(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, any person who desires to change his or her name, shall present a petition, duly verified, to the Court of Common Pleas sitting in the county in which the person resides. The petition shall set forth such person’s name and the name he or she desires to assume.
(b) Family Court shall have jurisdiction over a change of name:
(1) As part of divorce proceedings;
(2) As part of the establishment of paternity under the Uniform Parentage Act [Chapter 8 of Title 13]; or
(3) If the subject of the petition is a minor.
(c) The common law right of any person to change his or her name is hereby abrogated as to individuals subject to the supervision of the State of Delaware Department of Correction. Such individuals may only effect a name change by petitioning the Court of Common Pleas as follows:
(1) Individuals subject to the supervision of the Department of Correction shall be prohibited from adopting any names other than their legal names or otherwise effecting name changes, except as provided in this subsection.
(2) When, based upon testimony or sworn affidavits, the Court finds that a petition for a name change of an individual subject to the supervision of the Department of Correction is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief or gender identity, the Court may grant such petition. In any case in which an individual subject to the supervision of the Department of Correction petitions the Court of Common Pleas for a change of name, the Court shall provide notice and opportunity to oppose the name change to the Department of Correction and shall permit it to submit any appropriate documentation in support of its opposition.
(3) If an individual is granted a name change pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of this section, he or she must provide all names previously held or adopted, as well as his or her legal name when signing any legal document or providing information to a law-enforcement officer.
(4) The granting of any name changes pursuant to this subsection shall not restrict the Department of Correction from maintaining institutional files or otherwise referring to individuals by the names under which they became subject to the Department’s supervision.
27 Del. Laws, c. 264, § 1; Code 1915, § 4657; Code 1935, § 5115; 10 Del. C. 1953, § 5901; 59 Del. Laws, c. 512, § 1; 67 Del. Laws, c. 103, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 479, § 1; 80 Del. Laws, c. 52, § 1; 82 Del. Laws, c. 84, § 1.
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