The law permits a person to apply for a change of given name or surname under certain conditions.
Such a change is granted only if a serious reason, within the meaning of the Civil Code of Québec, has been shown.
Important
Under the Civil Code of Québec, both spouses retain their respective names in marriage and exercise civil rights under those names. Consequently, if a married woman wants to adopt her spouse's surname, the Directeur de l'état civil will authorize that change of name only in an exceptional situation.
Depending on the situation, an application for a change of name may be filed by way of judicial process before the courts or by way of administrative process with the Directeur de l'état civil.
The court can authorize a change of name for a child in the case of abandonment by the father or mother, in the case of deprivation of parental authority or in the case of a change of filiation, for example by adoption.
A person who wishes to file an application for a change of name for a minor child by way of administrative process may, if an objection is made, as the case may be, by the father, mother or tutor, if any, or by the minor 14 years of age or over, submit the application to the court before it is filed with the Directeur de l'état civil.
If you are in one of these situations and would like to apply for a change of name, we invite you to consult a legal adviser, who will guide you in choosing the appropriate recourse.
The Directeur de l'état civil handles all applications for a change of name that are not under the jurisdiction of the court. The reasons invoked and the documents submitted to support the application are of great importance, as they enable the Directeur de l'état civil to accurately assess the application.
Below are some examples of reasons for applying for a change of name:
You can apply for a change of name for yourself if you are 14 years of age or over and domiciled in Québec for at least one year.
You can apply for a change of name for a minor if you are the father, mother or tutor, provided the minor is domiciled in Québec for at least one year.
If you, or the person whose name you have applied to change, was born outside Québec and the birth is not entered in the Québec register of civil status, you must first ask the Directeur de l'état civil to insert the act of birth in the register so the application for a change of name can be processed. In that case, you must complete the Application for Insertion of an Act of Civil Status Made Outside Québec into the Québec Register of Civil Status (PDF, 52 Ko) form, which is in the Forms
section. For more information, see the section Insertion of an act made outside Québec into the Québec register of civil status.
Preliminary analysis enables the Directeur de l'état civil to verify a person's eligibility to apply for a change of name and to determine if that step is appropriate for his or her situation.
In order to submit a case for preliminary analysis, you must complete the
Request for
Preliminary Analysis for a Change of name Application (PDF, 20 Ko)
form, which is in the Forms and publications
section.
If, after preliminary analysis, you or the person for whom you are applying is eligible to apply for a change of name, we will send you all of the necessary documents by mail. If not, we will inform you of the appropriate solution for the situation.
Important
Eligibility to apply for a change of name does not mean that the change of name will be authorized by the Directeur de l'état civil.
You must complete the application for a change of name form that you received in the mail.
Before filing your application with the Directeur de l'état civil, you must take the following steps:
In accordance with the Civil Code of Québec and barring exemption, persons who submit an application for a change of name to the Directeur de l'état civil must mandatorily give public notice of their intention to change their name and that of their children, if applicable. These publications allow interested persons to become aware of your application for a change of name.
For more information, consult the Publication of a notice in civil status matters section.
Following publication, it is possible for persons to submit comments regarding the application for a change of name or to object to it.
Anyone can submit his or her comments. However, when the application is for a person under age 18, an objection can only be formulated by the father, mother, tutor, or the child if he or she is 14 years of age or older. When the application is exclusively to add to the surname of a person under 18 year of age a part taken from the surname of the father or mother, only the father, mother or tutor of the minor under 14 years of age, or the minor 14 years of age or over can object.
Any comment or objection must be sent in writing to the Directeur de l'état civil no later than 20 days following the end of the publication.
If the Directeur de l'état civil receives comments or an objection concerning an application, these are submitted to the applicant, who then has 15 days to provide a written reply to the Directeur de l'état civil.
After examining an application for a change of name, the registrar of civil status renders a written decision explaining the reasons for accepting or rejecting it. That decision is given to the applicant and, if applicable, to persons who submitted an objection or comments regarding the application.
Only the court can review the decision. If an applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the Directeur de l'état civil, he or she may, within 30 days of the decision, file a judicial application to have it reviewed. If you are in that situation, we invite you to consult a legal adviser, who will guide you in choosing the appropriate recourse.
Upon expiry of the 30-day period, if the decision of the Directeur de l'état civil was favorable and no judicial application was filed in court to have the decision reviewed, the Directeur de l'état civil publishes a notice of the decision on its website, unless the decision pertains to a case involving exemption from publication and alters the Québec register of civil status accordingly.
When a person's change of name takes effect, it is the responsibility of that person or the person's father, mother or tutor to have his or her name changed in files held by government departments or agencies. This entails providing a change of name certificate and a new birth certificate as proof.
However, if you fill out the application for the simplified forwarding of information relative to a change of name or designation of sex, the Directeur de l'état civil can notify certain departments or agencies of the change on your behalf, freeing you of the need to provide these documents to them.
Under agreements with various government departments and agencies, the Directeur de l'état civil is authorized to forward them the information they need to apply the laws and programs under their administration. These agreements specify procedures that comply with the applicable legislation, in particular concerning the protection of personal information.
If the change of name or designation of sex takes effect, the Directeur de l'état civil will automatically notify the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and Retraite Québec for the Québec Pension Plan and the Child assistance measure by forwarding them the information they need to change the person's name within these organizations.
The Directeur de l'état civil has created a form that enables it to forward information relative to a person's change of name or, if applicable, change of designation of sex not only to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and Retraite Québec for the Québec Pension Plan and the Child assistance measure, but also to the Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, the Curateur public du Québec and the Commission Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail. This form is included with the change of name application. Consequently, if the change of name takes effect, the Directeur de l'état civil can notify these organizations, freeing you of the need to take steps with them regarding the change. You will not have to provide them with a change of name certificate and a new birth certificate as proofs of the change.
The Directeur de l'état civil will forward the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec the information required to change the person's name in his or her file in the context of the Health Insurance Plan and, if applicable, the Public Prescription Drug Plan. However, you will have to contact the Régie as soon as you are notified that the change has taken effect in order to obtain a new health insurance card, as the card already issued will no longer be valid.
The Directeur de l'état civil will forward to Retraite Québec the information required to change the person's name in his or her file, if applicable, in the context of the programs of the Québec Pension Plan and the Child assistance measure. You will have no other formality to complete with this organization regarding this change.
The Directeur de l'état civil will forward to Retraite Québec the information required to change the person's name in his or her file in the context of public sector pension plans. You will have no other formality to complete with this organization regarding this change.
The Directeur de l'état civil will forward the Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale the information required to change the person's name in his or her file in the context of a Social Assistance Program, a social assistance and support program, an employment program, measure or service, a professional qualification program or a file held by the collection centre. You will have no other formality to complete with the Ministère with regard to this change.
The Directeur de l'état civil will forward to the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail the information required to change the person's name in his or her file. You will have no other formality to complete with the Commission with regard to this change.
The study of a request for preliminary analysis for a change of name application is free.
Fees charged for the study of a change of name application are listed in the section Fees and Processing Time.
Processing an application for a change of name generally takes 90 business days if, upon receipt of the application, all the necessary documents meeting the requirements have been provided.
Note : You are responsible for notifying the Directeur de l'état civil of any change of address that may occur during the processing of your application.
Reviewed: 2022-06-17