Jump To:
Guidelines
If a street name has not been established, a New Street Name Application must be submitted for approval. The new street name must be unique on a countywide basis and cannot duplicate another street name or approximate the phonetic pronunciation of that name within Wake County.
Emergency service response and mail delivery can be affected by duplicate names in different locations. You can check for existing names using the Wake County's Street Name Search tool.
Please submit the completed Application and Street Name Change Petition to the Transportation Department. Staff will review the application and direct you to pay the fee associated with Street Name Changes.
Application questions? Please contact:
Raleigh Addressing
raleighaddressing@raleighnc.gov
919-996-4471
Petition Questions and Completed Petition submittal, please contact:
Street Name Change
NTMP@raleighnc.gov
919-996-4066
Please consider the following guidelines when selecting your possible road names:
- Street names shall not contain more than 20 characters, including the directional (if any).
- No street name shall have less than 3 characters. Existing streets that consist of less than 3 characters may remain.Street names shall not contain punctuation or special characters including apostrophes, commas, hyphens, periods, or other similar characters.
- Street names shall not exceed two words, excluding the directional and street type.
- Street names shall not contain directional words or street type words. Existing streets that consist of these words may remain
- New street names shall not duplicate any existing street name in Wake County.
See a full list of street naming rules on the New Street Names webpage.
Why should a street name be changed?
- Duplications: Street name duplications may be carryovers from historical street names or may be due to new road construction, or to realignment, a connection of roads that were previously separate, or disconnection of existing roads that previously formed one continuous route.
- Desire of property owners: There may be cases where a street name is desired by adjoining property owners. Unless there is a public purpose to be served, requesting a name change is not encouraged, for it requires a considerable cost to the residents and to service providers such as the City and private utility companies
Application and Approval Process
The application review can take up to two weeks for staff to evaluate the submittal. Once an application has been accepted, it will take 8-10 months for the street name change to go into effect.
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Submit Application |
Submit the following required documents to the Planning and Development Customer Service Center:
|
| 2. Staff Review |
The Department of Transportation Director and Information Technology Department Director, will review the street name change application to make sure it meets the guidelines. |
| 3. Council Review* |
The City Council will consider the street name change application and shall adopt, or decline to adopt, a resolution of intent to hold a public hearing on the street name change application. |
| 4. Public Hearing* |
Raleigh property owners, residents and the community will get a chance to give feedback on the proposed street name. Following the public hearing, the City Council may approve or deny the street name change request by resolution, which shall set forth the effective date of the name change. |
| 5. Street Name Effective Date* |
The effective date is typically six months following City Council approval. This is so that all impacted properties and stakeholders have time to update their address in advance of the street name change becoming official. |
* These steps are contingent upon staff and City Council approval.
Fees
- See Development Fee Guide for specific fees
- The Planning and Development Customer Service Center processes payments
- Payment types include cash, MasterCard, Visa or check made payable to the City of Raleigh
Additional Information
Below are answers to some common questions.
City-Initiated Street Name Changes
If the reason for a street name change is to eliminate or reduce problems associated with a street address or to facilitate emergency service delivery, then the City will initiate and process the street name petition.
If the City is initiating the process and has not received a petition from one or more of the adjoining owners, the Transportation staff will notify all affected property owners and tenants to solicit suggestions for a unique county-wide street name. Upon receipt of the responses, the Transportation staff will review them for duplications, and resurvey the affected property owners and tenants to determine the most acceptable names from among the non-duplicate suggestions.
Once an acceptable name is determined, the Transportation staff will prepare the required information and place the application on an upcoming Raleigh City Council agenda for review and consideration. City Council will adopt or decline to adopt, a resolution of intent to hold a public hearing on the street name change application.
If the Raleigh City Council does adopt a resolution of intent authorizing a public hearing, a notice will be sent to all affected property owners and tenants, and the hearing will be advertised in the legal section of the newspaper. At the public hearing, City Council will either adopt a resolution changing the name and set an effective date or deny the request.
Once the City Council changes a street name, when does it become effective and who does the City notify?
The effective date is typically six months following City Council’s approval. This extended period between approval and the signs being in place is to allow residents, property owners, the Wake County Register of Deeds, map software companies, and other entities that are impacted time to update their systems to reflect the new name.
The City will notify the local utility companies, all City of Raleigh Departments, Wake County Government, North Carolina Department of Transportation -Division of Highways, local utility companies, U.S. Postal Service, residents, and property owners of the street name change and the effective date set by Raleigh City Council in the resolution changing the street name. The individual property owners must notify all other parties. Parties to notify may include the Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, banks, and credit card companies, as well as others who may regularly send mail to the previous address.
