Name Change After Divorce in Colorado

Divorce limb only

This guide covers only the divorce limb of a Colorado name change: restoring a prior name in or after a dissolution of marriage or legal separation case. It does not cover a name change after marriage, which uses a marriage certificate and agency updates without a court petition, and it does not cover a general name-change petition for a new name. The general petition is described here only to keep it apart from the divorce routes.

For the general court rules, see the Name Change Laws by State directory.

Route one: restoration in the dissolution decree

The dissolution petition includes a request for restoration of a prior name. The petition form for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, form JDF 1101, includes a numbered item in which the petitioner or co-petitioner requests that the court restore a prior name, with the prior name written out in full. The same request can be made in the response to a dissolution petition.

The decree route is limited to a prior name. The petition item asks for restoration of a prior name, not for a new name never previously held.

Colorado requires at least 91 days to pass before a dissolution decree can be entered after jurisdiction is acquired, according to the decree forms read. That waiting period belongs to the divorce case, not to the name restoration as a separate step. A name restoration requested in the petition therefore waits with the case, and the decree, when entered, carries the restored name with it.

Route two: verified motion after the decree

Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-10-120.2 provides a post-decree route. Subsection (1) states that at any time after the entry of a decree of dissolution or legal separation, a party to the action may request restoration of a prior full name.

Subsection (2) requires the requesting party to file a verified motion and affidavit under the same case number in the district court where the decree was entered. The motion and affidavit must include the caption and case number for the action in which the decree was entered, and the sworn statement that restoration of a prior full name is not detrimental to any person.

Subsection (3) states that the court shall enter an order restoring the name if it determines that it entered a decree of dissolution or legal separation concerning the requesting party and that the request is not detrimental to any person. Subsection (4) states that the order does not affect any party rights or obligations under the decree.

The Colorado Judicial Branch form for this motion is JDF 1824, Verified Motion and Affidavit for Name Restoration After Dissolution of Marriage, Civil Union, or Legal Separation. The companion order form is JDF 1825, for which only the caption box is completed by the filer. File JDF 1824 in the court where the decree for dissolution was entered, under the same case number, as the statute requires.

Kept apart from the general petition

The general adult name-change petition in Colorado is a different case with different requirements, and it must not be confused with the divorce restoration routes. The general petition is form JDF 433, Petition for Change of Name (Adult). Every adult petitioner must attach fingerprint-based criminal history checks from both the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, dated within 90 days before filing.

Neither the fingerprint requirement nor the publication requirement is stated in section 14-10-120.2 for the post-decree restoration motion, and neither is stated in the dissolution petition item for the in-case restoration. This guide does not assert that those requirements are waived in every case, because the statute text read does not address them for the restoration routes.

A secondary summary states that no additional fee is charged if a name restoration is filed within 60 days of the divorce finalization, and that a standard name-change filing and fee apply after 60 days. That fee claim was not stated on a Colorado Judicial Branch or statute page opened this run, so it is not asserted here.

After the order: Social Security and the driver license

Use the decree or the restoration order, certified, to update Social Security first. The Social Security Administration says a replacement card arrives by mail in 5 to 10 business days after the request is completed. Colorado requires a licensee who changes name to provide notice within 30 days and to apply in person to renew the license within 30 days, under section 42-2-119.

Source

Sources: Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-10-120.2, read 2026-10-31; Colorado Judicial Branch, form JDF 1824, Verified Motion and Affidavit for Name Restoration, and form JDF 1825 order, as identified in Colorado Judicial Branch search results read 2026-10-31; Colorado Judicial Branch dissolution petition form JDF 1101, prior-name restoration item; Colorado Revised Statutes sections 13-15-101 and 13-15-102 and Judicial Branch form JDF 433 for the general petition kept apart here; Colorado Revised Statutes section 42-2-119 for the 30-day license rule; Social Security Administration, Change name with Social Security, read 2026-10-31. Facts verified 2026-10-31. Open flags: the filing fee, if any, for a JDF 1824 motion and any 60-day fee rule were not stated on the Judicial Branch or statute pages read and are not asserted; whether a local court adds fingerprint or publication requirements to a JDF 1824 filing was not stated in the statute text read and should be confirmed with the clerk; the decree waiting period stated here is the dissolution case waiting period, not a separate name-change wait.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.