Naperville, IL family law attorney Jacqueline Helm discusses the legal restrictions on name changes. She explains that very few individuals who have been convicted of a felony are eligible to change their names. If your sentence was completed within the last 10 years, you are generally not allowed to change your name. Additionally, there are certain crimes, including non-felony offenses, that prohibit name changes. Examples of such crimes are identity theft and offenses involving minors, such as sexual assault, which require registration on the sex offender list. In these cases, changing your name is not permitted due to obvious reasons.