Changing your name back in Nevada

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

See a different stateNevada
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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 Nevada-specific.

Restore it in the divorceYesNev. Rev. Stat. § 125.130(4)
After the decree is finalYes separate statutory name-change petition
Newspaper publicationRequired NRS 41.280(1)
Background checkYes Conditional. NRS 41.270 requires the petition to state ‘whether the applicant has been…
Separate petition feevaries by countySet locally, so the number depends on where you file. The state pages below name a county example where we could confirm one.
CourtDistrict Court (district in which… File ‘with the clerk of the district court of the district in which the person resides’…

Restoring your name in the divorce

Nevada restores a former name through the divorce itself, under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 125.130(4).

“In all suits for divorce, if a divorce is granted, the court may, for just and reasonable cause and by an appropriate order embodied in its decree, change the name of either party to any former name which he or she has legally borne.”

How much choice the judge has: discretionary – the court ‘may, for just and reasonable cause’ change the name

Who may ask: either party

Ask in the divorce — but missing it is not fatal

The statutory restoration in Nevada has to be requested while the case is open. It is still much the cheapest moment to do it. But there is a way back afterwards, set out in the next section.

If the decree is already final

NRS 125.130(4) requires the change to be made ‘by an appropriate order embodied in its decree’, so it has to be in the divorce decree itself. If it was not, the route is the standalone verified petition in district court under NRS 41.270 – which brings with it the newspaper publication requirement in NRS 41.280 that a divorce decree does not.

Authority: Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 41.270 to 41.290

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: Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 41.270 (petition), 41.280 (publication), 41.290 (order)
  • Court: District Court (district in which the person resides)
  • Filing fee: varies by county – see notes
  • Residency: File ‘with the clerk of the district court of the district in which the person resides’ (NRS 41.270). The Nevada Supreme Court Self-Help Center states you must be an adult resident of Nevada. No minimum durational residency appears in the statute.
  • Publication: NRS 41.280(1): upon filing the petition the applicant must procure a notice stating the fact of filing, its object, the applicant’s present name, the desired name and the fact that the applicant submitted a sworn statement that the change is not for a fraudulent purpose; the notice must ‘Be published in some newspaper of general circulation in the county at least one time.’ Only ONE publication is required – unusually light compared with Montana or Nebraska. Under NRS 41.290(1), if no written objection is filed within 10 days after publication (or within 10 days after filing where publication is excused), the court shall make the order without a hearing.
  • Background check: Conditional. NRS 41.270 requires the petition to state ‘whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony’ and to include a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the applicant is not changing the name for a fraudulent purpose. Then: ‘If the applicant has a criminal record, the petition must be accompanied by a complete set of the applicant’s fingerprints taken in the manner prescribed by the Director of the Department of Public Safety.’ Under NRS 41.290(1) the court ‘shall specifically take into consideration the applicant’s criminal record, if any’, and under NRS 41.290(3) a granted order for a person with a criminal record goes to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History with a full set of fingerprints. NRS 41.290(4) requires the court to RESCIND the order if it receives uncontrovertible proof that the applicant falsely denied a felony conviction or falsely swore the change was not for a fraudulent purpose. An applicant with no criminal record needs no fingerprints.
  • Hearing: not required

Official forms

What catches people out in Nevada

Nevada’s publication is only ONE insertion in a county newspaper, not weeks of running notice – the reputation for a harsh publication rule overstates the burden, though the notice does print your old name, your desired name and the fact of filing.
Fingerprints are not required of everyone. They are required only ‘if the applicant has a criminal record’ (NRS 41.270). Guides that tell every Nevada petitioner to get fingerprinted are wrong.
The court must rescind a granted name change if it later gets uncontrovertible proof the applicant lied about a felony conviction or about fraudulent purpose (NRS 41.290(4)) – the order is not final-proof against a false answer.
A hearing is normally unnecessary: absent a written objection within 10 days, the court shall make the order (NRS 41.290(1)). The Self-Help Center’s ‘Request for Summary Disposition’ is how you ask for that.
NRS 125.130(4) requires the name change to be embodied IN THE DECREE, so it must be requested before the divorce is finalized.
Filing fees are set county by county; Clark County and Washoe County differ, and the state Self-Help Center will not quote a figure.
Worth knowing

NEVADA’S SAFETY EXEMPTION IS MANDATORY AND IT SEALS THE FILE. NRS 41.280(2): ‘If the applicant submits proof satisfactory to the court that publication of the change of name would place the applicant’s personal safety at risk, the court SHALL not require the applicant to comply with the provisions of subsection 1 and SHALL ORDER the records concerning the petition and any proceedings concerning the petition to be sealed and to be opened for inspection only upon an order of the court for good cause shown or upon the request of the applicant.’ This is stronger than most states: not discretionary, and sealing is automatic rather than a separate request.

There is a SECOND, unconditional publication exemption in NRS 41.280(3): if the petition states the reason for the change is ‘to conform the applicant’s name to his or her gender identity’, the court shall not require publication. That one needs no proof of risk at all.

Both exemptions were added or amended by the 2017 Legislature (NRS A 2017, 472, 607).

I could not verify a Nevada filing fee on any official county clerk fee schedule from this environment, so the fee is marked as varying by county with fee confirmed false rather than a number invented. The Nevada Supreme Court Self-Help Center confirms fees differ by county and that fee waivers are available.

Sources for this page

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Sources last checked30 August 2026
Page published30 August 2026
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