The court clerk will enter a docket number on each form you submit, along with a hearing date and time. Copies of the Verified Complaint and Order Fixing Date of Hearing will be returned to you. Aside from the docket number and hearing date, the court will provide the name of a local newspaper where you must publish the Order.

This step applies only to those who have criminal charges pending against them. In this situation, you must notify the prosecutor of the county where the charges have been filed.^[2] For charges filed by the attorney general, see Step 5.

Send copies of the Verified Complaint and Order Fixing Date of Hearing forms to the relevant office by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 20 days before the hearing date.

At least 20 days before the date of your hearing, send a copy of your Order Fixing Date of Hearing to the following address by certified mail (return receipt requested):

Director, Division of Criminal Justice
ATTN: Records and Identification Section
R. J. Hughes Justice Complex
25 Market Street
P. O. Box 085
Trenton, NJ 08625-0085

If you have charges pending against you in New Jersey, include a copy of the Verified Complaint and the Certification of Confidential Information for Name Change.

Fill out a Proof of Mailing (Form D) and attach your green certified mail receipt(s). Make copies and send the originals to the court.

On the day of your hearing, bring proof of your current name, such as a birth certificate or passport. As long as you have properly completed all the forms and have not falsified any information, the judge should be inclined to approve your proposed name change. The judge will sign the Final Judgment, making your name change legal.

Order at least three certified copies of the Final Judgment and Final Judgment Addendum via the Judiciary Electronic System. A $25 fee will apply for each copy. You will need these documents, which come with a raised seal, to update your records with other agencies.

Within 45 days of the court order’s effective date, send certified copies of your Final Judgment and Final Judgment Addendum to the Department of the Treasury along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a $50 check:

Department of Treasury
Division of Revenue
Judgment Name Change Unit
P. O. Box 453
Trenton, NJ 08646

You must also notify the Registrar of Vital Statistics in the state in which you were born.^[3]

To take your spouse’s name after marriage, you can simply indicate the name change on the marriage license application, which can be obtained at a local registrar’s office. Once the wedding has been performed, a marriage certificate will be issued and can be used as legal proof of the name change. A certified copy of the marriage certificate can be ordered via the State of New Jersey Vital Records Online Service.

Before the divorce hearing, complete the Final Judgment of Divorce/Dissolution. Section 13 allows either party to declare a desire to return to a former name. If approved by the judge, a provision will be added to the divorce decree, which will serve as legal proof of the name change. A certified copy of the divorce decree can be obtained by completing a Records Request Form and submitting it through the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission.

State law requires that you update your driver’s license within two weeks of legally changing your name.^[4] First, update your name with the Social Security Administration by filling out the Application for a Social Security Card (SS-5) and mailing it to the local office. Then, find your nearest Motor Vehicle Commission Licensing Center and bring the following documents:

• Birth certificate, passport, or current driver’s license
• Certified document proving name change (court order, marriage certificate, or divorce decree)
• A document proving residency, such as a utility bill or bank statement

Once your name is legally changed, you must re-register to vote. This can be completed using the New Jersey Online Voter Registration or by filling out a voter registration application on paper. Each county has its own application form, which can be obtained on the New Jersey Voter Information Portal. Mail or deliver the completed form to your county elections official.