House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

 

Our names are an extremely personal and important part of our lives. Unfortunately, individuals in our state trying to change their legal name face many unnecessary challenges. Pennsylvania’s antiquated name change process is costly, time consuming, and complicated. Furthermore, the publicizing requirement of the current name change process compromises the personal information and safety of potentially vulnerable individuals.
 
To improve this process, we are introducing legislation that will replace the judicial name change process with a simpler administrative process. This bill will establish separate processes for adult and minor applicants, limit court involvement, automatically seal all documents created during the process, remove advertising requirements, and remove the current two-year restriction on convicted felons attempting to receive a name change after their sentence has been served. Further, with this legislation, Pennsylvanians seeking to change their name will deal with a single office and a more streamlined process wherein their personal information is protected.
 
These are needed reforms that will simplify the name change process and provide protections to vulnerable individuals throughout our state. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important legislation to update Pennsylvania’s antiquated name change process.