How do we rename our HOA, the community, or the private streets inside it?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 18, 2026

How an HOA board renames the association or its private streets: the owner vote, state filing fees in TX, FL and CO, 911 addressing, a timeline and a motion.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

There are three different names, and each one changes a different way. The association's legal name lives in its articles of incorporation or certificate of formation, so changing it takes an amendment that the members usually approve, then a filing with the Secretary of State. In Texas that filing costs $25 for a nonprofit, in Florida $35, and in Colorado $25 online. If the name also appears in the recorded declaration, you need a declaration amendment, which carries a higher vote: 67 percent by default in Texas, two-thirds in Florida, and more than 50 percent (capped at 67 percent) in Colorado. Street names are the third job, and the HOA cannot finish it alone even when it owns the streets, because the city or county assigns addresses. Budget six months to a year for a street rename. This guide covers the order of work. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, so treat it as education, not legal advice, and have the association's attorney draft the amendments.

Find every place the name appears

Before anyone proposes a vote, the secretary should build a list. Pull the articles or certificate of formation from the Secretary of State's site, the recorded declaration and every amendment, the bylaws, the plat, the bank signature cards, the master insurance policy, the IRS letter that assigned the EIN, vendor contracts, the website, and the entrance monument. Sort them into two piles: documents where the name has legal effect, and places where it is only a label. A lot of communities use a marketing name on the sign that never matched the corporation. Owners who want to change that sign may not need to amend anything, but confirm it with the attorney, since some declarations describe the community by name. Search the new name on your Secretary of State's business lookup before you fall in love with it. The Texas Secretary of State checks whether the new name is available when the amendment is submitted.

Changing the association's legal name

The board alone cannot pick a new name in any of these three states. Texas Business Organizations Code section 22.107(b) lets a board make only small name changes without members, such as adding or swapping a word like Inc. Colorado section 7-130-102(1)(d) is similar: the board may swap words like corporation or incorporated, or change a geographical attribution, and nothing more. A real rename goes to the members. In Texas, under sections 22.105 and 22.164, the board adopts a resolution proposing the amendment, sends written notice to the members, and the amendment passes with at least two-thirds of the votes that members present in person or by proxy are entitled to cast, unless the certificate of formation sets a different number. File Form 424, the Certificate of Amendment, with the $25 fee set by section 4.153. In Florida, section 617.1002 has the board adopt a resolution and submit it to a members' meeting, where it passes by a majority of votes cast unless the articles or bylaws say otherwise. The articles of amendment must state the name, the amendment text, the adoption date and that the member vote was sufficient (section 617.1006), and the fee is $35 under section 617.0122. In Colorado, section 7-130-103 lets the board or members holding 10 percent of the votes propose the amendment, requires the board to recommend it, and requires a meeting notice that states the purpose and includes a copy or summary of the amendment. Colorado accepts articles of amendment online only.

When the declaration or plat carries the name

If the declaration names the association or the community, change it the same way you would change any covenant. Texas Property Code section 209.0041(h) sets a 67 percent default of the total votes allocated to owners, and (h-1) lets a declaration set a lower number. Florida section 720.306(1)(b) defaults to two-thirds of the voting interests unless the documents say otherwise. Colorado section 38-33.3-217(1)(a)(I) requires more than 50 percent, allows the declaration to require up to 67 percent, and voids anything higher. Note that Colorado's section expressly covers the declaration, including the plats and maps. Our guide on how to amend HOA CC&Rs walks through ballots and recording. Plats are harder in Texas. Local Government Code sections 212.016 and 232.011 allow an amending plat to correct errors, including street names, without a hearing. A deliberate rename is not an error, so ask the city or county planning office which process it wants before you pay anyone to redraw a plat.

Renaming private streets

Owning the pavement does not give the HOA control of the address. The Postal Service says it does not assign addresses, and that local governments create them and report them to USPS. So the street rename starts with whoever runs addressing for your area, usually a county addressing office, a city planning department or a 911 district. In Texas, Transportation Code section 251.013 lets a commissioners court adopt naming and numbering standards for public roads in unincorporated areas, but it says nothing about private roads, so local rules decide. In Florida and Colorado the process also runs through the county or city. Two real examples show the range. Leon County, Florida, charges a $900 filing fee for a public or private street name change, needs a petition signed by at least 75 percent of the owners along the road, and caps names at 23 characters. The City of Houston's private street procedure, dated 2009, required a petition from 51 percent of abutting owners, a 30-day comment period, and a council ordinance that takes effect 90 days later, after which the city notifies the post office, police, fire, utilities and the 911 district. Once the new name is official, the HOA buys and installs the signs. Our guide on replacing street and stop signs on HOA private streets covers sizes and lettering. Call your addressing office first and ask for its written procedure, fee and petition form. Expect it to reject names that duplicate or sound like an existing street, since dispatchers need to hear the difference.

Filings and updates after the vote

Once the state accepts the amendment, work the list from the first step. Tell the IRS. A taxable association that files Form 1120-H checks the Name change box on its next return. If that year's return is already filed, the IRS asks for a letter signed by a corporate officer, sent to the address where you file. Tax-exempt associations follow the IRS's separate exempt-organization process, which asks for a copy of the amendment and proof of the state filing. Take the filed amendment and a board resolution to the bank to update the account title and signature cards. Ask the insurance agent to change the named insured on every policy so a claim is not paid to an entity that no longer exists on paper. In Texas, section 209.004(b) requires an amended management certificate in the county records within 30 days after the association has notice of a change, and (b-1) requires filing it with the Texas Real Estate Commission within seven days after that. Our guide on what an HOA management certificate is lists what goes on it. Then update vendor contracts, the website, the resale or estoppel forms and the monument sign.

A sample timeline and motion

For a combined association and street rename, a workable schedule looks like this. Month 1: the secretary finishes the list, the board checks name availability and calls the addressing office. Month 2: survey owners on two or three candidate names, since a name the board picks behind closed doors starts a fight. Month 3: the attorney drafts the articles amendment and any declaration amendment, and the board adopts the resolution. Month 4: notice and the member vote. Month 5: file with the state, record the declaration amendment, and file the street petition. Months 6 to 10: the local government processes the street change. Month 11: install signs and send owners their new address details. A motion the board can adapt: 'I move that the board propose to the members an amendment to the certificate of formation changing the association's name from Cedar Hollow Homeowners Association, Inc. to Cedar Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc., direct the secretary to send notice of a members' meeting on April 14 to vote on it, and authorize the president to sign and file the amendment if the members approve.'

Mistakes boards make

The board orders a new entrance sign before the members vote, then the vote fails. Someone files the state amendment but forgets the declaration, so two documents name two different associations and a title company flags every sale. The board renames the street on the HOA's own signs and never contacts the addressing office, so delivery drivers and ambulances use the old name for years. Nobody tells the bank, and checks made out to the new name bounce. The new name is too close to a neighboring subdivision, and dispatchers send a fire truck to the wrong one. Fix all of these the same way. Finish the list first, vote second, file third, and change the signs last.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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