where the petitioner currently lives, in person, by mail, or through the court’s eFiling system.

Filing fees, eFiling, and fee waivers

As of 2026, the Probate and Family Court charges a $150 filing fee plus a $15 surcharge for a change-of-name petition, a total of $165. If the court later issues an Order of Notice, an additional $15 citation fee applies. Those figures come from the court’s adult name change fee instructions, which also confirm that a courthouse filing can be paid by bank check, money order, or credit card, while a mailed filing takes a bank check or money order. Filing online carries its own charge. The flat fee for eFiling an initial case is $22 on top of the court’s filing fee, and the court’s page on eFiling a change of name walks through the payment screens.

A petitioner who cannot afford the fee files an Affidavit of Indigency with the rest of the packet. The waiver runs under G. L. c. 261, the same statute Practice XXXV cites when it makes the fee conditional. Filing the affidavit alongside the petition keeps the case from being rejected for non-payment while the request is pending. ## Administrative review, notice, and impoundment After the fee is paid or waived, the case goes to review rather than straight to a hearing. The court reads the petition, the supporting documents, and the CARI/WMS report, and then takes one of two paths described in Practice XXXV(g): it can decide that no citation is needed and enter a decree without a hearing, or, for good cause shown, it can issue an Order of Notice on Petition to Change Name (CJP 130) with a citation. That two-path structure is newer than it looks. Amendments to G. L. c. 210, § 13 took effect November 25, 2025 and removed the default requirement of notice by publication, leaving public notice to the court’s discretion on a showing of good cause. The reporter’s notes to Practice XXXV describe the same change and add that petitions filed on or after that date are impounded. Impoundment is broad. Under G. L. c. 210, § 13(b), the petition, the pleadings and documents filed with it, and the docket entries in the permanent record books are segregated and unavailable for inspection unless the petitioner asks otherwise or the court orders otherwise for good cause. The case caption and docket number stay public. Practice XXXV(h) gives examples of good cause for requiring notice: the petitioner is incarcerated, on probation, on parole, committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center as a sexually dangerous person, or in the custody of the Department of Youth Services. In those situations the court can order certified-mail notice to authorities such as the Department of Correction, the Parole Board, the Sex Offender Registry Board, and the prosecuting official in the jurisdiction of the conviction. A record that has already been cleared does not surface the same way, and the separate route for clearing one is covered in Massachusetts expungement and who qualifies. A petitioner who receives a citation completes page three, the return of service, and files it with proof: a copy of the newspaper posting showing the publication date, or the signed green card from a certified mailing. When a required mailing cannot be completed, a Motion for Alternate Service and Affidavit of Diligent Search (CJP 31) and a Military Affidavit (TC0002) go to the court instead. ## After the decree: which records change When the petition is allowed, a certified copy of the decree issues. The registry can also issue a Certificate of Name Change under seal of the court on request and payment of the fee, unless fees were waived. Cases resolved administratively end here: the certified decree arrives by mail, together with any original documents the petitioner asked to have returned. The decree does not update other records by itself. Each agency has its own process, and most of them want the certified decree rather than a photocopy. – **Driver’s license or ID card.** The RMV completes name changes only at a Service Center, by appointment, because the new credential requires a fresh photo and signature. A REAL ID applicant whose current name differs from the name on the lawful-presence document proves the change with a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court document, as the RMV explains in its guidance on changing information on a license or ID. – **Voter registration.** A new name is submitted through the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s voter registration process, online, by mail, or in person. – **Documents used abroad.** A certified decree presented to a foreign government is authenticated first, a step described in requesting a Massachusetts apostille. – **Social Security and federal records.** The Social Security Administration and, for noncitizens, the relevant federal agency each maintain separate name-change procedures that run on their own documentation rules. One notification happens without the petitioner doing anything. Practice XXXV(l) requires each register of probate to make an annual return, at a minimum each December, reporting every name change granted that year to the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics and to the Commissioner of Probation.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Massachusetts name change require a court hearing?

Not always. Practice XXXV(g) lets the court enter a decree on the petition without a hearing once review is complete and no citation is needed. A hearing follows when the court issues a citation and someone files an appearance objecting before the return day, or when the court schedules one on its own. Petitioners who are required to appear receive a notice in the mail with the date, time, and location.

Will the name change be printed in a newspaper?

Only if the court orders it. The amendment to G. L. c. 210, § 13 effective November 25, 2025 ended the default publication requirement and left public notice to the court’s discretion for good cause shown. When publication is ordered, the citation runs at least 7 days before the return day in the newspaper the court designates.

Can the court refuse a name change?

Yes. G. L. c. 210, § 12 sets a single standard: the change is granted unless it is inconsistent with public interests. Factors that bring a petition under scrutiny include an open warrant, a pending criminal matter, registration obligations, or an apparent purpose of evading creditors or obligations. The CARI and WMS check required by Practice XXXV(f) is how that information reaches the judge.

How long does a Massachusetts name change take?

The court publishes no fixed timetable, and the range is wide because the path splits at review. An uncontested petition allowed administratively turns on how quickly the Probation Department returns the CARI/WMS report and how busy the county division is. A petition that draws a citation adds the time needed to publish or mail notice, wait out the return day, and file the return of service before the court acts.

What happens to a name change if the petitioner moves out of Massachusetts?

A decree already entered stays valid; it is a court order establishing the petitioner’s legal name. For a petition not yet filed, G. L. c. 210, § 12 ties venue to the county where the petitioner resides, so a person who has left the Commonwealth files under the rules of the new state of residence.

Can a petitioner ask the court to unseal the case?

Yes. Impoundment under G. L. c. 210, § 13(b) applies unless the petitioner requests otherwise, so a petitioner who wants the file available can say so. Someone else seeking access has to persuade the court of good cause under the Uniform Rules on Impoundment Procedure.

Sources

• G. L. c. 210, § 12 (change of name; venue and standard)malegislature.gov
• G. L. c. 210, § 13 (probation report, notice, impoundment)malegislature.gov
• Uniform Probate and Family Court Practice XXXV: Change of name actionsmass.gov
• How do I file a change of name for an adult? (Probate and Family Court)mass.gov
• Checklist of Forms: Change of Name for Adultmass.gov
• Petition to Change Name of Adult (CJP 27)mass.gov
• Registering to Vote (Secretary of the Commonwealth)sec.state.ma.us