Maiden name restoration is the process by which a person reclaims a former legal name as part of an Arizona divorce decree. Arizona allows a party to request restoration of a prior name in the dissolution proceedings and the court can order it in the decree.

The restored name must be a former legal name, a name the person held before the marriage. Courts in Arizona do not grant requests for a name that the person has never legally held. The decree restores an existing prior name rather than creating a new one.

Once the decree orders name restoration the person needs to update their name with the Social Security Administration, their state driver’s license, their passport, their bank accounts, their employer records, and any other institution or agency that carries the prior name. The decree itself is typically the document required to initiate those updates.

Name restoration is entirely optional. Many people choose to keep the married name after divorce for professional reasons, for continuity with children, or simply by preference. Requesting restoration in the decree does not require using the restored name immediately or ever. It simply creates the legal authority to do so.