2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 13 - COURTS AND COURT PROCEDURE (§§ 13-1-101 — 13-100-104) › CHANGE OF NAME (§§ 13-15-101 — 13-15-102) › Article 15 - CHANGE OF NAME (§§ 13-15-101 — 13-15-102) › Section 13-15-101 - Petition - proceedings - applicability

(1)
(a)
(I)
Every person desiring to change the person's own name may present a petition to that effect, verified by affidavit, to the district or county court in the county of the petitioner's residence, except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(a.5) of this section. The petition must include:
(A)
The petitioner's full name;
(B)
The new name desired; and
(C)
A concise statement of the reason for the name change.
(II)
If the petitioner is over fourteen years of age, the petition shall also include the results of a certified, fingerprint-based criminal history record check conducted pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1) within ninety days prior to the date of the filing of the petition.
(III)
If the petitioner is under nineteen years of age, the petition shall also include the caption of any proceeding in which a court has ordered child support, allocation of parental responsibilities, or parenting time regarding the petitioner.
(a.5)
If the petitioner is under nineteen years of age and is the subject of an action concerning child support, allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, or dependency and neglect, then the petition for name change must be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the action concerning child support, allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, or dependency and neglect. If the petitioner is under twenty-one years of age and a participating youth in Colorado's foster youth in transition program pursuant to part 3 of article
7
of title
19
, then the petition for name change may be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the action concerning the foster youth in transition case.
(b)
The fingerprint-based criminal history check shall include arrests, conviction records, any criminal dispositions reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation and federal bureau of investigation records, and fingerprint processing by the federal bureau of investigation and the Colorado bureau of investigation. The petitioner shall be responsible for providing certified copies of any criminal dispositions that are not reflected in the Colorado bureau of investigation or federal bureau of investigation records and any other dispositions which are unknown.
(c)
The petitioner shall be responsible for supplying fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation and to the federal bureau of investigation and for obtaining the fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. The petitioner shall also be responsible for the cost of such checks.
(1.5)
Unless the petitioner has shown good cause why the publication provisions of section
13-15-102
should not apply, the court shall order the petitioner to publish notice as provided in section
13-15-102
and file proof of the publication with the court.
(2)
(a)
Upon receipt of proof of publication or upon an order of the court stating that publication is not required, the court, except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection (2), shall order the name change to be made and spread upon the records of the court in proper form if the court is satisfied that the desired change would be proper and not detrimental to the interests of any other person.
(b)
The court shall not grant a petition for a name change if the court finds the petitioner was previously convicted of a felony or adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult in this state or any other state or under federal law. If the certified, fingerprint-based criminal history check filed with the petition reflects a criminal charge for which there is no disposition shown, the court may grant the name change after affirmation in open court by the petitioner, or submission of a signed affidavit by the petitioner, stating he or she has not been convicted of a felony in this state or any other state or under federal law.
(c)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2005, p. 20, § 1, effective February 23, 2005.)
(3)
Notwithstanding subsection (2)(b) of this section, the court may grant a petition for a change of name for a petitioner who was previously convicted of a felony in this state or any other state, or adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult in this state or any other state or under federal law, if the court finds that the petitioner must have a legal name change in order for the department of revenue to issue a driver's license or identification card in that name and if all of the following requirements are met:
(a)
The petitioner meets all of the requirements of subsections (1) and (1.5) of this section and paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section;
(b)
(I)
The proposed name change is to a name under which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated; except that, for good cause, the court may allow a change of name other than the name under which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated;
(II)
For the purposes of this subsection (3)(b), good cause includes changing the petitioner's name to conform with the petitioner's gender identity.
(c)
Prior to filing the petition, the name change applicant:
(I)
(A)
Submits his or her fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation for purposes of obtaining a fingerprint-based criminal history records check along with a written request to add his or her proposed name as an alias to the name change applicant's criminal history record.
(B)
The Colorado bureau of investigation is authorized to add an alias to a name change applicant's criminal history record upon request.
(II)
(A)
Notifies the district attorney's office in any district in which the applicant was convicted of a felony that he or she is requesting a name change pursuant to this subsection (3).
(B)
If the district attorney's office has a record of any victim of the applicant's crime, the district attorney's office shall send notice of the proposed name change to the victim.
(III)
If, at the time the petition is filed, the applicant is in custody of the department of corrections, under an order for probation or community corrections, or incarcerated in a county jail, the applicant provides written notice to the supervising agency that he or she is requesting a change of name under this section; and
(IV)
Provides the court with a copy of his or her criminal history record from both the Colorado bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation and the criminal history report from the Colorado bureau of investigation reflects the addition of the proposed changed name as an alias; and
(d)
The court finds that:
(I)
The name change is not for the purpose of fraud, to avoid the consequences of a criminal conviction, or to facilitate a criminal activity; and
(II)
The desired name change would be proper and not detrimental to the interests of any other person.
(4)
The department of revenue shall not issue a driver's license or an identification card in the new name of a name change applicant unless the name change applicant submits a court order changing the applicant's name pursuant to this section.
(5)
(a)
If a petitioner is seeking a name change to harmonize name discrepancies necessary to be issued an identification card, the petitioner:
(I)
If the petitioner attempted to obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history record check and results were inconclusive or unreadable, may submit, in lieu of a fingerprint-based criminal history record check, a name-based criminal history record check with all previously used names using the records of both the federal and Colorado bureaus of investigation and an attestation under penalty of perjury that the petitioner has not been convicted of a felony; and
(II)
Need not publish the name change under section
13-15-102
.
(b)
To qualify for the simplified name change process in this subsection (5), the petitioner must:
(I)
Sign an affidavit that the purpose of the name change is to obtain an identification card issued by the department of revenue and that the desired name change would be proper and not detrimental to the interests of any other person; and
(II)
Be at least seventy years of age.
(6)
The provisions of this section do not apply to a motion filed pursuant to section
14-10-120.2
, C.R.S., requesting restoration of a prior full name after entry of a decree of dissolution or legal separation.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 111,§ 1, eff. 4/19/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 67,§ 2, eff. 8/7/2023.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 55, §2, eff. 9/1/2016.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 306, §3, eff. 8/6/2014.
G.L. § 1850. G.S. § 2452. R.S. 08: § 4348. C.L. § 6484. CSA: C. 30, § 1. CRS 53: § 19-1-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 20-1-1. L. 65: p. 425, § 1. L. 87: Entire section amended, p. 1576, § 15, effective July 10. L. 2002: Entire section amended, p. 1141, § 1, effective June 3. L. 2004: (1)(a) and (1)(c) amended, p. 75, § 2, effective September 1; (1)(a) and (2) amended and (1.5) added, p. 119, § 1, effective September 1. L. 2005: (1)(a) and (2)(c) amended and (1)(a.5) added, p. 20, § 1, effective February 23. L. 2010: (3) and (4) added, (SB 10 -006), ch. 341, p. 1579, §5, effective June 5. L. 2014: (5) added, (SB 14-087), ch. 306, p. 1298, § 3, effective August 6. L. 2016: (6) added, (HB 16-1085), ch. 55, p. 134, § 2, effective September 1.
Amendments to subsection (1)(a) by House Bill 04-1052 and House Bill 04-1195 were harmonized.
2023 Ch. 67, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
For the legislative declaration in the 2010 act adding subsections (3) and (4), see section 1 of chapter 341, Session Laws of Colorado 2010.