How do you go about changing birth names in New York? Well, if you were born William Smith, you could go by Will Smith or Bill Smith but you would not have any documents to show such a name and therefore it would be your alias.

To have legal documents to show your new name, you will need to meet the following requirements:
* If born in the State of New York, original or certified copy of Birth Certificate
* Self-Addressed/Stamped Envelope
* Original and copy of Name Change Order & Petition
* For name changes in Supreme Court, in some counties, you may need to file a Request for Judicial Intervention form in triplicate (original and 2 copies).
* For name changes in Supreme Court, there is a fee of US$210, made payable to the local County Clerk. The fee to file in NYC Civil Court is US$65.00.
* Notice: Civil Rights Law Sec. 62

Are the fee is too much? Find out if you can obtain, fill out and submit a waiver form to help offset the costs. The clerk will let you know if your situation qualifies for the waiver.

If the petition be to change the name of an infant, notice of the time and place when and where the petition will be presented must be served, in like manner as a notice of motion upon an attorney in an action, upon (a) both parents of the infant, if they be living, unless the petition be made by one of the parents, in which case notice must be served upon the other, if he or she be living, and (b) the general guardian or guardian of the person, if there be one. But if any of the persons, required to be given notice by this section, reside without the state, then the notice required by this section must be sent by registered mail to the last known address of the person to be served. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that a person required to be given notice by this section cannot be located with due diligence within the state, and that such person has no known address without the state, then the court may dispense with notice or require notice to be given to such persons and in such manner as the court thinks proper.

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