Legal Name Verification Request

Effective July 1, 2025, in accordance with the University System of Georgia's standards for consistent identity management and to reduce the risk of fraud by impersonation, all students at Kennesaw State University are required to verify their legal name in our system.

As a result of this policy, we are required to obtain a copy of the student's official government document to verify that the legal name on the student's record matches the legal name on their document. The policy still allows the student to have a preferred name listed as well but their legal name must match what is on their government document.

As a result of the hold, you will not be able to register until your legal name has been verified. Please submit your documentation as soon as possible to prevent any delays in registration.

Please visit Owl Express to see what we currently have on file as your legal and preferred name. You can update your preferred name in Owl Express. If you need to update your legal name, please submit the Legal Name Change Form attaching a copy of your document of choice as PDF, JPEG, JPG, or PNG. Do not submit it as a heic file (default file type for Apple photos). This form is best completed in CHROME.

If you have a preferred name, it will be visible on class rosters along with your legal first name as

First Name (Preferred Name) Last Name.

However, interfaces that your classmates see, such as D2L, student email, Teams, etc, will show your name as Preferred Name Last Name.

For example:
Legal Name: Sturgis Owl
Preferred Name: Scrappy
Class roster: Sturgis (Scrappy) Owl
D2L and Email: Scrappy Owl

USG policy requires that KSU not recognize requests to use a Preferred First Name that is
considered vulgar, offensive, obscene, or otherwise reasonably inappropriate.

Acceptable Documents

  • Driver's license, Driver’s Permit or State ID card
  • Birth certificate provided that the name on the birth certificate reflects the current legal name
    • If your name has changed, you may submit a copy of your marriage certificate, divorce
      decree, or other government documents that list your name at birth and your current
      legal name.
  • US or foreign passport
  • Permanent Resident card
  • Employment Authorization card
  • Visa, I-94, I-797 receipt notice, I-20, DS2019, or other immigration document
  • Court documents for a legal name change
  • Online students residing outside of the United States or a US territory may submit any of the
    above documents or a high school or college transcript with an official evaluation
  • FAFSA – We will run a daily process to verify that the name, date of birth, social security number,
    and citizenship status submitted on your FAFSA matches the name we have on file for you. The
    FAFSA aid year filed must also align with the academic year you plan to start taking classes at
    KSU. If it does not match due to spelling, punctuation, alternative spelling, different last name or
    first name, etc you will need to submit one of the official government documents above.
  • Students who may not have one of the above documents should email lpv@kennesaw.edu or
    call 470-578-2799 for further guidance.

Methods of Submitting Legal Name Verification

  • Upload via our secure Legal Name Verification submission portal.
  • Bring in person to the Office of the Registrar in the Kennesaw Hall Rotunda
  • Mail to:
    Office of the Registrar
    585 Cobb Avenue, MD 0116
    Kennesaw, GA 30144

Contact Us
Please contact the Office of the Registrar with any questions.

Phone: 470-578-2799 or 470-578-4636 (KSU-INFO)
Email: lpv@kennesaw.edu
Office: Kennesaw Hall, Kennesaw campus Monday thru Friday 8:00-5:00

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Legal names were not reviewed for LPV with the same scrutiny as the Legal Name Verification
    policy requires.

  • One of the following reasons:
    A) The name you provided on the FAFSA does not match the name you currently have on file with KSU.
    B) The name you provided on the FAFSA has different spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc. than what we have on file.
    C) Your preferred name is listed as your legal first name on the FAFSA or on file with KSU.
    D) You haven’t filed a FAFSA for the applicable aid year yet or it hasn’t
    E) Your date of birth or social security number did not match.

  • Email, call, or come visit us. We’ll talk about your situation and figure out what we can do to help.
  • Board of Regents policy requires that your legal name and preferred name be listed on their class roster. This is not information that must be shared with your classmates.
  • The legal name verification policy requires us to verify the first and last name only. The middle name does not have to match your official government document.
  • Yes. Your legal last name must match exactly the way it is on your official government document.
    A) Legal First Name: Scrappy
    Legal Last Name: Horned Owl
    He most commonly just uses the name Scrappy Owl.
    Scrappy’s Legal Name on file with KSU must read as Horned Owl instead of just Owl.
    B) Legal First Name: Horace
    Legal Middle Name: Sturgis
    Legal Last Name: Owl
    Friends call him Sturgis.
    Sturgis must have his Legal First Name on file with KSU has Horace. He can set his Preferred
    Name as Sturgis so his classmates will see his name displayed as Sturgis on D2L, Teams,
    and his email.
    C) Legal First Name: Joe Don
    Legal Last Name: Smith
    KSU name on file: Joe Smith
    Student must update their legal first name as Joe Don and may update their Preferred name to Joe only.
  • Your hold will not be released, and you will not be able to register. If you are already enrolled, you will not be able to make changes to your schedule until the hold is resolved.