You didn't say why you wish to change your name. If you have recently married, you just need to make several copies of your marriage certificate and send them to whoever you wish to inform of your name change along with whatever individual forms they require. For example, when I got married, I went to the Social Security office and DMV with my marriage certificate, filled out their forms and I was done. If you are divorcing and wish to change your name back to your maiden name, this petition is part of the court proceedings when you go to court to finalize the divorce. Your attorney can provide that form or the courthouse where you will be divorcing (or were divorced) should have it. If you just hate your name. . .read on. Do I have to file forms in court to change my birth name? In theory, no. In all but a handful of states, common law legal principles allow you to legally change your name by usage only. A name change by usage is accomplished by simply using a new name in all aspects of your personal, social and business life. No court action is necessary -- it costs nothing and is legally valid. (Minors and prison inmates are generally exceptions to this rule.) However, practically speaking, in the post-9/11 world, you will probably need an official court document to get government agencies and many key private organizations, such as banks and title companies, to accept your new name. Because many people and agencies do not know that a usage name change is legal and are worried about identity theft, they may insist on seeing something in writing signed by a judge. Also, you will need a formal order signed by a judge in order to change certain types of identification, such as a new passport, birth certificate attachment and Social Security card. The only exception to this is when you change your name because you get married, in which case a copy of your marriage license should be enough to get your identification documents changed. Even if name changes under the usage method are legal in your state, you will usually be best served to pursue a formal court-ordered name change. If you are still interested in the usage method to change your name, you can find out whether you can do so in your state or whether your state requires a court order, by contacting your local clerk of the court. Or, if the court clerk doesn't give you enough information, you can look at your state's statutes online. Here is a link to the legal forms for Virginia required to change your name: http://www.uslegalforms.com/virginia-name-change.htm These forms and the prep are not free, so I highly recommend calling your local clerk of the court (usually this is done by county) and asking for the information. They might even be able to send you the forms or tell you exactly where to get them. I live in VA and I find that the clerks are usually very helpful. You might consider a visit to your county courthouse for an in-person inquiry. Hope this helps.