Changing Your Name by Filing a Petition
Request a name change packet from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). You’ll get a packet with forms in the mail, including the requests for background checks and screening that you must complete.
Take the fingerprint card to your nearest police or sheriff’s office to get fingerprints. South Carolina requires all name change petitions be accompanied by a fingerprint card. Law enforcement agencies charge a fee of $10 for this service.
Complete and send your screening request to the Department of Social Services. Your SLED packet also includes a form required to get a report showing whether you are listed on DSS’s registry of child abuse and neglect. The address where you need to mail your request is included on the form, which must be accompanied by a check or money order for the $8 fee.
Complete your criminal records check form and send it to SLED. You must include an affidavit listing the results of this records check with your name change petition. Your request for a criminal records check must include a business check, cashier’s check, or money order for $25 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope so SLED can send the results of your records check to you. SLED does not accept personal checks or credit card payments.
Draft your name change petition. After you’ve sent your screening requests, you can begin drafting your petition that you will file at the clerk’s office of the family court in your county. Your petition must state the county where you live, your age, your old name, the new name you want to use, and the reason you want to change it. Your petition not only asks for an order changing your name, but also can ask for an order allowing you to have your birth certificate amended to reflect your name change.
Gather the other documents that must be included with your petition. South Carolina requires all the results of your records check, DSS screening, and fingerprints to be attached to your petition. You also must include a copy of your original birth certificate, although it does not have to be a certified copy. If the DSS screening shows you are listed on the department’s registry, the clerk of court will notify the department of the name change if the judge grants your petition. Your petition also must be accompanied by an affidavit signed by you in the presence of a notary that states whether you are under a court order for child support or alimony. You don’t need any additional witnesses of your signature apart from the notary. Keep in mind that the notary will charge a fee for her services. Your criminal records report from SLED also will include a statement of whether your name is included on the sex offender registry. If it is, SLED will be notified if the judge approves your name change so the registry can be updated. If you have a criminal record and the judge approves your name change, SLED will be notified so that your name can be changed on your criminal record. You also need a hearing request form, which you will fill out and give to the clerk. This form provides the clerk with your contact information and the dates and times you’re available to attend a hearing. Along with all your documents and your petition, your family court cover sheet provides summary information about your case and is necessary for your hearing to be added to the court’s docket.
File your petition at the clerk’s office of the family court with jurisdiction over the county where you live. Your petition and documents must be accompanied by a $150 filing fee. When you file your petition, the clerk will set a date and time for your hearing.
Attend your hearing. Hearings aren’t always required for an adult name change in South Carolina, and the judge may grant your petition without a hearing.
Take your name change order to your nearest Social Security office to get your name changed on your Social Security card. You must complete the application to have your name changed and present an official, certified copy of your order. There is no fee for changing your name on your Social Security card. You must show your birth certificate or passport as proof of citizenship.
File a name change request with the DMV to have your name changed on your driver’s license or state ID. You will have to show your name change order to get your name changed on your driver’s license. Name changes cannot be done online or through the mail. You must go to your local DMV to have your name changed. A name change on your driver’s license requires payment of a $10 fee. If you also need your name changed on your car title, you must pay an additional $15 fee.
Use your new Social Security card and driver’s license to have your name changed on other accounts and documents. Once you have a Social Security card and a photo ID, you should be able to easily change your name elsewhere, such as on credit cards or bank accounts, or at your place of work.
Changing Your Name Following Marriage
Decide what name you want to use. After marriage, you can’t change your first name, only your last. Both spouses may change their names, but whatever name you choose you must use consistently. If you later change your mind and decide to use a different name, you’ll have to file a petition in court. For example, if as a new wife you decide to take your husband’s name, you would have to file a petition in court if a year later you both decided to use a hyphenated version of both last names.
Take your marriage decree to the Social Security office nearest you to change your name on your Social Security card. You want to change your name on your Social Security card first because you’ll need it to change your name on your driver’s license and to update financial and payroll accounts. You can change your name with Social Security by visiting your local SSA office and completing the application. You’ll need to show them a certified copy of your marriage certificate and your birth certificate or passport as proof of citizenship. There is no fee for a new Social Security card. After your application is received, the SSA will mail your new card to you.
Take your marriage decree and your Social Security card to the DMV to have your name changed on your driver’s license. All driving records need to reflect your name change, including both your driver’s license and the title to your car. You will have to pay $10 for a new driver’s license and $15 to have your name changed on your car title.
Use your new Social Security card and driver’s license to have your name changed on other accounts and documents. Once your photo ID and your Social Security card reflect your new name, you should have no difficulty changing your name on your credit cards, bank accounts and other accounts or memberships.
Changing Your Name Following Divorce
Indicate on your divorce petition that you want to return to your previous name. You want to include a clause in your divorce petition that you intend to return to a previous name you had before the marriage. This option is only available if you changed your name because you got married. You can’t change your name to any name, it must be your maiden name or another name that you used before the marriage.
Testify at the hearing that you want to return to your previous name. At your divorce hearing, the judge will ask you questions about your name change, and you’ll have to state under oath that you are not changing your name for an improper purpose such as to avoid a warrant.
Take your divorce decree to the Social Security office nearest you to change your name on your Social Security card. You’ll need to present a certified copy of your divorce decree and complete the application to get a new Social Security card with your preferred name. There is no charge to change your name on your Social Security card. After you submit the application to the SSA office, your new card will be mailed to you.
Use your divorce decree and your new Social Security card to get your name changed on your driver’s license at the DMV. You will have to appear in person at your local DMV office and pay the required fees to get your driving records changed. The SC DMV charges $10 to issue a new driver’s license and $15 to change your name on your car title.
Show your Social Security card or driver’s license to get your name changed at other places. Once you have a photo ID and Social Security card that reflect your new name, you shouldn’t have any difficulty getting your name changed elsewhere, such as with banks or credit card companies.
Changing Your Child’s Name
Make sure you are the legal parent of the child. A petition for the name change of a child in South Carolina must be initiated by one of the child’s parents. The other parent must be named as a party in the action. If there is not another living parent, the child must be named as a party in the action.
File the petition in the family court with jurisdiction over the county where you live. Since you are the petitioner in the action, the appropriate court to hear your case is the one with jurisdiction over the area where you live.
Have a guardian ad litem appointed for the child. Even if both parents agree on the name change, South Carolina law requires the court to appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of the child at the name change hearing. The guardian will interview the child and review the child’s circumstances and living environment. Most guardians ad litem charge between $150 and $175 an hour for their services. Provided the name change isn’t contested by anyone, expect your child’s guardian to spend between two and three hours on the case.
Attend the hearing. South Carolina requires hearings for all petitions to change a child’s name. The judge will review the petition and hear testimony from the parents and the guardian ad litem to discern whether it is in the best interests of the child to grant the petition. The judge considers factors such as the length of time the child has used her present name, the motives of the parents and the reason for the name change, the possibility of the name change causing the child insecurity, difficulty, harassment, or lack of identity, and the preference of the child if the child is old enough to express a preference.
Take the name change order to your nearest Social Security office to get the child’s Social Security card changed. Once the judge has signed the order, a certified copy of that order will be sufficient to have the child’s name changed with the Social Security Administration.
Use the child’s new Social Security card to have her name changed at school or elsewhere. After the order is final, you’ll want to have the child’s name changed on school records, at doctor’s offices, and anywhere else that has a record of the child.
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