Name Change Policies

Legal Name Changes

For students who are employees or international

Please meet with University Human Resources or ISSO to discuss what documentation is needed to change your name.

University Human Resources can be reached at 4-4800 or hrshelp@iaste.edu.

ISSO can be reached at 4-1120 or isso@iastate.edu.

For students who are not employees or international

You can submit your name change directly within Workday.

1. Go to your Workday Profile by clicking your picture in the upper right corner and click the 'View Profile' button.

2. In the left hand column, click on 'Personal' and select the 'Names' tab from the top.

3. Here you can see both your legal and preferred name, as well as any name change history. To submit your request, click ‘Edit’ next to the name you wish to change.

4. Enter your new first, middle, and last names as they appear on your legal documentation. Ensure you have attached at least one legal document that support your name change to the request in the ‘Attachments’ section at the bottom. In the ‘Category’ box, select the option ‘Legal Name Change.’

Screenshot depicts the Edit Legal Name form in Workday. Students must enter the Effective Date, Country, First Name, Last Name, and select "Legal Name Change" for the Category field. Students will also need to provide documentation for their legal name change in the "Attachments" field.

5. Once you have entered your name and attached your supporting documentation, click the ‘Submit’ button. This will send your name change request to the Office of the Registrar for approval.

If you are a former student

Please complete the Legal Name Change form and email the form and your supporting documentation to academicrec@iastate.edu.

Preferred Name Change

By default, your legal and preferred name are the same. However you are able to set a separate preferred name that will be used in most places across campus.

Please view the following page and review the below guidelines before changing your preferred name: Workday Change Preferred Name.

A preferred name is the name you generally like to go by, and it does not have to match your legal name.
Preferred name defaults to your legal name in Workday until changed.
Once set, preferred name will be visible within Workday and other systems like the ISU Directory and Outlook.
For compliance purposes, your legal name will be used on W-2's and any other compliance-related documentation as required by law. Setting a Preferred Name will not update your Legal Name.
- Please note the transcript and enrollment verification letter will also use your legal name.

Guidelines

Upon submitting changes in Workday to update your preferred name (prefix, first name, middle name, last name and suffix), one must comply with the following guidelines:

Preferred name should be in good taste and business-appropriate.
Preferred name should be based on some reasonable justification such as use of a Professional Name that is different from the legal name (i.e.. maiden name). 
Preferred name should not contain inappropriate or offensive language/meaning.
Preferred name should not violate any University policy or federal/state laws.
Preferred name should not include any symbols or numbers.
Note: Iowa State University reserves the right to decline or revoke a submitted Preferred Name (prefix, first name, middle name, last name and suffix) if it is used for criminal or misrepresents the university’s reputation or interests in any way.

Need additional help?

If you have additional questions that are not addressed on this website, please contact the Academic Records Team.

Name	Email	Phone
Academic Records Team	academicrec@iastate.edu	4-1840