If you’re an adult who lives in Austin, you change your name by asking a Travis County district judge to order it. The Travis County Law Library gives you the forms for free. Filing costs $350, or nothing if you qualify for a fee waiver. The county says the judge’s review can take one to six weeks.
Everything below comes from Travis County’s and the state’s own pages, read in October 2026. It isn’t legal advice. If your situation is complicated, the Law Library can point you to help.
The Steps, From Travis County
The Travis County Law Library’s instructions are for adults 18 and older who don’t have a lawyer:
- Make sure you live in Travis County. Texas law has you file in the county where you live
- Fill out the forms. You need a Petition to Change the Name of an Adult and an Order Changing the Name of an Adult. If you have a low income and can’t afford the fee, add a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The Law Library has free fillable PDFs, DocuSign versions (512-854-8677), and paper copies at 1700 Guadalupe, second floor. Don’t use the eFileTexas self-help interview forms: the county says the judge will reject their typed /s/ signature
- Get fingerprinted. The county lists Identogo and Austin Passport Express. Sign the fingerprint card with your current legal name
- Check every line. List every version of your name you’ve used, including the exact name on your birth certificate, even if it’s misspelled. Answer the criminal history questions and report every charge, even dismissed ones
- File with the District Clerk. In person at 1700 Guadalupe, third floor, or online through eFileTexas. Pay the $350 filing fee or file the fee waiver form. The clerk emails you a file-stamped copy
- Email the court. Send the file-stamped petition, the fingerprint card, and your proposed order as a PDF the judge can sign to your court’s submission address. The Law Library’s instructions list each court’s address
- Wait for the judge. The county says it can take one to six weeks. If it’s approved, you get the signed order by email
- Buy certified copies of the order from the District Clerk, in person or online. You’ll need them for every record you change
The District Clerk’s Family Division is at 1700 Guadalupe St., Room 3.200, open weekdays 8 AM to 4:30 PM, (512) 854-9457.
What the Petition Asks
Chapter 45 of the Texas Family Code sets what goes in the petition: your current name and where you live, the name you want, the reason, whether you have a felony conviction or must register as a sex offender, and your fingerprints. The law says the court “shall order a change of name” when it’s in your interest and the public’s, with separate rules for people with felony convictions or registration requirements.
One privacy note from the same law: if you’re in the Texas attorney general’s address confidentiality program, you don’t have to give your street address or your reason, and the order is confidential.
Update Your Records
Each agency has its own rules and fees, the county notes. Two of them:
- Driver license or state ID. DPS says to visit a driver license office within 30 days of the change and bring an original or certified court order. Photocopies aren’t accepted. Details on DPS’s change of information page
- Social Security. You request a replacement card, online if you’re eligible or by appointment, and the card comes in 5 to 10 business days, per Social Security
The county’s list also includes your birth certificate, voter registration and passport.
Name Changes and Gender Markers for Trans Texans
This part changes often, and the state hasn’t published the rules in one place we could find. The 2025 law known as HB 229 defines sex in Texas law as “an individual’s biological sex, either male or female,” and took effect September 1, 2025. DPS’s own page lists the documents for a name change and says nothing about changing the sex on a license.
The Transgender Education Network of Texas keeps an ID information page that tracks the current practice. As of its February 26, 2026 update, it says Texas licenses and birth certificates can still take a new name “only with a standalone name change court order,” and that DPS won’t accept an order that changes both name and gender marker, even when you only want the name changed. In TENT’s words, the name change order “must be separate from any gender marker change order” for DPS to update your name. TENT also points people to free clinics run by the Trans Legal Aid Clinic of Texas.
For health care in Texas, see our guide to gender-affirming care in Texas.
Where to Get Help
- Travis County Law Library: free forms and help finding legal aid. 512-854-8677, or in person at 1700 Guadalupe, second floor
- Criminal history questions: the Law Library points to Texas Law Help’s guide on name changes and criminal history
- Trans-specific questions: the Transgender Education Network of Texas takes questions by email and lists legal clinics
Last checked: October 2026. Steps from the Travis County Law Library instructions revised August 27, 2025, the Travis County District Clerk, the Texas Family Code, Texas DPS, Social Security, and HB 229, all read October 13, 2026. This page isn’t legal advice. See a mistake? Use our contact page.
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