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 Ńż¼§Ö±²„ 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 before they can enroll. Therefore, a Legal Name Verification (LNV) registration hold will be added to every studentā€™s account. Please submit your documentation as soon as possible to prevent any delays in registration.

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. USG policy requires that Ńż¼§Ö±²„not recognize requests to use a Preferred First Name that is considered vulgar, offensive, obscene, or otherwise reasonably inappropriate.

Acceptable Documents

  • Driverā€™s License
  • State-issued I.D.
  • Passport
  • Birth Certiļ¬cate
    • 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.
  • Military I.D. (copies cannot be made)- must present in person
  • Certiļ¬cate of Citizenship
  • Certiļ¬cate of Naturalization
  • Lawful Permanent Resident Card
  • Employment Authorization Card
  • Visa, I-94, I-797 receipt notice, I-20, DS2019, or other immigration document
  • Other Forms Issued by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS),
    U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  
  • Marriage Certiļ¬cate
  • Divorce Decree
  • Court Order for Legal Name Change
  • Certiļ¬cate of Adoption
  • Court Guardianship Documentation
  • FAFSA ā€“ 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 .
  • 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 havenā€™t filed a FAFSA for the applicable aid year yet or it hasnā€™t
    E) Your date of birth or social security number did not match.
    F) Your FAFSA was rejected.
    G) The FAFSA you filed was for the a different financial aid year than the term you are
    starting KSU. Example: You are starting Ńż¼§Ö±²„for Summer 2026 but you filed a 2026-
    2027 FAFSA. You would need to file a 2025-2026 FAFSA to be applicable to Summer
    2026.

  • Email, call, or come visit us. Weā€™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 class rosters. Your name will be displayed as Last Name, First Name (Preferred Name). 
  • 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.
    Scrappyā€™s Legal Name on file with Ńż¼§Ö±²„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 Ńż¼§Ö±²„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
    Ńż¼§Ö±²„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.