Public Act 103-1063
 
HB5164 EnrolledLRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by 
changing Section 21-101 and by adding Section 21-103.8 as 
follows:
 
    (735 ILCS 5/21-101)  (from Ch. 110, par. 21-101)
    Sec. 21-101. Proceedings; parties. 
    (a) If any person who is a resident of this State and has 
resided in this State for 6 months desires to change his or her 
name and to assume another name by which to be afterwards 
called and known, the person may file a petition requesting 
that relief in the circuit court of the county wherein he or 
she resides. The petitioner shall have resided in this State 
for 3 months at the time of the name change hearing or entry of 
an order granting the name change. 
    (b) A person who has been convicted of any offense for 
which a person is required to register under the Sex Offender 
Registration Act, the Murderer and Violent Offender Against 
Youth Registration Act, or the Arsonist Registration Act in 
this State or any other state and who has not been pardoned is 
not permitted to file a petition for a name change in the 
courts of this State during the period that the person is 
required to register, unless that person verifies under oath, 
as provided under Section 1-109, that the petition for the 
name change is due to marriage, religious beliefs, status as a 
victim of trafficking or gender-related identity as defined by 
the Illinois Human Rights Act. A judge may grant or deny the 
request for legal name change filed by such persons. Any such 
persons granted a legal name change shall report the change to 
the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of their 
current registration pursuant to the Duty to Report 
requirements specified in Section 35 of the Arsonist 
Registration Act, Section 20 of the Murderer and Violent 
Offender Against Youth Registration Act, and Section 6 of the 
Sex Offender Registration Act. For the purposes of this 
subsection, a person will not face a felony charge if the 
person's request for legal name change is denied without proof 
of perjury.
    (b-1) A person who has been convicted of a felony offense 
in this State or any other state and whose sentence has not 
been completed, terminated, or discharged is not permitted to 
file a petition for a name change in the courts of this State 
unless that person is pardoned for the offense.
    (c) A petitioner may include the petitioner's his or her 
spouse and adult unmarried children, with their consent, and 
the petitioner's his or her minor children where it appears to 
the court that it is for their best interest, in the petition 
and relief requested, and the court's order shall then include 
the spouse and children. Whenever any minor has resided in the 
family of any person for the space of 3 years and has been 
recognized and known as an adopted child in the family of that 
person, the application herein provided for may be made by the 
person having that minor in that person's his or her family.
    An order shall be entered as to a minor only if the court 
finds by clear and convincing evidence that the change is 
necessary to serve the best interest of the child. In 
determining the best interest of a minor child under this 
Section, the court shall consider all relevant factors, 
including:
        (1) The wishes of the child's parents and any person 
    acting as a parent who has physical custody of the child.
        (2) The wishes of the child and the reasons for those 
    wishes. The court may interview the child in chambers to 
    ascertain the child's wishes with respect to the change of 
    name. Counsel shall be present at the interview unless 
    otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The court shall 
    cause a court reporter to be present who shall make a 
    complete record of the interview instantaneously to be 
    part of the record in the case.
        (3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child 
    with the child's his or her parents or persons acting as 
    parents who have physical custody of the child, 
    step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, or any other person 
    who may significantly affect the child's best interest.
        (4) The child's adjustment to the child's his or her 
    home, school, and community.
    (d) If it appears to the court that the conditions and 
requirements under this Article have been complied with and 
that there is no reason why the relief requested should not be 
granted, the court, by an order to be entered of record, may 
direct and provide that the name of that person be changed in 
accordance with the relief requested in the petition. If the 
circuit court orders that a name change be granted to a person 
who has been adjudicated or convicted of a felony or 
misdemeanor offense under the laws of this State or any other 
state for which a pardon has not been granted, or has an arrest 
for which a charge has not been filed or a pending charge on a 
felony or misdemeanor offense, a copy of the order, including 
a copy of each applicable access and review response, shall be 
forwarded to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State 
Police shall update any criminal history transcript or 
offender registration of each person 18 years of age or older 
in the order to include the change of name as well as his or 
her former name. 
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1133, eff. 1-1-24; 
revised 12-15-23.)
 
    (735 ILCS 5/21-103.8 new)
    Sec. 21-103.8. Impounding court file. 
    (a) A petitioner may file a motion to have the 
petitioner's court file impounded. The motion shall include a 
statement, verified under oath as provided under Section 1-109 
of this Code, that the person believes that public disclosure 
would be a hardship and have a negative impact on the person's 
health or safety to include, but not be limited to, that the 
person is transgender, an adoptee, a survivor of domestic or 
intimate partner abuse, a survivor of gender-based violence, a 
survivor of human trafficking, a refugee, a person who has 
been granted special immigrant status by the United States 
Citizenship and Immigration Service, a person who has survived 
reparative or conversion therapy, or a person who has been 
granted asylum in this country. The petitioner may attach to 
the statement any supporting documents including relevant 
court orders, although self attestation shall suffice as 
acceptable documentation.
    (b) If the petitioner files a statement attesting that 
disclosure of the petitioner's address would put the 
petitioner or any member of the petitioner's family or 
household at risk or reveal the confidential address of a 
shelter for domestic violence victims, that address may be 
omitted from all documents filed with the court, and the 
petitioner may designate an alternative address for service.
    (c) If a court grants a motion to impound the file under 
this Section, it is still required under subsection (d) of 
Section 21-101 that the name change be reported to the 
Illinois State Police, and the Illinois State Police must 
update any criminal history transcript or offender 
registration for each person 18 years of age or older to 
include the change of name as well as the person's former name. 
 
    (735 ILCS 5/21-103 rep.)
    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by 
repealing Section 21-103.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect March 1, 
2025.