Publication No Longer Required in New York State for Name Change Petitioners

As of the passing of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) by the NYS legislature, New Yorkers looking to change their name no longer have to publish notice of their name change in a newspaper.

Many of my clients ask me whether or not publication can be avoided during our first consultation, and I used to have to tell them that the law was that you would have to show good cause and a judge would have to rule on it. Now, with the ability to automatically bypass the once necessary publication route, future clients will find that New York State has now made it easier and less arduous to change their name. This is excellent news for folks looking to change their name as one of the administrative hurdles no longer exists and this has resulted in both time and cost savings for my clients.