Maryland Name Change in 2026: A $165 Court Petition With No Newspaper Ad, Plus M/F/X License Markers

A legal name change in Maryland is governed by Rule 15-901 of the Maryland Rules — a court rule adopted by the Supreme Court of Maryland rather than a statute passed by the General Assembly. You file a petition with the Circuit Court, the court waits a minimum of 30 days for anyone to object, and a judge signs an order if the request is approved. That order is the only document that proves your new legal name to every other agency. The [Maryland Courts name change page](https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/family/namechange) is the official starting point.

The order does not update anything automatically. After it is signed, you use certified copies to update Social Security, the MVA, your employer, your bank, and every other institution that holds your records — the sequence matters and is covered below.

Maryland has 24 Circuit Court jurisdictions — 23 counties plus Baltimore City — and you are not limited to the county where you live. Under Rule 15-901, an adult can file in the Circuit Court of any county where you live, carry on a regular business, work, habitually engage in a vocation, or were born. If you were born in Maryland but now live elsewhere, the county of your birth is still an option.

Go to the Circuit Court, not the District Court — the official guidance is explicit about this. A minor’s petition is filed in the county where the minor lives or where any parent, guardian, or custodian lives. Find your court through the [Maryland Courts court directory](https://www.mdcourts.gov/courtsdirectory).

The adult petition is Form [CC-DR-060, Petition for Change of Name of an Adult](https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/court-forms/ccdr060.pdf), filed with the Circuit Court clerk. It asks for your current legal name, the name you want, your date and place of birth, every former name you have used, the reason for the change, and a sworn statement that the request is not for an illegal or fraudulent purpose. You attach a copy of your birth certificate, driver’s license, passport, or another document that shows your current legal name.

The form also requires you to disclose whether you are a registered sex offender — if so, you list every name under which you registered and the state where the requirement originated. You sign the petition under oath using your current legal name.

Related forms: minors use CC-DR-062, with parent/guardian consent on CC-DR-063 and a consent form for minors 10 and older (CC-DR-119); anyone who wants to object to an adult petition uses CC-DR-115. The complete list is on the [Maryland Courts forms page](https://www.mdcourts.gov/forms).

The filing fee for a name change petition is $165, per the official [Maryland Courts family fact sheet](https://www.courts.state.md.us/sites/default/files/import/family/pdfs/familyfactsheetnamechange.pdf). If you cannot afford it, file a Request for Waiver of Prepaid Costs (Form CC-DC-089) together with your petition, and the judge decides based on your financial circumstances. If the waiver is denied, the clerk will give you a deadline to pay before the case is dismissed — confirm the exact deadline with your clerk.

Budget beyond the filing fee:

Many guides written about Maryland still describe a newspaper publication step, but the current rule is different. The committee note to Rule 15-901 states that there is no publication or other required notice of an adult name change; instead, the court may not enter an order earlier than 30 days after the petition is filed, which gives anyone who learns of the request a window to object.

During those 30 days, any person can file an objection with the Circuit Court if they have a valid reason. The objection must be supported by an affidavit based on personal knowledge. If you are served with an objection, you may file a written response within 15 days. In practice, objections to adult name changes are rare.

After the objection window closes, the court may rule on the petition without a hearing, which is the typical outcome for uncontested adult petitions. A hearing is scheduled if someone objects or if the judge wants more information, and the court cannot deny your petition without giving you a hearing if you requested one. Most uncontested petitions complete in roughly 5–8 weeks from filing — the 30-day minimum plus court processing — though timing varies by county, so verify with your clerk.

A standard name change case is a public court record in Maryland — which is one reason the state offers the judicial declaration route (below) for people who want the records kept out of public view. If you file an ordinary petition and want the case shielded, you can file a Petition to Seal or Otherwise Limit Inspection of a Case Record (Form CC-DC-053) and explain a special and compelling reason; judges decide these requests individually, so do not assume one will be granted automatically.

One detail unique to Maryland: the clerk is required by law to notify the State Board of Elections of a court-ordered name change, and the MDVOTERS database may still link your new name to your former name even if the case file itself is confidential. The CC-DR-060 form directs you to contact the SBE to ask about shielding that information and severing the link between your names.

Maryland has a distinct court process — the [judicial declaration of gender identity](https://www.mdcourts.gov/genderidentity) — that lets you ask the court to affirm your gender marker or sex designation, and you can include a name change in the same petition. Adults use Form CC-DR-120 (Petition for Judicial Declaration of Gender Identity of an Adult, With/Without a Name Change); the filing fee is the same $165, and minors use CC-DR-121 with parent/guardian consent forms (CC-DR-123) and the minor’s own consent form (CC-DR-124).

The declaration is not required for most agencies. The official page notes that Social Security, the MVA, the Division of Vital Records, and the State Department all accept a court order but also have administrative processes that do not require going to court. You might still want the order to update your Maryland birth certificate, records in other states, or institutions that ask for one. Legal services guides note that a judicial declaration case is sealed automatically and kept out of the public case search, whereas a standard name change requires a separate motion to seal — confirm the current treatment with your clerk.

No medical documentation is required to file the petition, though the judge has discretion to ask for supporting records. The same 30-day rule applies — the court cannot enter an order earlier than 30 days after filing.

Maryland is one of the more accommodating states on license gender markers. Under Maryland Transportation Code § 12-305, an MVA application must let you select Female, Male, or “Unspecified or other” — displayed as X — and the MVA may not require proof of your sex or deny an application because the marker you chose does not match another document.

Per the [MVA’s official guidance](https://mva.maryland.gov/licenses-ids/update-name-address-or-other-license-info), changing your gender designation is done in person at an MVA branch office — not online or at a kiosk — and you can change it as many times as you need, with a corrected-license fee applying each time. You do not need to change your birth certificate first, and no medical documentation or court order is required. If you are under 18 and want a marker different from the one on your birth certificate, a parent or guardian must sign the application.

A name change at the MVA is a separate step: update Social Security first, then visit a branch in person with your certified court order and current credential. For the broader federal picture — passports are now issued with M or F matching birth records, and Social Security has not processed sex-marker changes since January 2025 — see our [Social Security name change guide](/blog/social-security-name-change-guide) and [DMV name change guide](/blog/how-to-change-name-with-dmv).

If you were born in Maryland and want the gender designation on your birth certificate changed, the Division of Vital Records has an administrative process under Health-General § 4-211. You submit a written request with a signed statement from a licensed healthcare provider confirming that you have undergone surgical, hormonal, or other treatment appropriate for you based on accepted medical standards — no specific surgical procedure is required — along with a copy of your photo ID and the amendment fee (about $10; verify the current amount on the [Division of Vital Records birth page](https://health.maryland.gov/vsa/Pages/birth.aspx)). A court order from a judicial declaration of gender identity is accepted as an alternative.

Maryland’s official birth certificate materials do not currently confirm an X option on birth certificates — the MVA X marker is separate from what Vital Records can print. If an X marker on your birth certificate matters to you, verify the current options with the Division of Vital Records. If you were born outside Maryland, your state of birth controls that record — our [birth certificate name change guide](/blog/birth-certificate-name-change-guide) explains how amendments work.

A court order does not change any document by itself. Work through the list below in order — the sequence matters because agencies verify against each other’s records:

Q: How much does a name change cost in Maryland? A: The filing fee is $165. Add certified copies (about $5 plus $0.50 per page each), the MVA corrected-card fee if you get a new license, and about $10 if you also amend a Maryland birth certificate. There is no newspaper publication cost for adults, so the total is usually under $250 before the MVA and birth certificate steps.

Q: Do I have to publish my name change in a newspaper? A: No. Rule 15-901’s committee note is explicit that there is no publication or other required notice for an adult name change. Instead, the court cannot enter an order earlier than 30 days after filing, which is the window for objections. Some older guides still describe publication for Maryland — they are out of date.

Q: Is there a statewide name change form? A: Yes — CC-DR-060 (adult) and CC-DR-062 (minor) are official statewide forms, plus the supporting consent, objection, sealing, and fee waiver forms listed on the Maryland Courts forms page.

Q: Can I change my gender marker on a Maryland driver’s license? A: Yes. The MVA supports M, F, and X markers, and no medical documentation, court order, or birth certificate change is required — you select the marker in person at a branch office and pay a corrected-card fee. Minors under 18 need a parent or guardian signature when the marker differs from their birth certificate.

Q: What is a judicial declaration of gender identity and when do I need one? A: It is a court order affirming your gender marker or sex designation, filed with Form CC-DR-120 (adults) for the same $165 fee, and it can include a name change in the same petition. You generally do not need it for the MVA, Social Security, Vital Records, or passports, which have administrative processes — but it can help with your Maryland birth certificate, out-of-state records, and institutions that require a court order. Judicial declaration cases are confidential by default.

Q: How long does a Maryland name change take? A: The court cannot enter an order earlier than 30 days after filing. Uncontested adult petitions typically complete in about 5–8 weeks from filing, and busier counties can take longer — verify the expected timeline with your clerk when you file.

Q: Can I change my name to something new rather than restoring an old one? A: Yes. Maryland Rule 15-901 allows any name change that is not for an illegal or fraudulent purpose and does not interfere with the rights of others, including names chosen to affirm your gender identity. Divorce-related restoration of a former name follows a separate, simpler path — see our [post-divorce name change guide](/blog/how-to-change-your-name-after-divorce).