Family · Name Change

Adult Name Change in Michigan

How to legally change your name as an adult in Michigan: whether you must publish notice, the approximate court fee, whether a background check is required, and the steps. Cited to the statute or court.

Confirmedagainst Mich. Comp. Laws §711.1Reviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026

Adult name change · Michigan

Changing your name in Michigan requires newspaper publication by default, but the court must waive it and seal the record if your petition shows good cause. Filing costs about $175 in the family division of the circuit court, and you must have lived in the county for at least one year.

Publication (waivable)

Publication?Publication (waivable)

Filing cost~$175

StatuteMich. Comp. Laws §711.1

The name-change process in Michigan

The steps in order, whether publication or a background check applies, and the waivers.

The process	What it means
One year of residency in the county	MCL 711.1(1) allows an order only for someone who has been a resident of the county for at least one year. This is a real waiting period, and it is county-level, so moving between Michigan counties restarts it.
File in the family division of the circuit court	Name changes have been in the family division of the circuit court since 1996, so probate-court fee statutes do not govern. You petition in writing and show that a sufficient reason exists and that the change is not sought with a fraudulent intent.
Disclose any criminal record	MCL 711.1(1) requires you to include your criminal record in the petition, including any pending charge, or to state that you have none. The court may use L.E.I.N. or ICHAT to verify, and the statute says the court bears that cost, not you.
Publication happens unless waived	MCL 711.1(2) directs the court to order publication as provided by supreme court rule when it holds a hearing, except as provided in section 3. The court may enter an order with or without a hearing in its discretion.

Requirements and waivers	What it means
Good cause blocks publication and seals the file	MCL 711.3(1)(a) is mandatory. If the court receives a petition that shows good cause, it must order that no publication take place and that the record be confidential. Good cause includes evidence that publication could place someone in physical danger or at risk of unlawful discrimination or retaliation.
Two categories where good cause is presumed	Under MCL 711.3(1)(b) the court must presume good cause if the petition states that the petitioner or an endangered individual is a victim of an assaultive crime, domestic violence, harassment, human trafficking, or stalking, or that the person seeks to affirm their gender identity. The gender identity ground was added by 2024 PA 229. The court cannot demand proof of an arrest or prosecution.
The seal has teeth	MCL 711.3(2) makes it a misdemeanor for a court officer or employee to divulge information from a sealed record beyond their duties, and MCL 711.3(3) exempts the confidential record from the Freedom of Information Act.
Fee waiver for people who cannot pay	MCL 600.2529(5) requires the court to waive or suspend the filing fee on a showing by affidavit of indigency or inability to pay. The $25.00 electronic filing fee is then waived automatically along with it.

There is no fingerprint requirement in Michigan

There used to be. The old law required any petitioner 22 or older to submit two sets of fingerprints to the state police and the FBI, and it barred the court from acting until the state police reported back. 2024 PA 229 deleted that entirely. The word fingerprint no longer appears in the statute. The replacement is the court running L.E.I.N. or ICHAT at its own cost.

A criminal record is no longer a presumption of bad faith

The pre-2024 law presumed that a petitioner with a criminal record was seeking the change with fraudulent intent and put the burden on that person to rebut it. That sentence is gone. A criminal record is now a disclosure obligation, not a strike against you.

How solid the $175 figure is

The $150.00 civil filing fee and the $25.00 electronic filing fee were each read from the statute, and both are general circuit court provisions with no name-change carve-out. MCL 711.2 also names a separate $10.00 county fee, and whether it survives the payment-in-full clause in MCL 600.2529(2) is genuinely ambiguous on the face of the statutes. Confirm the current total with the court.

Spouse and children can ride along

MCL 711.1(6) lets a married petitioner include a consenting spouse’s name in the order, along with the names of minor children in the petitioner’s legal custody, subject to written consent from any child 14 or older.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps to start a name change in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Confirm one year in the county first
You must have lived in the filing county for at least one year under MCL 711.1(1). A recent move between Michigan counties resets that clock.
File in the family division of the circuit court
Petition in writing, state a sufficient reason and that the change is not fraudulent, and disclose your criminal record or state that you have none.
Ask for the publication waiver if you qualify
If publication could put you or another person at risk, show good cause under MCL 711.3(1)(a). The court must then order no publication and seal the record. Victims of certain crimes and people affirming their gender identity are presumed to have good cause.
Request a fee waiver if you cannot pay
File an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay under MCL 600.2529(5). The court must waive or suspend the filing fee, and the electronic filing fee is waived along with it.

Find help in Michigan

Court forms, fees, and publication rules are set locally. This resource points to the court self-help or an attorney who can guide you.

→ Michigan Courts · Name Change Self-Help

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Fees, publication, and background-check rules are set by local courts and change, so confirm the current requirements with your clerk or a licensed attorney.

The Michigan name-change process in detail

Michigan is close to the mirror image of North Carolina on the publication question. The default rule in MCL 711.1(2) tells the court to order newspaper publication as provided by supreme court rule, so notice is the starting point rather than the exception. What softens that is a strong and mandatory waiver. Under MCL 711.3(1)(a), if your petition shows good cause the court must order that no publication take place and that the record be confidential, and good cause is presumed for victims of an assaultive crime, domestic violence, harassment, human trafficking, or stalking, and for a person who seeks to affirm their gender identity, a ground added by 2024 PA 229. You file in the family division of the circuit court and must have lived in the county for at least one year, a genuine waiting period that resets if you move counties. Michigan has no fingerprint requirement, which is a recent change, and the court now checks any criminal record itself using L.E.I.N. or ICHAT at its own cost. Disclosing a record is an obligation, not a mark against you, since the old presumption of fraudulent intent was repealed. Filing runs about $175, and a fee waiver is available on an affidavit of inability to pay.

Common questions

Do I have to publish a name change in the newspaper in Michigan?

By default yes, but the court must waive publication and seal the record if your petition shows good cause under MCL 711.3(1)(a). Good cause is presumed for victims of certain crimes and for people affirming their gender identity.

How long must I live in Michigan before changing my name?

You must have been a resident of the county where you file for at least one year under MCL 711.1(1). Moving between Michigan counties restarts that one-year clock.

Do I need fingerprints for a Michigan name change?

No. The old fingerprint requirement was removed by 2024 PA 229. The court now checks any criminal record itself using L.E.I.N. or ICHAT, and it pays for that, not you.

How much does a name change cost in Michigan?

About $175 to start the case in the circuit court, made up of a $150 civil filing fee and a $25 electronic filing fee. A fee waiver is available on an affidavit of inability to pay.

Primary source

→ Mich. Comp. Laws §711.1 (as amended by 2024 PA 229); §711.2; §711.3; fee §600.2529(1)(a), §600.1986(1)(a)

Michigan Compiled Laws · Probate Code ch. XI (§711.1) and Revised Judicature Act (§600.2529) · legislature.mi.gov

Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

Embed this explainer

Paste this on your own site. The embed stays in sync with this page, so any update here shows up there too.

<iframe
  src="https://plainstatute.com/embed/statute/adult-name-change--michigan"
  title="Michigan statute explainer by PlainStatute"
  loading="lazy"
  height="640"
  style="width:100%;max-width:640px;border:1px solid #e4e2d9;border-radius:12px"
  data-plainstatute="adult-name-change--michigan"></iframe>
<script>
  window.addEventListener('message', function (e) {
    if (e.origin !== 'https://plainstatute.com') return;
    var d = e.data || {};
    if (d.type !== 'plainstatute:embed-height') return;
    var f = document.querySelector('iframe[data-plainstatute="' + d.slug + '"]');
    if (f) f.height = d.height;
  });
</script>

Adult name change · other states

Ohio·California·Texas·Florida·New York·Pennsylvania·All states →