Indiana Name Change in 2026: The Court Process Still Works, But Gender Markers on IDs Are Restricted

If you live in Indiana and are planning a legal name change, the court process itself is unchanged: adults can still petition a county court for a name change, and no 2026 law has restricted that route. The major changes this year are about gender markers on identity documents, not about names.

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) stopped accepting gender marker changes on driver’s licenses and ID cards effective February 12, 2026. Birth certificate sex changes remain tied to a court order on paper, but agencies have been operating under a restrictive March 2025 executive order, and a bill that would have codified a ban on birth certificate gender changes (House Bill 1199) did not pass in the 2026 session.

The practical takeaway: plan your name change as usual, and treat gender marker updates as a separate, more restricted track — details below.

An adult name change in Indiana is governed by Indiana Code 34-28-2. You file a verified, notarized petition in the county where you live, usually through the County Clerk’s office, and the case is assigned to a circuit or superior court. There is no statewide residency-duration requirement, and no fingerprinting or background check is required for a typical adult petition, though the petition asks you to disclose any felony convictions and to state that the change is sought in good faith and not for a fraudulent purpose.

The clerk will open a case, collect the filing fee (or process a fee waiver request), and set a hearing. At the hearing the judge confirms your identity and the basis for the petition before signing the order. Find your county’s court and clerk through the [Indiana Judicial Branch court directory](https://www.in.gov/courts/directory/) or the [official directory PDF](https://www.in.gov/courts/files/court-directory.pdf).

Indiana does not publish a single numbered set of name change forms the way some states do. Instead, courts and legal-aid organizations point to self-help packets prepared by the Indiana Coalition for Court Access and Indiana Legal Services — the city of Indianapolis’ official page confirms that the [Coalition for Court Access website](https://www.in.gov/courts/selfservice/) provides the forms.

The most current combined packet — the [Adult Pro Se Name and Gender Marker Change Packet (rev. April 2025)](https://www.indianalegalservices.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Adult_ProSe_NGM_PrintablePacket_4.2025.pdf) — covers a name change together with a birth certificate correction and includes:

The filing fee for a name change petition is about $157 in most counties: the [Marion County Clerk’s office](https://indy.gov/activity/change-your-name) lists $157, and county websites such as [Brown County’s fee schedule](https://browncounty-in.gov/267/File-a-Case-with-the-Circuit-Court) show the same for a name change. Fees vary slightly by county, so confirm the exact amount with your clerk before filing.

Indiana generally requires notice of a name change petition to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in your county — once a week for three consecutive weeks, with the last publication at least 30 days before the hearing (Indiana Code 34-28-2-3).

If publication or a public court record would create a substantial risk of harm — for example if you are transgender and concerned about being outed, or you are a survivor of domestic or family violence — you can file a Verified Request to Prohibit Public Access and Waive Publication under Indiana’s Access to Court Records rules. If granted, the court excludes the case from public access and waives the newspaper requirement. The self-help packets explicitly recognize these privacy grounds, and the request is filed at the same time as your petition — not after publication has already run.

An ACR order does not guarantee that previously captured information disappears from the internet; it prevents the court record and notice from becoming public in the first place, which is why you file it at the start.

The single biggest 2026 change: effective February 12, 2026, the Indiana BMV no longer accepts a court-ordered gender change or a physician statement to change the gender on an Indiana driver’s license or ID card, under the [amended 140 IAC 7-1.1-3](https://www.in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/learners-permits-and-drivers-licenses-overview/drivers-license/amending-your-drivers-license-or-identification-card/). Credentials are issued with M or F only — there is no X option.

Name changes at the BMV are unaffected. After your name change order is final, update Social Security first, wait at least one business day, and then visit a BMV branch within 30 days of the change; the name update cannot be done online. Bring your certified court order and current credential.

If your gender marker plan relied on the BMV, that route is closed for now. Federal documents are also different — passport gender marker policies changed in 2026, so check current State Department rules before applying; see our [passport name change guide](/blog/passport-name-change-guide).

On paper, the rule has not changed: the Indiana Department of Health’s [amendments FAQ](https://www.in.gov/health/vital-records/frequently-asked-questions/amendments-corrections-faqs/) states that a court order is needed for a legal sex change on a birth record, and a court order is also required for a legal name change. The court packet above asks the judge to order both the name change and the birth certificate correction.

In practice, enforcement has been restricted. [Executive Order 25-36](https://www.in.gov/gov/files/EO-25-36.pdf) (March 2025) directs state agencies to interpret Indiana law with sex and gender as binary categories, and agencies have since stopped processing gender updates on birth certificates, according to reporting by the [Indiana Citizen](https://indianacitizen.org/indiana-lawmakers-file-slate-of-religion-related-education-and-culture-bills-for-2026-session/). A bill that would have codified a birth certificate gender ban — [House Bill 1199](https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1199/details) — was introduced January 5, 2026 and referred to the House Public Health Committee, but did not advance before the 2026 session ended; bill-tracking services list it as failed. That means the restriction you may encounter is executive and regulatory in origin, not statutory, and it can change.

Before you spend time and money: call IDOH Vital Records at 317-233-2700 and confirm how birth certificate sex-designation requests are currently handled. If you were born outside Indiana, this section does not apply to you — your state of birth controls that record.

A court order does not update anything automatically. Work through the list below in order, and keep several certified copies of the order on hand:

Indiana courts cannot change a birth certificate issued by another state. If your birth record is out of state, contact the vital records office in your state of birth; some states will accept a certified court order from elsewhere, others require their own process, and a few do not allow gender changes at all. Plan for that separately — and note that the Indiana court order itself remains valid for your name in every state.

Most Indiana name changes complete in roughly 4–12 weeks, depending on the county and on whether publication applies. A public case is bound by the publication schedule — notice once a week for three weeks, with the last notice at least 30 days before the hearing — so a hearing cannot usually be scheduled sooner than that. Cases with an approved ACR privacy request skip publication and can move faster, but court scheduling still varies by county.

If you have a deadline (a job start, travel, a REAL ID application), file early and ask the clerk for the current scheduling range for name change hearings in your county.

Q: Can I still change my name in Indiana in 2026? A: Yes. The court process under Indiana Code 34-28-2 is unchanged — file a notarized petition with your county clerk, attend the hearing, and receive a court order. No 2026 law has restricted adult name changes.

Q: Can I change the gender marker on my Indiana driver’s license? A: No. Effective February 12, 2026, the BMV no longer accepts a court order or physician statement for a gender change on an Indiana credential, and only M or F markers are available. Name changes at the BMV are unaffected.

Q: Did Indiana pass a law banning birth certificate gender changes? A: No. HB 1199, which would have codified such a ban, was introduced in January 2026 but did not advance out of the House Public Health Committee before the session ended. The restrictions you may encounter come from a March 2025 executive order and agency practice, not from a statute — confirm current IDOH practice at 317-233-2700.

Q: How much does a name change cost in Indiana? A: About $157 in filing fees in most counties, plus certified copies (a few dollars) and newspaper publication unless the court waives it. IDOH birth certificate amendment is $8 with a $10 certificate. Fee waivers are available for qualifying petitioners.

Q: Do I have to publish my name change in a newspaper? A: Generally yes — once a week for three weeks with the last notice at least 30 days before the hearing — unless the court grants a Verified Request to Prohibit Public Access and Waive Publication (the ACR route) based on risk of harm.

Q: Can I change my name and ask the court to correct my birth certificate at the same time? A: Yes — the 2025 self-help packet is built around a combined petition for name change and birth certificate correction. Whether IDOH will currently process the sex-designation portion is a separate question — call Vital Records first.

Q: Do I need a lawyer? A: No — the self-help packets are designed for pro se filing, and legal aid organizations offer free guidance. For complex situations (criminal history, registry obligations, or safety concerns), consult a lawyer or Indiana Legal Services before filing.