AB2,3,173 786.36 (1) Any Except as provided in sub. (2), any resident of this state,
4whether a minor or adult, may upon petition to the circuit court of the county where
5he or she resides and upon filing a copy of the notice, with proof of publication, as
6required by s. 786.37, if no sufficient cause is shown to the contrary, have his or her
7name changed or established by order of the court. If the person whose name is to
8be changed is a minor under the age of 14 years, the petition may be made by: both
9parents, if living, or the survivor of them; the guardian or person having legal
10custody of the minor if both parents are dead or if the parental rights have been
11terminated by judicial proceedings; or the mother, if the minor is a nonmarital child
12who is not adopted or whose parents do not subsequently intermarry under s. 767.60,
13except that the father must also make the petition unless his rights have been legally
14terminated. The order shall be entered at length upon the records of the court and
15a certified copy of the record shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of
16the county, who shall make an entry in a book to be kept by the register. The fee for
17recording a certified copy is the fee specified under s. 59.43 (2) (ag). If the person
18whose name is changed or established was born or married in this state, the clerk
19of the court shall send to the state registrar of vital statistics, on a form designed by
20the state registrar of vital statistics, an abstract of the record, duly certified,
21accompanied by the fee prescribed in s. 69.22, which fee the clerk of court shall charge

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1to and collect from the petitioner. The state registrar of vital statistics shall then
2correct the birth record, marriage record or both, and direct the register of deeds and
3local registrar to make similar corrections on their records. No person engaged in
4the practice of any profession for which a license is required by the state may change
5his or her given name or his or her surname to any other given name or any other
6surname than that under which the person was originally licensed in the profession
7in this or any other state, in any instance in which the state board or commission for
8the particular profession, after a hearing, finds that practicing under the changed
9name operates to unfairly compete with another practitioner or misleads the public
10as to identity or otherwise results in detriment to the profession or the public. This
11prohibition against a change of name by a person engaged in the practice of any
12profession does not apply to any person legally qualified to teach in the public schools
13in this state, nor to a change of name resulting from marriage or divorce, nor to
14members of any profession for which there exists no state board or commission
15authorized to issue licenses or pass upon the qualifications of applicants or hear
16complaints respecting conduct of members of the profession. Any change of name
17other than as authorized by law is void.

AB2,3,2119 786.36 (2) A prisoner, probationer or parolee may not have his or her name
20changed while he or she is in the custody of or under the supervision of the
21department of corrections.