Changing Your Legal Name
Whom do I need to notify if I change my legal (individual given) name?
A holder of a medical license must notify the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) on a printed form if the licensee changes his/her legal name by marriage, court order, or dissolution of marriage. Although licensees are to use the Department’s online portal for a change of address, a change of name CANNOT be completed via the online process. If your legal name has changed, you must print and submit a written notice to the Department and include documentation of the name change (marriage license, court order, or divorce decree). The ICS strongly recommends that you send the form in a manner that permits you to confirm delivery. For a copy of this written notice with detailed instructions, click here.
Licensees should also notify any health networks with whom they participate and liability insurers (malpractice and general liability), according to terms spelled out in their provider agreements and insurance policies.
If you change your legal name but would like to keep your practice under your previous name, you would need to establish an assumed business name (a practice name that does not include the legal name of the individual owner). For information concerning how to practice under an assumed business name, please see the Assumed Business Names article.