Name Change in Ohio

Court and forms: hard gate passed

Ohio name-change applications are filed in the Probate Court of the county in which the person resides. The Supreme Court of Ohio probate forms list, opened for this guide, lists the current name-change family: Form 21.0, Application for Change of Name of Adult; Form 21.01, Affidavit in Support of Application for Change of Name of Adult; Form 21.02, Affidavit in Support of Application for Change of Name of Minor; Form 21.03, Judgment Entry Setting Hearing and Ordering Notice; Form 21.07 and Form 21.09, affidavits in support of applications to conform a legal name; Form 21.1, Judgment Entry - Change of Name of Adult; Form 21.2, Application for Change of Name of Minor; Form 21.3, Judgment Entry - Change of Name of Minor; Form 21.4, Consent to Change of Name; Form 21.5, Notice of Hearing on Change of Name; Form 21.6, Application to Waive Publication Requirement and Seal File, with Forms 21.6A and 21.6B; and Form 21.14, Release for Criminal Background Check. The Supreme Court page states that the forms are filed in the local county court and that the local court may have additional forms that must be filed.

Form 21.0, as reproduced by county courts, is headed Application for Change of Name of Adult, cites R.C. 2717.02 and 2717.03, and is marked amended January 1, 2023, with a direction to discard all previous versions. Form 21.1 is the Judgment Entry - Change of Name of Adult. The hard gate for this slot is passed: both Form 21.0 and Form 21.1 are identified by name and number on the Supreme Court of Ohio forms list.

This guide covers the adult change-of-name track only. The minor track uses Forms 21.2, 21.3, and 21.4 and is not described here. The conformity track, Forms 21.7 through 21.10, conforms a legal name where there is a misspelling, inconsistency, or other error. That track is distinct from a change of name and must not be merged with it.

Residency: 60 days under current law, one year in older packets

The application must set forth that the applicant has been a bona fide resident of the county for at least 60 days prior to filing, under R.C. section 2717.03, and Form 21.0 states the same 60-day rule: the applicant has been a bona fide resident of the county for at least 60 days immediately prior to filing. That is the current rule stated in this guide.

A conflict exists and is stated here. Older county packets and the former section 2717.01 text state a one-year county residency requirement. Butler County instructions state one continuous year, and the 2013 version of section 2717.01 states at least one year prior to filing. Those older materials conflict with the current section 2717.03 and the current Form 21.0. Do not treat the one-year figure as current law. Confirm the residency statement the county Probate Court expects with that court before filing, and use the current Form 21.0.

Contents of the application

Form 21.0 requires the present name, the requested name, and the reason for the change. An affidavit in support of the application is attached: Form 21.01, Affidavit in Support of Application for Change of Name of Adult, citing R.C. section 2717.06. The affidavit addresses residency, the disclosures the statute requires, and the criminal-history statements shown on the form, including whether the applicant has a duty relating to sexually oriented or child-victim-oriented offenses. No affidavit content beyond what the forms show is stated here. A probate court may by local rule or order require copies of official identity documents or other documentary evidence relating to identity, under section 2717.07, so identity documents required vary by county and are confirmed with the county court.

Hearing and notice: court-set, with an older 30-day publication rule in county packets

Under the current section 2717.08, the probate court may hold a hearing on an application. Except as provided in sections 2717.11 and 2717.14, if the court requires a hearing, it sets the manner, scope, and content of the hearing notice the applicant must serve. Under section 2717.09, upon proof that proper notice was served, the court may order the change of name.

County packets state a different, older notice practice: publication once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least 30 days before the hearing, using Form 21.5, Notice of Hearing on Change of Name, with failure to publish at least 30 days before the hearing causing delay and republication cost. That 30-day publication rule appears in the former section 2717.01(A)(2) and in Butler County instructions. It is stated here as county practice under the older rule, not as the current statewide rule, because the current section 2717.08 assigns notice to the court. Follow the notice order the county court issues in the individual case, and do not assume a single statewide publication rule.

Safety waiver and sealing

If an applicant submits satisfactory proof, along with the application, that open records of the name change or publication of the hearing notice would jeopardize the applicant's personal safety, section 2717.11 provides that the court must waive the hearing notice requirement and, if it orders the change, must order the records sealed. Form 21.6, Application to Waive Publication Requirement and Seal File, is the form in that family. The safety showing is made to the court with the application, not after publication.

Fee and deposit: county-set, no statewide figure stated

No single statewide filing fee or deposit is stated in this guide. County materials state different deposits: Butler County instructions state a $100 deposit in one version and a $135 deposit in another, and Lucas County materials state $100 in court costs. Those figures are county-scoped, conflict with each other as a statewide figure, and are not carried here as a statewide fee. Confirm the deposit, filing fee, publication cost, and any background-check cost with the county Probate Court before filing. Form 21.14, Release for Criminal Background Check, is listed on the Supreme Court forms list; whether a background check is required, and at what cost, is set by the court and local practice, and no requirement or fee is stated here as universal.

After the order

The court enters the judgment on Form 21.1. Obtain certified copies of the judgment entry for updating records. This guide does not state a sequence or deadline for updating Social Security, driver license, passport, or other records, because no such sequence was verified on a court page opened for this guide.

For name changes in other states, see Name Change in Pennsylvania, Name Change in Georgia, and Name Change in Michigan. For changing only the name shown on a vehicle title after the court order, see How to Change the Name on a Vehicle Title.

Source

Sources: Supreme Court of Ohio, Probate Forms (supremecourt.ohio.gov); Ohio Revised Code sections 2717.02, 2717.03, 2717.07, 2717.08, 2717.09, and 2717.11, as summarized in the Ohio Revised Code search results for this guide; Form 21.0, Application for Change of Name of Adult, and Form 21.1, Judgment Entry - Change of Name of Adult, as reproduced by Warren County, Clermont County, Stark County, and Butler County Probate Courts; Butler County Probate Court, Instructions for Change of Name of an Adult (probatecourt.bcohio.gov). Facts verified 2026-11-03. Open flags and conflicts: (1) residency: 60 days in current section 2717.03 and Form 21.0 versus one year in older section 2717.01 text and county packets, stated as a conflict; (2) notice: court-set notice in current section 2717.08 versus 30-day publication in older section 2717.01 and county packets, stated as a conflict; (3) no statewide fee or deposit figure is stated because county figures conflict; (4) the full current texts of sections 2717.02, 2717.03, 2717.08, and 2717.09 were read through search-result excerpts and form reproductions, not through single-section official pages opened in full, and the build must re-read the current Revised Code sections before relying on the residency and notice statements.

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 the Probate Court of your county.