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

The court's part is fixed statewide: a petition for a decree of change of name or gender costs $435, line 4 of the California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule. The unpredictable part is the step California still requires and many states have dropped — publishing the hearing notice in a newspaper, at whatever that newspaper charges.

California name change fees at a glance

The $435 is the schedule's unlimited civil first-paper fee (Gov. Code §70611), and the name change petition is expressly listed in that group — the same fee as a California divorce petition. The certification and copy figures are also from the statewide schedule: $40 for certification under Gov. Code §70626(a)(4) and $0.50 per page for copies under §70627(a), the same lines used in this site's record copy fee guide. Two counties — Riverside and San Francisco — add a courthouse construction surcharge that takes some first papers to $450, as the schedule's county appendix shows for divorce filings; ask the clerk whether it applies to your petition.

The publication step, and why no price is printed here

Under Code Civ. Proc. §1277, once the court issues the order to show cause, you must publish it in a newspaper of general circulation in your county, once a week for four successive weeks, and file the newspaper's proof of publication before the hearing. Newspapers set their own legal-notice rates, and they vary widely — a small county weekly and a metropolitan daily are different markets entirely. Any site quoting you one "California publication cost" is guessing, so this page does not. The exception matters: a petition that changes both name and gender marker under Code Civ. Proc. §1277.5 is confidential and requires no publication at all, which also removes the cost.

How the process runs

1. File the petition (form NC-100) and order to show cause (NC-120) in the superior court of your county $435
2. Publish the order to show cause once a week for four successive weeks and file the proof of publication newspaper's rate
3. Attend the hearing if the court sets one — many uncontested petitions are granted on the papers — and receive the signed decree (NC-130).
4. Order certified copies of the decree $40 certification + $0.50/page and update Social Security, the DMV, and your passport; those agencies set their own charges.

For a child's name change, both parents' consent or formal service on the non-consenting parent is required, and the publication step still applies. A parent changing a child's name as part of a divorce or custody case follows that case's rules instead — see the custody filing cost guide.

Can't afford the fee?

California's fee waiver (forms FW-001 and FW-003) covers the $435 petition fee for qualifying filers, and waiving the filing fee does not change the publication duty — budget for the newspaper even with a waiver in hand. The fee waiver guide covers the standards. Compare the structure with Texas ($350, no publication) and New York ($210 or $65, no publication since 2021) in the national name change guide: California's total is the highest of the three, mostly because of the newspaper.

Sources: California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule (Judicial Council, eff. Jan 1, 2026) — row 4, petition for a decree of change of name or gender, $435 (Gov. Code §70611); certification $40 (§70626(a)(4)); copies $0.50/page (§70627(a)) · Code Civ. Proc. §§1277, 1277.5. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the superior court clerk.