The rest of what we have written about Maryland. Every figure is quoted from Maryland’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Changing your name back in Maryland
Whether you can get your former name back in the divorce itself — and what it costs in Maryland if you miss that moment.
See a different stateMaryland
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 Maryland-specific.
The short version5 points · tap one to jump to it
- Restoring your name in the divorce — Maryland restores a former name through the divorce itself, under Md. Code, Family Law § 7-105.
- If the decree is already final — Maryland gives a genuine second bite, but a timed one.
- 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.
- What catches people out in Maryland — Maryland's 18-month post-decree window is a real and unusually generous second chance, but it is a hard deadline printed on the form itself, and a great deal of online advice omits it.
- Every state
In this subject 6
Restoring your name in the divorce
The short version5 points · tap one to jump to it
- Restoring your name in the divorce — Maryland restores a former name through the divorce itself, under Md. Code, Family Law § 7-105.
- If the decree is already final — Maryland gives a genuine second bite, but a timed one.
- 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.
- What catches people out in Maryland — Maryland's 18-month post-decree window is a real and unusually generous second chance, but it is a hard deadline printed on the form itself, and a great deal of online advice omits it.
- Every state
In this subject 6
Maryland restores a former name through the divorce itself, under Md. Code, Family Law § 7-105.
‘(a) In granting a decree of absolute divorce or on motion of a party filed within 18 months after a final decree of absolute divorce is entered, the court shall change the name of the requesting party to either the name given the party at birth or any other former name the party wishes to use if: (1) the party took a new name on marriage and no longer wishes to use it; (2) the party asks for the change of name; and (3) the purpose of the party is not illegal, fraudulent, or immoral. (b) The provisions of Maryland Rule 15-901 relating to an action for a change of name do not apply to a change of name under this section.’
How much choice the judge has: mandatory on request (‘the court shall change the name’) provided the three statutory conditions are met
Who may ask: the party changing the name
Maryland does not require this to be settled before the decree is final.
If the decree is already final
Maryland gives a genuine second bite, but a timed one. The Judiciary’s own form CC-DR-097 (Motion for Restoration of Former Name) requires the movant to state the date the decree of absolute divorce was entered and warns on its face: ‘This date cannot be more than 18 months prior to the date of this motion.’ The Maryland Judiciary’s public guidance is explicit about the three tiers: ask as part of the divorce case (in the Complaint, Counter-Claim, or Answer); or, ‘If less than 18 months has passed since your divorce was finalized … file a Motion for Restoration of Former Name’; or, ‘If more than 18 months has passed since your divorce was finalized, or if you want to change your name to something other than a name you formally used before you got married, you’ll have to use the third option’ – a full Petition for Change of Name of an Adult under Md. Rule 15-901, with its filing fee and publication.
Authority: Md. Code, Family Law § 7-105; Md. Rule 9-211
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: Md. Rule 15-901 (procedural rule, not a statute)
- Court: Circuit Court for the county where the petitioner lives, works, conducts business, or was born
- Filing fee: $165.00
- Residency: Venue-based rather than durational: file in the circuit court for the county where you live, work, conduct business, or were born. No minimum duration of Maryland residency was located.
- Publication: Yes, but ONE time only, and only for the standalone Rule 15-901 petition. The Maryland Judiciary’s Certificate of Publication form CC-DR-075 cites ‘Maryland Rule 15-901(e)(2)’ and certifies ‘that notice was published one time in the [newspaper]. The notice was published on [date], more than 15 days prior to the date specified in the notice for filing an objection to the Petition for Name Change.’ Crucially, Family Law § 7-105(b) removes the divorce route from this entirely: ‘The provisions of Maryland Rule 15-901 relating to an action for a change of name do not apply to a change of name under this section,’ and the Judiciary’s own guidance confirms for the divorce restoration route that ‘You aren’t required to publish a notice of the name change.’ SAFETY EXEMPTION: not VERIFIED. No provision of Rule 15-901 permitting a court to waive publication for a domestic violence survivor could be confirmed from a primary source – the full text of Rule 15-901 was not retrievable from mdcourts.gov or mgaleg.maryland.gov. What the Maryland Judiciary’s own name-change page does point to is a Petition to Seal Records (form CC-DC-053) ‘if privacy needed’, which addresses access to the court file rather than the newspaper notice itself. Treat the existence of a publication waiver as an open question to verify against the current text of Rule 15-901.
- Background check: No fingerprinting or criminal history check requirement was found on the Maryland Judiciary’s adult name change page or on form CC-DR-060. Registered sex offenders must answer questions about the name change on the petition and must notify local law enforcement within three days of a court order.
- Hearing: not required
Official forms
- CC-DR-097 Motion for Restoration of Former Name (Family Law § 7-105, Md. Rule 9-211)
- CC-DR-060 Petition for Change of Name of an Adult
- CC-DR-075 Certificate of Publication (cites Md. Rule 15-901(e)(2))
- CC-DR-115 Objection to Petition for Change of Name
- CC-DC-053 Petition to Seal Records
- Name Change – Maryland Courts legal help
- Divorce: Restoring your former name (Maryland Judiciary video transcript)
What catches people out in Maryland
Maryland’s 18-month post-decree window is a real and unusually generous second chance, but it is a hard deadline printed on the form itself, and a great deal of online advice omits it.
The divorce restoration route is expressly exempt from the name-change rule and from publication – a statutory carve-out that not all states in this batch have.
The standalone Maryland petition requires only ONE publication, not a multi-week run.
Whether Maryland allows a domestic violence survivor to avoid publication under Rule 15-901 could not be confirmed. Neither mdcourts.gov nor mgaleg.maryland.gov returned the full text of Rule 15-901 (Maryland’s Rules are published commercially), and the Rules Orders and Standing Committee reports that were reachable reference the rule without reproducing it. The Judiciary’s page instead offers a Petition to Seal Records. Verify against the current Rule 15-901 before advising a survivor.
Maryland’s Rule 15-901 was amended most recently to add a cross reference to In the Matter of Becker, 265 Md. App. 301 (2025) – a signal that name-change practice in Maryland is actively moving.
Sources for this page
- Restoration in the divorce: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gfl&=§ion=7-105
- Restoring it after the decree: https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/import/video/transcript/divorcerestoringformername.pdf
- Separate name-change petition: https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/family/namechange
Sources we could not reach when this page was built, listed so you know what was not checked rather than assuming it was: Full text of Md. Rule 15-901 – not reproduced on mdcourts.gov; the 227th Rules Report and Rules Orders ro211/ro227th reference the rule but do not contain its text; https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/court-forms/ccdr065.pdf (404)
Found an error? Tell us — it goes on the corrections page with the date and how long it was live.