Home › Name change costs › Arizona

How much does it cost to change your name in Arizona?

Changing your name in Arizona costs a $252 statewide base filing fee for the Superior Court petition, set under A.R.S. §12-284 and Administrative Order 2024-210 — and $367 all-in in Maricopa County once the county's authorised add-ons are stacked on the base. Arizona requires no newspaper publication and no fingerprint card for an ordinary adult name change, which keeps its true total below states that mandate both.

Arizona name change fees at a glance

The two headline numbers answer different questions. The $252 is the state base every county starts from; the $367 is what the Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court actually collects for a civil complaint or petition, and a name change under §12-601 is filed as exactly that class of petition. Smaller counties collect less. Either way, the petition is filed in the Superior Court of the county where you live — there is no cheaper justice-court door. The national comparison is on the name change costs hub and the state overview on the Arizona court costs guide.

What §12-601 actually requires

A.R.S. §12-601 lets a person file a written application in Superior Court stating the reasons for the change, and §12-602 governs the hearing and order: the court must be satisfied the change is proper and not sought to evade creditors or legal process. There is no statutory publication step — Arizona is one of the simpler states on this point — and no routine fingerprint requirement for adults, although the court may order a criminal-history check in an individual case. A name change sought inside a pending dissolution is handled in the divorce decree itself, with no separate petition or petition fee. For a minor, a parent or guardian applies, and notice to the other parent is the step that generates service costs where that parent does not consent.

Sealing for protected applicants

Section 12-601 also provides a confidentiality path: an applicant who is protected by an order of protection or injunction against harassment, or who is a victim of stalking under §13-2923, may ask the court to seal the name-change case. Sealing is discretionary, not automatic, and it is requested in the application itself so the public file never opens. Applicants in that position should raise it with the clerk at filing rather than after the order issues.

1. Complete the Arizona Judicial Branch name-change packet for your county (application, order and civil cover sheet)
2. File with the Clerk of Superior Court in your county of residence and pay the fee $252 state base $367 Maricopa all-in
3. Attend the hearing if the court sets one; for a minor's change, serve notice on any non-consenting parent first
4. Receive the signed Order Changing Name and order certified copies for records changes $31 Maricopa example
5. Update Social Security first, then Arizona driver license or ID, passport, banks and insurers

What a name change really costs beyond the clerk

Arizona's extras are unusually light: no publication bill, no fingerprint fee in the ordinary case, and a notary charge only where a form requires notarisation. The remaining spend is records-side — certified copies and any replacement-document fees charged by the agencies you update, which are those agencies' prices, not the court's. That profile makes Arizona one of the cheaper honest totals in the national table despite a mid-range filing fee. Compare Colorado name change costs, where publication and fingerprint checks are both mandatory, and California name change costs.

Can't afford the fee?

A.R.S. §12-302 provides deferral and waiver of court fees: a deferral is available where household income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline or the applicant receives means-tested benefits such as TANF, SNAP or SSI, and a full waiver where the financial situation is unlikely to improve. Apply through the clerk's deferral/waiver process at filing — do not simply omit payment from an ordinary filing. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: A.R.S. §§12-601, 12-602 (name change application, hearing and order; sealing for protected applicants) · A.R.S. §12-284, Class A (petition for change of name — initial case filing class) as adjusted by Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Order 2024-210 (statewide base $252) · Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court — Filing Fees (civil complaint/petition total $367; certified copy worked example $31) · A.R.S. §12-302 (deferral and waiver; 150% of federal poverty guideline). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm your county's all-in total with the Clerk of Superior Court.