How to Change Your Name in East Baton Rouge Parish

The following guide was originally compiled from BreakOUT!, Capital City Alliance, and the Hite Law Group. at http://www.ccabatonrouge.org/resources/louisiana-name-change/
I modified the contents to reflect my experience with East Baton Rouge parish specifically, as well as some info from LA trans advocates https://www.latransadvocates.org/id-documents-center
The guide does not constitute legal advice and is provided as-is without any warranty or guarantee.
Although an attorney is not required to successfully change your name, you may want to seek legal guidance from a licensed attorney.
There are four basic steps to changing your name in Louisiana

Step 1: Prerequisites

You’ll need:

Court Paperwork

Changing your name technically involves filing a civil lawsuit against your parish District Attorney.
You will thus need to prepare a petition requesting your name change and a sample judgment for the judge to sign if your request is granted.
You will need three (3) copies of your petition and judgment. The following PDF's should be sufficient for East Baton Rouge Parish. (you may also need to change the date on the file)
Petition+for+Name+Change+of+Adult+and+Judgment.pdf

Step 2: File A Petition


You have to file the petition with the Clerk of Court for the District Court of the parish where you live or the parish where you were born.

For East Baton Rouge parish you will file and pay for this petition on the third floor of the 19th Judicial District Courthouse (300 North Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70802).

The clerks you need are on the third floor behind a pair of double glass doors that say "Family and Civil" on a little plaque.

When you file your petition, you will have to pay the filing fee mentioned above. ($570 cash or $589.95 with card)

The Clerk will put a timestamp on the petition (and the extra copies you brought with you).

The Clerk will keep the original, and you’ll take one copy to the District Attorney.

The last copy you should keep for your records.

Step 3: Deliver and Follow Up

After you file your petition with the Court, you’ll have to deliver a copy of the petition to the District Attorney (DA).
The DA will usually want a copy of your drivers license or other ID.
Be sure to politely ask the DA how long it will take for them to prepare their answer to your petition.
If they don’t know, make sure they have your phone number and that you have their phone number.
Ideally, the DA’s office will let you know when their answer is prepared and filed with the Court.
Sometimes they forget, so be sure to call them after about a week to get an update.
Once the DA files its answer, the Judge assigned to your case can make a decision on your request.
If the DA does not oppose your name change petition, you can go back to Court to get your judgment signed.
You’ll request the record from the Clerk of Court and tell them you are submitting a judgment.
They’ll timestamp the judgment and check to make sure your costs have been paid.
Then you’ll take the record and your stamped judgment down to the assigned Court for the Judge’s signature.
You can either wait there for the Judge to sign, or usually, you can drop it off and ask that it get sent to the Clerk of Court once everything is signed.
If the DA opposes your petition or the Judge denies your petition, you should contact an attorney.

Step 4: Get Certified Copies

If you waited for the signature, you can go back to the Clerk of Court and get certified copies of the judgment right then and there.
If you didn’t wait, you can follow up with the Clerk about three days later and request certified copies.
You should get three certified copies. (You can always request additional certified copies from the Clerk at any time.)

Change Your Drivers License or State ID

To update the name on your Louisiana driver’s license or identification card, you must present your old ID and submit a certified copy of the court order reflecting your name change to the Office of Motor Vehicles. Changing your name on your ID counts as a replacement, so you will have to pay a fee of about $13. Make sure you go to a full service motor vehicle office, not one of the express offices! Also Note: The Office of Motor Vehicles in Baton Rouge is by appointment only. Schedule here - https://offices.omv.la.gov/details.html?office=6

Change Your Birth Certificate

If you were born in Louisiana, to amend your birth certificate, mail a certified copy of the court order reflecting your name change, a copy of your new ID, a letter stating what you want changed, and a check or money order for $27.50 (payable to Louisiana Vital Records) to: Vital Records Registry PO Box 60630 New Orleans, LA 70160 Call the Custodian of Vital Records at (504) 593-5100 if you have any questions.

Change Your Social Security Card

You can either do this in person or by mail. In person Bring a completed copy of this form to your nearest Social Security office, which you can find here or by calling 1-800-772-1213. Make sure you check their hours before you go since many offices close at 3pm most days and at 12pm on Wednesdays. By mail Print this form, fill it out, and mail it and a certified copy of the order reflecting your name change to: Social Security Office Suite 500 400 Poydras St. New Orleans, LA 70130 They will mail it back to you, along with your new card.

Changing Other Federal Documents

The National Center for Transgender Equality has compiled several guides to help you change your name on federal documents:

Other people and places to update: