Short answer. Your petition must state three things: that you've been a bona fide resident of the province for at least three years, the specific cause for wanting the change, and the exact name requested. Note many name changes now go through the local civil registrar instead of court, under Republic Act No. 9048.
What the law says
A petition for change of name shall be signed and verified by the person desiring his name changed, or some other person on his behalf, and shall set forth: (a) That the petitioner has been a bona fide resident of the province where the petition is filed for at least three years prior to the date of such filing; (b) The cause for which the change of the petitioner's name is sought; (c) The name asked for.
Rule 103, Section 2 — Contents of petition. Read the full provision →
What Rule 103 requires you to state
Rule 103 of the Rules of Court lays out exactly what a judicial petition for change of name must contain. It has to be signed and verified by the person who wants the change, or someone acting on their behalf, and it must set out three things: that the petitioner has been a bona fide resident of the province where the case is filed for at least three years before filing, the specific cause for wanting the change, and the exact name being requested. Courts treat these three elements as jurisdictional requirements, not optional details, so leaving any of them out can be grounds to deny the petition outright.
The cause has to be a real, provable reason
The 'cause' element is the heart of the petition — you cannot ask the court to change your name simply because you dislike it. Acceptable reasons generally involve avoiding confusion, correcting a name that is difficult to pronounce or carries embarrassing connotations, or aligning your legal name with the name you have used and been known by for years. A vague statement like 'personal preference' is unlikely to satisfy the requirement, since the court needs a concrete, honest explanation it can weigh against the public interest in stable, traceable identities.
Most name changes now skip the court entirely
This provision predates a major shift in Philippine law. Republic Act No. 9048 (2001), as amended by Republic Act No. 10172 (2012), created an administrative process that lets you change a first name or nickname, or correct clerical and typographical errors in a civil registry entry, through a petition filed directly with the local civil registrar — no judge, no publication, no court hearing required. For the changes it covers, this administrative route is faster and cheaper than the judicial petition described in Rule 103.
When you still need to go to court
The judicial petition remains necessary for changes the administrative process does not reach — most importantly, a change of surname, which Republic Act No. 9048 does not cover. If your situation involves changing your family name rather than your first name, or otherwise falls outside the administrative process, you file the Rule 103 petition in the court for the province where you have resided for at least three years, state your cause and the name you are asking for, and prepare for the publication and hearing requirements that follow.