A. Notice of filing of the petition shall be given, in the manner provided for publication notice in civil cases, by publishing the same one time at least ten (10) days prior to the date set for hearing in some newspaper authorized by law to publish legal notices printed in the county where the petition is filed if there be any printed in such county, and if there be none, then in some such newspaper printed in this state of general circulation in that county. The notice shall contain the style and number of the case, the time, date and place where the same is to be heard, and that any person may file a written protest in the case prior to the date set for the hearing. The hearing date may be any day after completion of the publication. The court or judge, for cause, may continue the matter to a later date.
§ 1633.Notice - Protest - Hearing Date - Continuance - Waiver
Chapter 33: Change of Name · Last amended November 1, 2006 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceRequires publishing notice of a name-change petition once, at least ten days before the hearing, in a qualifying local newspaper, stating the case details and that anyone may file a written protest before the hearing, while letting the court waive publication for good cause, including sealed domestic-violence cases.
Full Text of § 1633
B. The court may waive the publication requirements of this section for good cause which includes, but is not limited to, cases of domestic violence in which the court proceedings are sealed.
Amendment History
Added by Laws 1953, SB 149, p. 57, §3, emerg. eff. 5/19/1953; Amended by Laws 1955, HB 847, p. 141, §2, emerg. eff. 6/6/1955; Amended by Laws 1976, HB 1949, c. 113, §1, emerg. eff. 5/14/1976; Amended by Laws 2006, HB 2561, c. 136, §6, eff. 11/1/2006.
Plain-English Summary
Section 1633 makes a name change a public matter, at least by default. Notice of the petition has to be published once, at least ten days before the hearing, in a newspaper authorized to publish legal notices in the county where the petition is filed, or, if there's none there, in a newspaper of general circulation in that county published elsewhere in the state. The notice must give the case's style and number, the time, date, and place of the hearing, and state that anyone can file a written protest before the hearing. The hearing can be set for any day after publication is complete, and the court can continue it to a later date for cause.
Subsection B carves out an exception to all of that: the court may waive the publication requirement for good cause, which includes, but isn't limited to, domestic-violence cases where the court proceedings are sealed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is notice of an Oklahoma name-change petition given?
By publishing it once, at least ten days before the hearing, in a qualifying newspaper in the county where the petition was filed, or elsewhere in the state if none exists there.
Can someone object to a name change petition?
Yes. The published notice must state that any person may file a written protest in the case before the hearing date.
Can the publication requirement ever be skipped?
Yes. The court may waive publication for good cause, including, but not limited to, domestic-violence cases in which the proceedings are sealed.
Can the hearing date get pushed back?
Yes, the court or judge may continue the matter to a later date for cause.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
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