How to Change Your Name in North Carolina
Submit to federal and state criminal background checks., Prepare the required paperwork., Get the documents notarized., File your completed paperwork with the Civil Clerk’s Office., Pay any required filing fees., Receive your Order and Certificate...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Submit to federal and state criminal background checks.
Before you can legally change your name through the Civil Clerk’s Office, you must submit to criminal background checks.
This requirement is to ensure that you are not trying to evade creditors or your past criminal history by legally changing your name.
Have your fingerprints taken.
Before you can have your name changed in the state of North Carolina, you must submit to a federal and state criminal records check.
This step is to ensure that you are not trying to defraud your creditors or others about a crime of which you have been convicted in the past.
You can have your local sheriff’s department take your fingerprints.
You will be charged a $10 fee in order to have your fingerprints taken and receive an original fingerprint card.
After taking your fingerprints, the sheriff’s department will give you an original fingerprint card that you will use for your criminal records check.
Get a federal criminal records check from the FBI.
You will need to send the FBI an Applicant Information Form, your original fingerprint card, and a certified check or money order in the amount of $18.00, made payable to the Treasury of the United States.
This will serve as your request for a federal criminal records check.
You can fill out the Applicant Information Form on the FBI’s website by clicking here and then clicking on the “Request” button.
Review the FBI’s Records Checklist in order to ensure that you have enclosed all of the required information.
Mail the required documents and money order to:
FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV
26306.
Request a state criminal records check.
You will have to send the state of North Carolina certain documents in order to get a state criminal records check.
You will need to include a written request for your criminal history, a copy of your birth certificate and a copy of your North Carolina driver’s license.
Enclose a money order for $14, made out to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, along with the required documents.
Mail these documents and money order to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Information and Identification Section, Attention:
Application Unit – Right to Review, 3320 Garner Road, P.O.
Box 29500, Raleigh, NC 27626-0500. -
Step 2: Prepare the required paperwork.
You must prepare and complete certain documents in order to legally change your name through the Civil Clerk’s Office.
There are no statewide standardized forms for this process.
However, you can find sample copies of these documents by clicking here.Complete the Notice of Intent to File Name Change.
To start the name change process in North Carolina, you must first complete certain documents, including a Notice of Intent to File Name Change.
This document serves as your official notice to the public that you are requesting a legal name change.
It contains your current name, your new name, and the name of the county in which you live, as well as a statement that you intend to change your name.
Complete the Petition for Name Change.
This document serves as a formal request to the court to change your name.
The Petition requires you to list your current name, your county of residence, your place of birth, your parents’ names, and the reason that you want to change your name.
In your petition, you also must certify that you have not changed your name before.
In the state of North Carolina, you are only allowed to change your name one time.
Have two people complete an Affidavit of Good Character.
In order to change your name, you must have two people complete an Affidavit of Good Character on your behalf.
The two people who complete these affidavits must not be related to you, either by blood or by marriage, and must reside in the same county where you are filing to change your name.
Each person must sign the affidavit in front of a notary public. , After completing your documents, you will need to sign them in front of a notary public.
You can usually find one at every bank in the United States.
There may be a small fee for notary public services if you do not have an account at that bank.
However, services are typically free for account holders. , This paperwork includes your Notice of Intent to Change Name, Petition for Name Change, and two Affidavits of Good Character.
You should file the paperwork in the Civil Clerk’s Office in the county in which you live.
You must be a resident of that county and show a utility bill with your address on it or driver's license to prove your residency to the county clerk’s office.
A copy of your Notice will be posted on the courthouse bulletin board for 10 consecutive business days.
If the 10th business day falls on a holiday or weekend, the Notice must remain posted until 5:00 p.m. on the next business day.
If you have concerns about your safety as a result of posting your Notice on the courthouse bulletin board or are changing your name due to a domestic violence situation, you should discuss the issue with the court clerk.
You may not be required to post the Notice on the courthouse bulletin board. , The Civil Clerk’s Office will charge you a filing fee for filing your paperwork to get a name change.
The amount of this fee will vary from county to county, but typically will range from $88 to $120. , The Clerk’s Office will sign this Order.
You then will receive a copy of the Order in the mail.
Some counties require that you provide them with a self-addressed stamped envelope in order to get a copy of your Order by mail.
This Order is the official document that you will use to change your name with any government or private office. , You can take the order, along with a birth certificate and a photo ID, to your local Social Security Administration Office in order to have the name on your social security card changed.
You will need a new social security card in order to change the name on your driver’s license and perhaps with other agencies, as well.
If you are changing your name due to a domestic violence situation, you can apply for a new social security number in person through your local Social Security Administration office.
You will receive a new card in the mail 10 to 30 days after your request for a new card is processed. , This will allow you to apply for a new driver’s license.
You will have to pay a $10 fee to get a new driver’s license. -
Step 3: Get the documents notarized.
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Step 4: File your completed paperwork with the Civil Clerk’s Office.
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Step 5: Pay any required filing fees.
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Step 6: Receive your Order and Certificate of Name Change from the Clerk.
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Step 7: Take your order to any offices with which you need to change your name.
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Step 8: Take your order
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Step 9: driver’s license
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Step 10: and your new Social Security Card to the local DMV.
Detailed Guide
Before you can legally change your name through the Civil Clerk’s Office, you must submit to criminal background checks.
This requirement is to ensure that you are not trying to evade creditors or your past criminal history by legally changing your name.
Have your fingerprints taken.
Before you can have your name changed in the state of North Carolina, you must submit to a federal and state criminal records check.
This step is to ensure that you are not trying to defraud your creditors or others about a crime of which you have been convicted in the past.
You can have your local sheriff’s department take your fingerprints.
You will be charged a $10 fee in order to have your fingerprints taken and receive an original fingerprint card.
After taking your fingerprints, the sheriff’s department will give you an original fingerprint card that you will use for your criminal records check.
Get a federal criminal records check from the FBI.
You will need to send the FBI an Applicant Information Form, your original fingerprint card, and a certified check or money order in the amount of $18.00, made payable to the Treasury of the United States.
This will serve as your request for a federal criminal records check.
You can fill out the Applicant Information Form on the FBI’s website by clicking here and then clicking on the “Request” button.
Review the FBI’s Records Checklist in order to ensure that you have enclosed all of the required information.
Mail the required documents and money order to:
FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV
26306.
Request a state criminal records check.
You will have to send the state of North Carolina certain documents in order to get a state criminal records check.
You will need to include a written request for your criminal history, a copy of your birth certificate and a copy of your North Carolina driver’s license.
Enclose a money order for $14, made out to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, along with the required documents.
Mail these documents and money order to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Information and Identification Section, Attention:
Application Unit – Right to Review, 3320 Garner Road, P.O.
Box 29500, Raleigh, NC 27626-0500.
You must prepare and complete certain documents in order to legally change your name through the Civil Clerk’s Office.
There are no statewide standardized forms for this process.
However, you can find sample copies of these documents by clicking here.Complete the Notice of Intent to File Name Change.
To start the name change process in North Carolina, you must first complete certain documents, including a Notice of Intent to File Name Change.
This document serves as your official notice to the public that you are requesting a legal name change.
It contains your current name, your new name, and the name of the county in which you live, as well as a statement that you intend to change your name.
Complete the Petition for Name Change.
This document serves as a formal request to the court to change your name.
The Petition requires you to list your current name, your county of residence, your place of birth, your parents’ names, and the reason that you want to change your name.
In your petition, you also must certify that you have not changed your name before.
In the state of North Carolina, you are only allowed to change your name one time.
Have two people complete an Affidavit of Good Character.
In order to change your name, you must have two people complete an Affidavit of Good Character on your behalf.
The two people who complete these affidavits must not be related to you, either by blood or by marriage, and must reside in the same county where you are filing to change your name.
Each person must sign the affidavit in front of a notary public. , After completing your documents, you will need to sign them in front of a notary public.
You can usually find one at every bank in the United States.
There may be a small fee for notary public services if you do not have an account at that bank.
However, services are typically free for account holders. , This paperwork includes your Notice of Intent to Change Name, Petition for Name Change, and two Affidavits of Good Character.
You should file the paperwork in the Civil Clerk’s Office in the county in which you live.
You must be a resident of that county and show a utility bill with your address on it or driver's license to prove your residency to the county clerk’s office.
A copy of your Notice will be posted on the courthouse bulletin board for 10 consecutive business days.
If the 10th business day falls on a holiday or weekend, the Notice must remain posted until 5:00 p.m. on the next business day.
If you have concerns about your safety as a result of posting your Notice on the courthouse bulletin board or are changing your name due to a domestic violence situation, you should discuss the issue with the court clerk.
You may not be required to post the Notice on the courthouse bulletin board. , The Civil Clerk’s Office will charge you a filing fee for filing your paperwork to get a name change.
The amount of this fee will vary from county to county, but typically will range from $88 to $120. , The Clerk’s Office will sign this Order.
You then will receive a copy of the Order in the mail.
Some counties require that you provide them with a self-addressed stamped envelope in order to get a copy of your Order by mail.
This Order is the official document that you will use to change your name with any government or private office. , You can take the order, along with a birth certificate and a photo ID, to your local Social Security Administration Office in order to have the name on your social security card changed.
You will need a new social security card in order to change the name on your driver’s license and perhaps with other agencies, as well.
If you are changing your name due to a domestic violence situation, you can apply for a new social security number in person through your local Social Security Administration office.
You will receive a new card in the mail 10 to 30 days after your request for a new card is processed. , This will allow you to apply for a new driver’s license.
You will have to pay a $10 fee to get a new driver’s license.
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Samantha Hamilton
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