Florida Form 12.982(c) minor-child name-change preparation checklist

Start with the free official form

Florida Courts currently publishes Form 12.982(c), Petition for Change of Name (Minor Child(ren)), dated February 2018. The official 16-page PDF contains four instruction pages, the six-page main petition, a three-page adult-petitioner supplement, and a three-page additional-child supplement.

Source checked September 24, 2026. Confirm the revision on the current Florida Courts forms index ↗ before starting.

Confirm that this is the petition already selected

The official instructions describe this form for parents seeking a court-ordered name change for a person under 18. They state that it is not used in connection with an adoption, dissolution of marriage, or paternity action and discuss requesting certain changes within a pending adoption or paternity case.

Sun State cannot determine standing, legal parentage or guardianship, eligibility, venue, which case or form applies, whether a proposed name is available, what is in a child's best interests, or whether the court will grant the request.

1. Understand the main petition and supplements

The official instructions say the main petition is completed for one petitioner and one child. They identify an adult supplemental form for another petitioner and a minor-child supplemental form for each additional child. They also instruct petitioners to initial the bottom of each supplemental-form page.

The Sun State package keeps both official supplements available, but using or completing either supplement is optional and customer-directed. The software does not decide how many petitioners or children belong in the case or which attachments are required.

2. Caption and petitioner status

Organize the judicial circuit, county, case number, division, and the full legal name of each person the filer has independently determined is a petitioner. The petition asks the signing petitioner to mark parent or guardian and whether an adult supplement is attached for another parent or petitioner.

Those entries do not establish standing, parentage, custody, or guardianship. Sun State transfers customer-supplied selections and cannot decide who must or may sign, join, consent, or receive notice.

3. Information about each child

For the first child—and again on a supplement for another child—the packet asks for:

• Complete present name and requested new name
• Florida county and street address
• Date and place of birth
• Parents' full legal names and applicable maiden names
• Every residence since birth, with dates and addresses
• Marital status, spouse information when applicable, and whether the child has children
• Prior court-ordered or marriage-related name changes and other names used
• Any job information requested by the printed statement

The form includes attachment indicators for continued information and printed statements about attaching a prior name-change order or marriage certificate in the corresponding circumstances. Sun State cannot determine which facts or attachments apply or draft explanations.

4. Child disclosures

Each child section contains detailed criminal-history selections and fields, separate sexual-predator and sexual-offender registration questions, and money-judgment information. The printed choices must be read exactly; do not assume they ask only about convictions.

5. Information about each adult petitioner

The main petitioner section and adult supplement ask for the adult's present name, Florida county and address, bankruptcy history, creditor judgments, criminal history, predator and offender registration history, and contact information. They also contain fixed statements about purpose, property rights, and civil rights.

Sun State cannot interpret criminal, bankruptcy, judgment, registration, or civil-rights records; determine whether rights were suspended or restored; or decide how those facts affect the petition.

6. Fingerprints and background checks

The official instructions discuss fingerprints for each adult petitioner unless a former-name restoration applies, submission for state and national criminal-history checks, and hearing timing tied to the clerk receiving results. The main petition also contains a fixed fingerprint and records-check statement.

Sun State cannot determine whether the fingerprint language applies to a particular petitioner, whether an exception exists, how to submit fingerprints, whether results are complete, or when a hearing may be requested. Confirm the current process with the clerk.

7. Consent, service, notice, and the hearing

The official instructions describe one situation in which both parents may file as petitioners and service is not necessary. They separately discuss notifying the other parent, seeking consent when possible, filing Form 12.982(d) when the other parent consents, and personal or constructive service when the other parent does not consent. They warn that constructive service is complex.

Those instructions depend on family circumstances and law. Sun State cannot determine whose consent is required, whether service is necessary or valid, which service method applies, whether notice or publication is sufficient, how to locate a parent, or whether a hearing may proceed. Ask the clerk about local scheduling and obtain legal advice when needed.

8. Final judgment, oath, signatures, and notarization

The instructions discuss Form 12.982(e), Final Judgment of Change of Name (Minor Child(ren)), and what to complete if taking it to a hearing. The petition and adult supplement each include an oath, contact fields, signature, and notarization section.

Sun State leaves signing dates, signatures, notarization, identification, and nonlawyer-assistance fields blank for manual completion. It does not prepare a judge's findings, hearing evidence, or the substantive portions of a proposed final judgment.

Complete the petition already selected

The official blank PDF is free. Sun State's optional $39 self-service software transfers customer-supplied entries into its configured Form 12.982(c), including its official supplements, and delivers editable, print, and unchanged blank PDFs with the instructions. It does not select parties, draft allegations, prepare service, file documents, schedule a hearing, or review legal sufficiency.

Official information and independent help