Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 18 into law on Monday, creating a legal mechanism that requires courts to keep most juvenile name-change records confidential. Under current procedure in the state, people who want to change their legal name must file a petition with a court; the new rule directs judges and clerks to treat petitions filed by anyone under 18 as private, provided the minor has not been convicted of a felony. The law is slated to take effect on July 1, and supporters describe it as a targeted move to reduce harms that can arise when a young person’s name-change request becomes a matter of public record.
Democratic lawmakers who backed the bill framed it as a privacy and safety measure for transgender youth. State Sen. Katie Wallace of Longmont said the change offers important protection and respect for young people navigating gender identity, comparing the confidentiality to other sensitive legal records. While the bill’s central privacy mechanism remained intact, its sponsors removed a proposed family-court standard related to custody disputes after receiving pushback from both Republican legislators and Gov. Polis, leaving the core sealing provision as the primary reform.
What the law does
The statute mandates that courts seal petitions to change a juvenile’s name so they do not appear in publicly accessible files. Practically, this means clerk offices and online public records will no longer display identifying information tied to those court filings for eligible minors. The rule applies only to people under 18 who have no felony conviction, so it creates a limited exception rather than a blanket confidentiality rule for all name changes. Advocates say the measure helps prevent situations where a youth could be publicly outed or exposed to harassment because a name-change filing was easily obtained from court records.
Eligibility and process
To explain terms: a legal name change in Colorado requires filing what is commonly called a petition to change a legal name in the appropriate court. Under the new law, once that petition is filed for someone under 18 and the person meets the non-felony condition, the court must restrict access to the filing. The confidential handling affects the record itself rather than the underlying right to seek a name change, so families and young people retain the same procedural route but gain the added layer of privacy protections meant to reduce public visibility and potential harm.
Political context and reactions
The measure arrived amid broader political debate in Colorado about transgender policy. Some Republican lawmakers in the state legislature advanced bills this year that would limit transgender residents’ participation in sports and restrict access to gender-affirming medical care, reflecting national priorities among conservatives. In contrast, Colorado Democrats — operating with a legislative advantage — have pushed laws that strengthen safeguards for transgender people, including rules that address deadnaming and misgendering and that protect family decision-making around care. Supporters framed SB 18 as part of that larger effort to shield vulnerable residents from discrimination and exposure.
Removed custody provision
An original draft of the bill would have added language directing family court judges to weigh a parent’s acceptance of a child’s gender identity in custody disputes. That clause was pulled after debate and criticism from opposing legislators and the governor’s office, leaving the confidentiality component as the bill’s main result. Lawmakers who requested the change argued the custody language could complicate decisions in sensitive family law cases and risk unintended consequences, so sponsors narrowed the bill to focus specifically on sealing name-change petitions for minors.
Why the change matters
For many families and advocates, sealing juvenile name-change records represents a practical safety step: removing easy public access to filings can reduce the chance a young person is outed to hostile peers, employers, or relatives. Think of it as putting a protective cover over a file that previously sat on a public shelf — the right to seek a new name remains, but the path is less exposed to casual discovery. Supporters emphasize that these safeguards can preserve a young person’s dignity and lower the risk of harassment or discrimination while also aligning Colorado with privacy practices used in other sensitive areas of the court system.
This piece was produced through the Future of Queer Media fellowship at The Advocate, a program supported by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The fellowship aims to support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists by providing resources and platforms to report on issues affecting queer communities.