Name change in different state

[Jace]

So I went to an out of state college. It's great, gave me time to figure things out and a place to retreat when things were tense with my family. But now that I've been on T for a year I would really like to change my name. It's pretty annoying having to explain to people how my legal name and the name I go by are different, especially when looking for jobs. I'm just not sure what state to change it in. Both states are pretty similar in political views, Wisconsin and Kansas, so I guess I'm trying to figure out which would be the most convenient.

I was planning to change it in Kansas, my birth state, this summer but due to family issues I've had to remain in Wisconsin. Would it better to wait or to just go ahead and do it in Wisconsin?

[Dex]

If it were me, I would just have it changed in Wisconsin.
The only thing I would say is to make sure Kansas doesn't have any specific requirements you'll have to meet prior to getting it done elsewhere.

I was born in Wisconsin and still reside in Wisconsin.  It was pretty painless to get my name changed. I filled out the paperwork, paid the court fees. They scheduled my hearing for 6 weeks out to give me time to do the 3 week publication. After I got that back from the newspaper, I just went to the hearing, the judge asked me very few questions, then granted my change and congratulated me. Then I just had to send that paperwork to the State Vital Records office and they mailed back my new certificate. I was able to get everything of consequence changed over with just the court order, though.

I don't live in the most liberal parts of the state (though not the most conservative either) and I had no issues.

Just ensure that Kansas will recognize the order and not have anything specific though.

I changed my name about 2 months on T. I couldn't handle the oddness of people questioning my ID. Changing my name and getting everything changed over helped immensely.

[FTMax]

You have to change it in the jurisdiction that you are a resident of currently. So despite being born in Maryland and having a birth certificate from there, I am a current resident of Virginia. I have a driver's license from here, my vehicles are registered here, I pay taxes here, etc. So I needed to go to the Circuit Court in my county here in VA and file the petition for a name change.

[Jace]

Thanks guys. I guess I'm more just concerned about my driver's license too. Right now it's still a Kansas one and I don't foresee myself living in Wisconsin after college. Can I change my name here but then still renew my Kansas license? Or would I need to go ahead and switch over to Wisconsin?

I guess the problem is while I'm a resident of Wisconsin, I'm not a permanent resident.

[FTMax]

You would just take the court order from Wisconsin to the DMV in Kansas and they would update it for you.

I would check and see what the requirements are to change your gender marker in Kansas if that is a goal for you. It's cheaper to do everything at once. It may be easier to change it in Wisconsin, in which case I would switch over to Wisconsin and update everything, then change it over to Kansas if you are planning to stay there (or change it in whatever state you decide to move to after college).

Will save you time, money, and headache if the gender marker is tough to do in Kansas.