HB681: HB681 Domestic relations; sealing of name change petitions upon request; provide

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1), someone changing their name who says they are a victim of family violence or human trafficking can ask a court to file that petition under seal, meaning it stays out of the public record. House Bill 681 rewrites part of that process. The bill keeps the definitions of family violence, human trafficking, child, and abandoned used in the name-change law. It revises the procedure for sealing: if a court allows a petition to proceed under seal, the court may waive the normal public notice requirements and can later unseal the petition or require the petitioner to file a redacted version for the public record. The bill also states plainly that the underlying name change request cannot be heard until the sealing procedure has been fully followed, and requires courts to keep all sealed filings as part of the case record.

• Keeps the existing definitions of family violence, human trafficking, child, and abandoned used in Georgia's name change law (O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1).
• Lets a court that allows a name change petition to be sealed also waive the normal requirement to publish notice of the filing.
• Adds a new provision letting the court later unseal a petition or order the petitioner to file a redacted (blacked-out) version for the public record.
• Requires courts to keep all documents filed under seal as part of the official case record.
• Restates that the underlying name change petition cannot be heard until the sealing procedure in the law has been fully carried out.

People petitioning Georgia courts for a legal name change who say they are victims of family violence or human trafficking, the superior courts that process name change petitions, and members of the public or press who might otherwise view name change filings.

For someone fleeing an abuser or a trafficker, keeping a name change filing out of public view can make it harder for the person they are avoiding to track their new legal name. The bill also gives courts a clear path to later unseal or redact those filings.

• Section 1 revises subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1, keeping definitions of 'abandoned,' 'child,' 'family violence,' and 'human trafficking.'
• Section 1 revises subsection (c)(2) to let a court waive publication requirements when it allows a petition to be sealed.
• A new subsection (c)(3) lets the court later unseal a petition for name change or order a redacted version to be filed for the public record.
• Subsection (c)(4) states that the underlying name change petition cannot be heard until the sealing procedure has been fully complied with.
• Subsection (c)(5) requires the court to retain all filings made under seal as part of the case record.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-27House Hopper (House)

• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)Primary sponsor
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Imani Barnes (D, HD-086)

• name change law
• domestic violence protections
• human trafficking victims
• court records privacy