More on Delaware

The rest of what we have written about Delaware. Every figure is quoted from Delaware’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.

Changing your name back in Delaware

Whether you can get your former name back in the divorce itself — and what it costs in Delaware if you miss that moment.

A name going back to what it was An identity card with a photo and a name line, and an arrow curving back over the card to show the name being restored.
See a different stateDelaware
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
The federal half is the same everywhere

Social Security, the passport, and the order to do them in are identical in all fifty states and are on the main name-change page. This page is the part that is Delaware-specific.

Restore it in the divorceYes13 Del. C. Sec. 1514 (Resumption of maiden or former name); jurisdiction confirmed by 10 Del. C. Sec. 5901(b)(1)
After the decree is finalYes other
Newspaper publicationNot required no
Background checkNo No fingerprinting, no criminal-history check. The petitioner self-certifies on the…
Separate petition fee$85.00Confirmed from an official schedule.
CourtCourt of Common Pleas sitting in… The petition form requires the petitioner to state they have ‘been a resident of ____…
What do you need?
Restoring your name in the divorceIf the decree is already finalThe separate name-change petitionWhat catches people out in…Sources for this pageEvery state
6 sections on this page. Pick one, or show everything.
The short version5 points · tap one to jump to it
  1. Restoring your name in the divorce — Delaware restores a former name through the divorce itself, under 13 Del. C. Sec. 1514 (Resumption of maiden or former name); jurisdiction confirmed by 10 Del. C. Sec. 5901(b)(1).
  2. If the decree is already final — Two routes and Delaware does not clearly rank them.
  3. The separate name-change petition — This is the route if the divorce route is closed to you, or if you want a name that is not a former one.
  4. What catches people out in Delaware — The repeal of the publication requirement (10 Del. C. Sec. 5903, repealed effective April 28, 2022 by 83 Del. Laws, c. 295) is the biggest divergence between current Delaware law and what is still published across the internet.
  5. Every state
In this subject 6

Restoring your name in the divorce

Delaware restores a former name through the divorce itself, under 13 Del. C. Sec. 1514 (Resumption of maiden or former name); jurisdiction confirmed by 10 Del. C. Sec. 5901(b)(1).

Sec. 1514 in full: ‘The Court, upon the request of a party by pleading or motion, may order that such party resume a maiden or former name.’ 10 Del. C. Sec. 5901(b) provides: ‘Family Court shall have jurisdiction over a change of name: (1) As part of divorce proceedings…’

How much choice the judge has: discretionary – the statute says the Court ‘may order,’ not shall. In practice it is routinely granted, but Delaware is one of the states where the restoration is not a matter of right.

Who may ask: either party

Not a now-or-never decision

Delaware does not require this to be settled before the decree is final.

If the decree is already final

Two routes and Delaware does not clearly rank them. Sec. 1514 lets the Family Court act ‘upon the request of a party by pleading or motion’ and sets no deadline, so a post-decree motion in the divorce file is textually available. Separately, the Court of Common Pleas name-change packet expressly contemplates divorced petitioners: among the required documents it lists ‘Final order of divorce, or any other court process that has led to this name change,’ and the petition form says ‘(If name change is due to divorce or other court process, please provide the Final Order in that matter).’ The CCP route costs $85 and requires a hearing. No primary source states which the courts prefer after a decree is final – ask the Family Court clerk first, since a motion there is likely cheaper.

Authority: 13 Del. C. Sec. 1514 (motion in Family Court) or 10 Del. C. ch. 59 (petition in Court of Common Pleas)

The separate name-change petition

This is the route if the divorce route is closed to you, or if you want a name that is not a former one.

  • Statute: 10 Del. C. ch. 59, Sec. 5901 (petition), Sec. 5904 (determination), Sec. 5905 (costs)
  • Court: Court of Common Pleas sitting in the county where the petitioner resides
  • Filing fee: $85.00
  • Residency: The petition form requires the petitioner to state they have ‘been a resident of ____ County, State of Delaware, for more than six months.’ Military members and students may use Delaware only if they claim Delaware as their state of residency.
  • Publication: no – and this is the single most commonly wrong thing published about Delaware. 10 Del. C. Sec. 5903, ‘Publication of petition prior to filing,’ was REPEALED by 83 Del. Laws, c. 295, Sec. 1, effective April 28, 2022. Delaware Code Online now shows Sec. 5903 as [Repealed]. Nothing in the Court of Common Pleas name-change packet asks for proof of publication or a newspaper affidavit. Any guide telling you to run a notice in a Delaware newspaper for three weeks before filing is describing repealed law.
  • Background check: No fingerprinting, no criminal-history check. The petitioner self-certifies on the petition whether they ‘Does / Does Not have pending criminal charges’ and whether they ‘Is / Is Not subject to supervision of the Department of Correction,’ and completes an extra section if either is true. For someone under Department of Correction supervision, 10 Del. C. Sec. 5901(c) abrogates the common-law right to change a name: the court may grant the petition only if it finds the request ‘is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief or gender identity,’ the DOC must get notice and an opportunity to oppose, and the person must thereafter disclose all prior names when signing legal documents or speaking to law enforcement.
  • Hearing: required

Official forms

What catches people out in Delaware

Delaware’s restoration statute says ‘may,’ not ‘shall.’ Ask clearly and in writing (pleading or motion) rather than assuming it is automatic.
The Court of Common Pleas fee of $85 buys the signed Order plus EIGHT certified copies – unusually generous. Extra copies are $10 each. Budget accordingly rather than over-ordering.
Six months of county residency is required for the CCP petition and it is sworn to in paragraph 1 of the petition.
You must bring a birth certificate, photo ID, documents for any previous name change, and the final divorce order. ‘Petitions that are incomplete in any way will not be accepted.’
There is a mandatory in-person hearing and you must check in 30 minutes early; the packet warns ‘Proper dress is required to enter the courtroom.’
Delaware is one of the very few states where the name-change chapter expressly strips the common-law right from people under Department of Correction supervision (Sec. 5901(c)).
Worth knowing

The repeal of the publication requirement (10 Del. C. Sec. 5903, repealed effective April 28, 2022 by 83 Del. Laws, c. 295) is the biggest divergence between current Delaware law and what is still published across the internet. Delaware used to require publishing the petition in a newspaper once a week for three weeks BEFORE filing. That is gone.

Because there is no publication requirement, there is no publication exemption for domestic violence survivors – the question is moot. No sealing or confidentiality provision for name-change files was found anywhere in 10 Del. C. ch. 59 or in the Court of Common Pleas packet, which is a genuine gap: the case and the hearing are public. Survivors should raise confidentiality with the Clerk before filing; nothing in the primary sources promises it.

Delaware splits jurisdiction cleanly: Family Court handles name changes as part of a divorce, for parentage under the UPA, and for minors; the Court of Common Pleas handles everything else (10 Del. C. Sec. 5901).

Delaware Code Online currently shows two versions of Sec. 5901 – one effective until Dec. 6, 2026 and one effective Dec. 6, 2026. The operative language quoted here is identical in both; the later version only swaps ‘paternity’ for ‘parentage’ in subsection (b)(2).

Sec. 5904(a) is a low bar: ‘it appearing that the requirements of this chapter have been fully complied with, and there appearing no reason for not granting the petition, the prayer of the petition may be granted.’

No effective date is given for the fee: the packet states $85.00 but carries no date.

Sources for this page

Sources we could not reach when this page was built, listed so you know what was not checked rather than assuming it was: https://courts.delaware.gov/commonpleas/ and https://courts.delaware.gov/commonpleas/ – old URLs, now 404; the live page is https://courts.delaware.gov/help/changename/; No Delaware Family Court fee schedule for a post-decree motion to resume a former name was located, so the cost of the Sec. 1514 route after a final decree is unknown

Found an error? Tell us — it goes on the corrections page with the date and how long it was live.

Every state

ALAlabamaAKAlaskaAZArizonaARArkansasCACaliforniaCOColoradoCTConnecticutDEDelawareFLFloridaGAGeorgiaHIHawaiiIDIdahoILIllinoisINIndianaIAIowaKSKansasKYKentuckyLALouisianaMEMaineMDMarylandMAMassachusettsMIMichiganMNMinnesotaMSMississippiMOMissouriMTMontanaNENebraskaNVNevadaNHNew HampshireNJNew JerseyNMNew MexicoNYNew YorkNCNorth CarolinaNDNorth DakotaOHOhioOKOklahomaOROregonPAPennsylvaniaRIRhode IslandSCSouth CarolinaSDSouth DakotaTNTennesseeTXTexasUTUtahVTVermontVAVirginiaWAWashingtonWVWest VirginiaWIWisconsinWYWyoming
Sources last checked30 August 2026
Page published30 August 2026
What this means. This is when the sources on this page were last read against their originals — statutes, court rules, official schedules — taken from the date this page was built from its sources. It is not the date the page was last edited. Adding a link or fixing a typo does not move it; re-reading the statute does. Law changes without notice, so treat anything time-sensitive as needing a fresh check. Where we get something wrong we publish it at thecusp.app/corrections with the date, what changed, and how long the error was live.