Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor a legal professional. This post is based on my personal experience changing my name in Missouri and is shared for informational purposes only. The information in this post was current upon publication but processes and forms may have changed since. For legal advice specific to your situation, please consult an attorney or your local court.

When I was widowed in 2016, my way of coping was diving deep into work to keep myself occupied. I was living south of Seattle and working for a company based out of Kansas City, MO, where I was when I learned of the passing of my husband. Our marriage had its complications, but we’d known each other since we were kids, so we’d remained amicable, but it was at that point I decided I needed a drastic change in my life so I moved to Missouri.

I’d never lived outside of Washington so adjusting to life in Missouri was quite a change. Luckily, I’d spent weeks at a time visiting, prior to moving there, so I had a small social network. I was living alone for the first time in about 10 years and spent most of my time working or enjoying the quietness of my wonderful rental home.

But something kept eating away at me. As time went on, the family I’d gained slowly drifted away, my father-in-law passed away, and I was left with a last name that no longer had meaning to me. I wasn’t part of that family anymore, my last name was complicated – not only to pronounce but also in the memories it brought – and I decided that no matter how wonderful my new relationship was and even if/when we get married, I wanted to go back to my birth name and keep my birth name.

Now changing your name due to marriage, divorce or desire is pretty straightforward, but it was challenging for me to understand the process for widows. When I got married, all I had to do was take my marriage certificate to the social security office and my name was changed. But that’s not at all the process to return to my birth name. I’d looked over the name change paperwork several times, but it didn’t quite match my situation – I didn’t need to update my birth certificate and just wanted to return to my former name, not something else. Court clerks were careful to avoid offering anything that could be considered legal advice and I contacted a dozen law offices but only heard back from one who was not taking on new clients for months so I couldn’t even pay a lawyer to just handle this for me.

I had to do it all myself.

Since it was a confusing process for me, I thought it would be helpful if I documented my experience for other widows who just want to return to their birth names. Again, this is not legal advice, just the steps I took to return to my birth name as a widow in Jackson County, Missouri.

The Name Change Process Steps

Briefly, here are the basic steps needed to change your name as a widow in Missouri:

  • Complete the required forms
  • Complete the Litigant Awareness Program and print the certificate
  • File the paperwork with the court
  • Wait until the judgment is approved/uncontested
  • Have the name change published in a newspaper within your county 3 times
  • Submit the publication affidavit to the court and get your certified judgment
  • Update your name with the Social Security office
  • Update your name on your drivers license
  • Update your name everywhere else

The Forms

The petition for name change instructions are on the Missouri courts website: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=3834

The forms are located here: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=55061

When I filed in 2025, I submitted the redaction certification (GN320) and petition for change of name for adult individual (CAFC401) forms. I did not choose to redact anything but be sure to review this thoroughly before making that decision for yourself.

Since I was doing this myself without the help of a lawyer, or pro se, I also needed to complete the Representing Yourself in a Family Law Case litigant awareness program, which consisted of watching a video and printing a certificate that was filed with my paperwork. This information was not on the courts website, but a very helpful clerk informed me of this on a phone call prior to my filing of my paperwork.

Submitting the Forms to the Court

I opted to submit my forms to the courthouse in Independence. Both times I’ve been there I haven’t had to wait at all and the staff was so kind and helpful. If you did not complete any of these forms ahead of time, the clerk should be able to provide them to you, but it’s helpful to have them completed in advance. I was in and out within 15 minutes.

  • Redaction certification (GN320) – I opted not to redact anything
  • Confidential case filing information sheet (FI-10) – I did not file this
  • Petition for change of name for adult individual (CAFC401) – required
  • Litigant awareness certificate – required

While I came prepared with every legal document I own, all that was needed was my drivers license.

The cost was $142.50 but if you cannot afford to pay that, there are options available.

Note: While it is possible a court hearing may be required, I was informed that there typically weren’t hearings for name changes like this and I did not need to attend a hearing for my name change.

Staying Updated on Your Case

After I filed my forms with the court, I was able to find my case on the Missouri casenet site (https://www.courts.mo.gov/cnet/welcome.do) the next day. From there, I clicked on “track this case” where I was able to sign up for text and email alerts so I’d be notified whenever there was an update to my case. The court also mailed me documentation, but I appreciated the quickness in which I could receive notifications and check my case online.

In speaking to court clerks, I was informed the process could take about 2-8 weeks. In my experience, it was nearly a two month wait for me between filing and receiving my disposition of “uncontested.”

Publication

According to court documentation: Upon receipt of the judgment, the petitioner must make public notice of the name change at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which they live. In addition, proof of said notice must be filed in the Office of the Clerk (in some courts this is the Court Administrator’s Office) within 10 days after the date of the last publication. It is in your interest to publish your name change or it may be ineffective.

I’m not very familiar with local newspapers so I performed a search of those in my county and found that the Examiner (https://www.examiner.net/) published name changes and everything could be done easily online. I emailed them twice with some questions prior to publishing and never received a response which was a bit frustrating, but ultimately it worked out just fine for me.

Now the court website provides a “request for publication after judgment of change of name for adult individual form CAFC480” on their website. This should be sufficient for notice, but as I perused the legal name change listings, almost all of them included the full judgment of name change so that is what I opted to do. Since publishing my notice, I see several using the shorter version from this form.

If you reside in Jackson county MO and decided to also publish through the Examiner, the legal notice can be created here (https://www.examiner.net/submit-a-legal-notice/). When selecting name change publication, simply select the first publication date and the Examiner will automatically schedule it for 3 consecutive weeks.

I opted for both digital and mailed affidavits, but printing the emailed one was sufficient and fast – I received it the day of the final publication.

The total cost for my name change publication including tax was $36.53.

Finalizing Your Name Change After Publication

After the final publication, proof of publication must be filed with the court within 10 days. I printed the affidavit provided to me by the newspaper and took it into the court with my “Judgment on Name Change” paperwork the day after final publication. The clerk then provided 4 certified copies for me and informed me any additional copies could be purchased at an additional cost.

Updating the Social Security Administration

Just like when I got married and opted to change my name, I had to update it with the Social Security Administration and in this situation that’s necessary as well. After going through this process, I had 45 days to complete this.

I started by completing a form on the Social Security site (https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/change-name). Here, I could enter all the basic information and received an application number upon submitting my application. The next step is to take my certified judgment and identification (drivers license) to a local Social Security office to complete the name change process.

Updating Vehicle Registration & Driver License

Once updating your name with the Social Security Administration, you will also need to update your vehicle registration and driver license. The information for doing that is on the Missouri Department of Revenue website (https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/change-name).

Additional Resources