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Change of First, Middle, or Last Name in Ontario If any of the following apply to you, you may legally change your name as an adult: at least 16 years old spend the last year in Ontario This is important if: If you are 16 or 17 years old and want to change your name, you
Change of First, Middle, or Last Name in Ontario
If any of the following apply to you, you may legally change your name as an adult:
- at least 16 years old
- possess a year-long Ontario residency
This is important if:
- If you are 16 or 17 years old and want to change your name, you must get permission from every person who has legal custody of you and fill out Part 3 of the application.
- Part 2 of the application requires you to inform your spouse or partner of your intent to change your name if you are married or have signed a Joint Declaration of Conjugal Relationship.
- If you need a police records check as part of your legal name change application, you can get one by downloading the Requirements for a Police Record Check for a Change of Name form and having the police department in question conduct a search that satisfies all standards. For more information, see the petition for a name change.
Procedure for Submission
Here are the steps you must take to legally change your name:
Postal submissions are preferred.
Send your completed application, along with the appropriate fee and supporting materials, to:
ServiceOntario
The General Registrar's Department
P O Red River Road, Box 3000189
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 5W0
Bring it in person
Please submit your application, along with any supporting materials and payment, to:
ServiceOntario
Postal Address: 47 Sheppard Avenue East, 4th Floor Unit 417
Place: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M2N 5N1
Cost
$137
The Paperwork You'll Get
A change of name certificate will be issued if your request is accepted. The old and new names will both be displayed. This document can also be used to update your name on other identification materials, like your health insurance card.
When a person is born in Ontario and later decides to change their name, they are issued a new birth certificate in their new name. The automatically issued birth certificate does not include the names of the parents. A Request for Birth Certificate application and fee are required to obtain a copy of a birth registration or a copy of a birth certificate that includes the names of the parents. Your new name will be registered with the vital statistics office in the province or territory (other than Quebec) where you were born in Canada. If you need a replacement birth certificate, you must submit an application to the appropriate registry.
Transforming a Child's Name
Among the requirements for a name change to be recognized by law are the following actions on behalf of the child:
- have spent the previous year, or their entire life if younger than a year, in Ontario
- be younger than 17
- Having no spouse
- if the child is 12 or older, the parent or legal guardian must approve the name change.
There can be no legal restrictions, such as divorce decrees or separation agreements, on the name change.
There must be written consent from all adults with legal custody, as well as notice given to anyone with a legal right to see the child, in order to legally change their name. If there are any written legal agreements or court orders (e. g You must submit photocopies of any court orders or agreements (e.g., a separation agreement) that specify custody and/or visitation arrangements, or that deal with the naming of the child.
Download the Requirements for a Police Record Check for a Change of Name form if you need a police records check as part of your legal name change application to ensure that the police department performing the check does so in accordance with all applicable standards. For more information, see the petition for a name change.
Where to Find an Application Instructions
The steps necessary to legally change a child's name are:
Cost
$137, or
Combined with a parent's name change application, this form costs $22.
Reports that will be sent to you
Get a change of name certificate if the request to rename your child is granted. Both your child's old name and their new one will be listed. This certificate can also be used to update other legal identification documents, like a health care card, with your child's new name.
A new birth certificate will be issued in the new name for anyone born in Ontario who decides to change their name. There is no mention of the parents on the default birth certificate. The Request for Birth Certificate form and the appropriate fee are required to obtain a copy of the birth registration or a copy of the birth certificate that includes the names of the parents. Your new name will be registered with the vital statistics office in the province or territory (other than Quebec) where you were born in Canada. If you need a replacement birth certificate, you must submit an application to the appropriate registry.
Reduce a double name to a single one.
If you or your child's culture has a history of using single names, you may choose to do so.
If you are an Indigenous person applying to change your name to a single name, you may be eligible to have the ServiceOntario fees waived. Investigate the process of adopting a new Indigenous name.
Submission Instructions
The Single Name Change Request Form needs to be printed and filled out.
Any one of the following forms needs to be filled out as well:
Carefully read the form instructions. All of the requirements listed on the forms must be fulfilled.
All completed applications must be submitted to the ServiceOntario center located at 47 Sheppard Avenue East.
Cost
$137, or
When accompanied by a parent's application to change their name, the fee is only $22.
Methods for Requesting a New Name
By mail
Send your application, along with any supporting materials and payment, to:
ServiceOntario
Division of the Registrar General
P O Red River Road, Box 3000189
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 5W0
In person
You can submit your paperwork, payment (check, money order, or credit card), and supporting documents to:
ServiceOntario
Postal Address: 47 Sheppard Avenue East, 4th Floor Unit 417
The City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M2N 5N1
Immediate needs
If a person requires their documents evidencing a name change or other information urgently, they may be able to take advantage of an alternate service.
Among these are the following:
- Adoption Pending
- completion of higher education
- changing the gender on a birth certificate
- relating to immigration
Please call ServiceOntario at if you need any further assistance. 1-800-461-2156 or 416-325-8305
Requests for legal name changes or other amendments that have already been submitted can be canceled.
Cancelling your change of name or amendment application and having your previously issued Ontario birth certificate(s) reissued is an option if you need your birth certificate to access services (such as a passport) but have already submitted an application.
A written request for the withdrawal of a name change or amendment application:
Warn Sign: Temporary Disruption of Service
This online service will be unavailable from 5:00 a.m. Sunday, January 29, 2023 until further notice. m to 9:00 a m Any problems this may have caused, we sincerely apologize.
Feel free to get in touch with ServiceOntario for any further questions you may have:
Registering a child's birth or marriage after a name change requires an update.
Your new legal name can be included on your Ontario marriage registration upon request, and any subsequent requests for a marriage certificate will reflect this change. If one of the parents on the birth certificate has legally changed their name, the certificate can be updated to reflect the new name.
Tips for Making an Application
For more information or to request the forms by mail, please get in touch with the Office of the Registrar General.
ServiceOntario
The General Registrar's Department
P O Postal Stop: Box 3000189, Red River Road
City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
P7B 5W0
Telephone
Cost
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An official name change through ServiceOntario is free of charge if you qualify. Pay the appropriate fee if you need a replacement or updated copy of your certificate that has been certified.
Note
You may be able to get free replacement copies of your birth or marriage certificate if you change your name legally and then have to go back and change the registration. To amend a marriage registration or a birth registration with a new name after reclaiming it through the legal name change process, you must be a Survivor of a residential school or a family member of a Survivor of a residential school. Fill out a ServiceOntario Fee Waiver Application to Change Your Name and Receive New Certificates.
Adopt a new Indigenous name that honors your heritage
One's Indigenous name can be reclaimed by those who attended residential schools.
The adoption of a single name may also be appropriate if doing so is in keeping with your or your child's cultural norms.
From now until March 31, 2024, you won't have to pay anything to legally change your name.
Changing your name in Ontario? If you or your child are a member of a First Nation, Inuit, or Métis, you have the option of not having the change of name published in The Ontario Gazette. Learn more about the name-changing publication process.
Instructions for Submission
For free, you can reclaim an Indigenous name, even a single name, by printing and filling out the following form:
Carefully read the form instructions. All requirements listed on the forms must be met.
Send the completed application and supporting materials to:
ServiceOntario
The General Registrar's Department
P O Red River Road, Box 3000189
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 5W0
Cost
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Divorce in British Columbia can be one of two varieties: When spouses aren't unanimous in their desire to part ways, it's called a "contested divorce." Disputes over child support, property distribution, or the care of any children involved can also
Founded in 1983 by Tom and Irene Gilchrist, Print & Cheques Now Inc. (previously known as Cheques Now / Cheques Direct Ltd) has grown to become one of the leading cheque printing companies in North America.
For those of us who hold plants in high regard, seeing them destroyed by pests is an unthinkable tragedy. Seeing pests in houseplants is especially revolting because it means we have to bring the problem indoors. Fungus gnats are small, winged insects that look like mosquitoes but are actually more
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In the event that you qualify, we will not charge you any fees.
Notification of Name Change Publication
Except as noted below, the Change of Name Act requires that all name changes registered in Ontario be published in The Ontario Gazette.
- If the person whose name is being changed identifies as transgender, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, and if they also request that their new name not be made public, then the request will be honored. If you do not want your name change to be published in The Ontario Gazette, you can get a form to fill out and send in to the relevant authorities. If you have trouble accessing the form via download, you can contact ServiceOntario at 1-800-461-2156 for the rest of North America (everywhere except Toronto), 416-325-8305 TTY/International Callers Outside the Greater Toronto Area TTY: 416-325-3408
OR - This name change is necessary to protect the individual from grave harm, as attested by the Attorney General. If you live in Ontario, Canada, you can check with the Ontario Provincial Police or your local police department to see if you qualify for an exemption from the requirement that your name appear in print.
These days, you can find stories from The Ontario Gazette both in print and online.
The translated materials
Please provide an English or French translation of any supporting materials written in a language other than English or French. All applications requiring translations must include the following:
- photocopies of the entire document that needs translating;
- copy of the translated document in its entirety; and
- a signed original statement from one of the following sources:
- A certified translator who makes an unoathered declaration of professional translator status, or
- The person making the declaration is not a professional translator (the declaration must be made under oath before a commissioner for taking affidavits).
Original signed declaration from translator must include:
- the translator is fluent in both English and French as well as the source language, and
- The translator believes the translation to be accurate and complete.
The translated document must be submitted in its original form if the translator's written declaration is included in the translation. We cannot accept photocopies.
The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario maintains a directory of qualified translators and interpreters.
Time of Delivery
In 6-8 weeks, we will mail you a new birth certificate and a certificate of name change if your application is complete and correct and you were born in Ontario. If you are requesting a change to a reclaimed name or a single name, the process may take longer.
The other forms of government-issued identification (e.g. driver's licenses, passports, etc.) can be updated after you receive your certificate of name change. g ID (driver's license, health card, Ontario Photo Card),
Divorce in British Columbia can be one of two varieties: When spouses aren't unanimous in their desire to part ways, it's called a "contested divorce." Disputes over child support, property distribution, or the care of any children involved can also
Founded in 1983 by Tom and Irene Gilchrist, Print & Cheques Now Inc. (previously known as Cheques Now / Cheques Direct Ltd) has grown to become one of the leading cheque printing companies in North America.
For those of us who hold plants in high regard, seeing them destroyed by pests is an unthinkable tragedy. Seeing pests in houseplants is especially revolting because it means we have to bring the problem indoors. Fungus gnats are small, winged insects that look like mosquitoes but are actually more
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