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How much does a name change cost in Minnesota?

Filing an application to change your name in Minnesota costs a $322 applicant filing fee in the state's largest county. The Hennepin County District Court fee schedule — published by the Minnesota Judicial Branch with changes effective July 1, 2025 — lists a Name Change Applicant Filing Fee of $322 on its Civil Court schedule, the same $322 the court charges a civil plaintiff or defendant on a first filing. The statutory spine underneath is Minn. Stat. §357.021, subdivision 2: its first-paper fee for a civil action or proceeding is $310 statewide, and Hennepin's published $322 total is that base plus the county law library fee the statute expressly leaves to chapter 134A — which is why this page is labelled Hennepin County rather than pretending to one statewide total.

Minnesota name change fees at a glance — Hennepin County

A Minnesota name change is a civil application, not a family case: Minn. Stat. §259.10 lets a person who has lived in the state for at least six months apply to the district court of the county of residence, and the Hennepin schedule prices that application on the Civil Court list, alongside the general $322 plaintiff and defendant filing fee. Married couples may apply jointly on one application under the Fourth Judicial District's supplemental name change guide, and a parent applying for a minor child's change must give notice to the other parent — Minnesota law allows no minor's name to be changed without both parents having notice of the application. The court may also require a criminal background check through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension before the hearing; the guide describes that check as part of the process, and any charge for the record itself is set by the agency that issues it, not by the court's fee schedule, so no figure for it is published here.

Why $322 in Hennepin and $310 in the statute

Section 357.021, subdivision 2, clause (1) sets the first-paper fee in every civil action or proceeding at $310, paid by the plaintiff, petitioner or other moving party when the first paper is filed, and the same $310 by a defendant or adverse party on that party's first filing. Subdivision 4 then states that nothing in the section amends the county law library fees under chapter 134A, and the Judicial Branch's own fees guidance warns that its published base amounts exclude county law library fees, so the amount collected at a given counter is the statutory base plus that county's library component. Hennepin County publishes the combined figure — $322 — which is the number a Minneapolis filer actually hands over. Other counties' totals differ modestly around the same $310 spine; the clerk or the Branch's Minnesota Court Fees catalog confirms any county's exact total. Filing electronically carries a $5 processing fee for use of the eFile and eServe system, noted on the Hennepin page itself. The national picture is on the name change costs hub.

After the hearing: the copy budget

The order changing a name is only useful once agencies accept it, and that runs on certified copies. The Hennepin schedule prices a certified copy of a filed court document at $14 — the same $14 Minn. Stat. §357.021, subdivision 2, clause (2) sets for a certified copy of any instrument from a civil or criminal proceeding — and an exemplified or authenticated copy at the same $14. Most applicants order several: one for the Social Security Administration, one for the driver's licence or state ID, and spares for a passport, bank and payroll records. Uncertified viewing and downloading of a publicly available filing carries no fee at all under the statute's closing sentence. Motions later in the case — to correct a record, for example — are priced at the civil motion rate of $100 under clause (4), and a subpoena is $16 per name under clause (3). Compare the same county's family and probate counters on this site's Minnesota custody costs and Minnesota probate costs pages, which run on the identical $322 schedule.

How the case runs

1. File the application for change of name in district court in the county where you live and pay the applicant filing fee $322
2. Complete any criminal background check the assigned judge requires and give the notices the statute requires, including notice to both parents for a minor's application
3. Attend the hearing, where the court decides whether the change is proper and not sought for a fraudulent purpose
4. Receive the signed order and order certified copies for your records $14 each
5. Update Social Security, identification, passport, bank and payroll records with the certified order

What a name change really costs beyond the clerk

The filing fee is the whole of the court-side price for most applicants, because a name change has no opposing party to serve and no publication requirement priced on the court's schedule. The costs that vary sit outside §357.021: a background record obtained from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is priced by that agency; replacement documents after the order — a new passport, for instance — carry the issuing agency's own fees; and an attorney, if one is hired to prepare the application, charges a private rate. None of those amounts appears on a Minnesota court schedule, so this page names them without inventing figures, the same discipline applied on this site's Washington name change costs page. What a Minnesota applicant can predict exactly is the counter spine in Hennepin County: $322 to file, $100 for a motion, $14 for each certified copy. The wider state picture is on the Minnesota court costs guide.

Can't afford the fee?

Minnesota district courts can reduce or waive court fees for an applicant who cannot afford them. The Fourth Judicial District's name change guide puts it directly: if your income is low and the request has merit, the court may waive or reduce the filing fee, and the applicant files the fee waiver affidavit forms with the name change paperwork. The governing process is the in forma pauperis procedure under Minn. Stat. §563.01, supported by a sworn statement of income, assets and expenses. Ask court administration for the waiver packet before filing rather than after. The general mechanics of fee waivers are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Hennepin County District Court, Fees (Minnesota Judicial Branch, mncourts.gov; changes effective July 1, 2025), read directly — Name Change Applicant Filing Fee $322; civil plaintiff/defendant filing fee $322; civil motion $100; certified copy $14; exemplified copy $14; subpoena $16; transcript of judgment $40; eFile and eServe processing fee $5 · Minn. Stat. §357.021 subd. 2, official text at revisor.mn.gov — clause (1) civil first-paper fee $310 (dissolution $340); clause (2) certified copy $14; clause (3) subpoena $16 per name; clause (4) motion in civil and family cases $100; subd. 4 library fees under ch. 134A unaffected · Minn. Stat. §259.10 (application to district court; six-month residency) · Fourth Judicial District (Hennepin) Supplemental Name Change Guide (joint spousal applications; notice to both parents for a minor; background check; fee waiver) · Minnesota Judicial Branch, District Court Fees guidance (base fees exclude county law library fees). Last verified: November 2026 — confirm your county's total with court administration.