Virginia: Adult Legal Name Change Requirements

Requirements one by one

File in the circuit court where you live

An adult files the sworn application in the circuit court of the county or
city where the adult resides. Virginia sets no six-month, one-year, or other
minimum residence period in § 8.01-217(A) or current CC-1411.

If the person has no place of abode, any circuit court may consider the
application on a finding of good cause. An incarcerated person files in the
county or city of incarceration.

Use current Form CC-1411 and acknowledge the oath

Under § 8.01-217(B), current CC-1411 asks for the birth, current, and
requested names; city or county and street address; mailing address if
different; date and place of birth;
both parents' full names, including maiden names; reason; felony record;
incarceration, probation, and registry status; and prior changes. The applicant
also certifies that the request is not fraudulent and will not infringe another
person's rights.

The signature must be acknowledged by a clerk, deputy clerk, or notary public.
The safety provision discussed below can allow the chief judge to waive the
oath when the required threat showing is made.

There is no universal fingerprint or publication step

The current statute and form use sworn criminal-status disclosures. They do not
require every adult to submit fingerprints, obtain a State Police or FBI
report, or publish a newspaper notice. Virginia's ordinary notice mechanism is
a hearing if demanded, not publication.

Probation, incarceration, or registry status activates the separate prosecutor
and victim-notice track under § 8.01-217(D). It does not turn ordinary adult
applications into published cases.

Serious safety threats can stop public indexing and transmission

Under § 8.01-217(G), cause to believe that a public record would create a
serious threat to the health or safety of the applicant or immediate family can
support two protections: the chief judge may waive the oath, or the court may
seal the record and tell the clerk not to spread or index the order.

When the court uses the sealing route, the certified copy is not sent to Vital
Records or the Central Criminal Records Exchange. The statute does not create a
separate gender-identity procedure; the same serious-threat standard applies.

Ordinary relief is mandatory unless evidence shows fraud or rights harm

For an ordinary adult application, § 8.01-217(C) calls for a hearing only if
one is demanded. The court must order the change unless evidence shows a
fraudulent purpose or infringement of another person's rights.

That does not guarantee papers-only treatment in every locality or case. A
judge may require corrections or further proceedings, and the heightened
criminal-status track always requires a hearing.

Three statuses trigger the heightened track

A court cannot accept an application from a probationer, incarcerated person,
or person required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors
Registry without first finding good cause to consider it. If accepted, copies
go to the Commonwealth's Attorney where filed and in each Virginia jurisdiction
whose conviction produced the status. The filing-jurisdiction prosecutor has
30 days to respond.

For a registry offense, the prosecutor must make a reasonable effort to notify
the victim or, if the victim has died, an immediate family member. After a
mandatory hearing, the court may grant only if the change will not frustrate a
legitimate law-enforcement purpose, is not fraudulent, and will not infringe
others' rights. The order must contain written findings. § 8.01-217(E)
makes compliance jurisdictional; a noncompliant order is void from the outset.

Fees vary, and the ordinary order is recorded and transmitted

Virginia's court self-help site says there is no single uniform filing fee.
Fairfax Circuit Court's schedule effective July 1, 2026 lists $44 for a
name-change filing. Confirm the total with the filing clerk. A low-income
applicant may use CC-1414 to ask the circuit-court judge to waive fees.

Under § 8.01-217(F), the ordinary order contains only former name or names,
new name, and current address. The clerk spreads it in the current deed book,
indexes both old and new names, and sends a certified order and application to
the State Registrar of Vital Records and Central Criminal Records Exchange.
The safety-sealing route is the express exception to those public-record and
transmission steps.

What trips people up

• Virginia has no six-month residency rule. The live statute requires
  residence in the filing county or city but states no minimum duration.
• No newspaper notice is required for an ordinary adult application. Do
  not import publication language from a minor service problem or another
  state.
• The oath and sealing remedies are alternatives in the statute. A serious
  threat can support waiver of the oath or sealing/non-indexing; the order
  should match the relief actually granted.
• The criminal-status track is jurisdictional. Skipping its notice,
  hearing, or findings can make the order void from the outset.

Common questions

Must every adult attend a hearing?

No. The ordinary statute says a hearing occurs if demanded. A hearing is
mandatory for a probationer, incarcerated person, or registry-listed applicant.

Does every applicant need fingerprints?

No. Current law uses sworn felony, registry, incarceration, and probation
disclosures, not a universal fingerprint package.

Can the file be sealed for safety?

Yes, when making the serious-threat showing in section 8.01-217(G). A sealed
order is not spread or indexed and is not transmitted to Vital Records or CCRE.

Is a felony conviction an automatic bar?

No. The application discloses the felony record. The heightened good-cause
track is tied to current probation, incarceration, or registry status rather
than every past felony conviction.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 8.01-217(A)-(G) — court and venue, sworn contents, ordinary
  grant standard, heightened criminal-status procedure, jurisdictional effect,
  order contents and transmission, and serious-threat sealing. Official
  current section
  (accessed 2026-07-26).
• Virginia Form CC-1411 and instructions — current adult application
  fields and acknowledgment before a clerk, deputy clerk, or notary. Official
  form; official
  instructions
  (revised July 2026; accessed 2026-07-26).
• Virginia fee-waiver guidance and CC-1414 — locality-dependent fees and
  circuit-court waiver request. Official self-help
  page; official
  form (accessed
  2026-07-26).
• Fairfax Circuit Court July 2026 fee schedule — current $44 local
  name-change filing example. Official
  schedule
  (accessed 2026-07-26).