A legal name change in Newfoundland and Labrador costs $100 through Service NL's Vital Statistics Division, plus $35 for a new birth certificate. You must be 16 or older, resident for at least three months, and include a certified criminal record check dated within six months.
Applies in: Newfoundland and Labrador
In Newfoundland and Labrador, a legal name change is a Service NL application under the Change of Name Act, 2009, and the fee is $100. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's legal name change page sets the headline rules: you must be 16 years of age or older and ordinarily resident in the province for at least three months, a certified criminal record check dated within six months is part of the application, and every granted change is published in the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette unless an exception applies.
This guide covers the process only. It does not give legal advice, and it does not decide residence or exception questions, The Division applies the Act to your file. Questions go to the Division at 709-729-3308.
Newfoundland and Labrador sorts legal name changes into four types, and the type decides your application package:
Adults use the Application for Change of Name of an Adult. For a child, the Application for Change of Name of a Child applies, and if you are under 16 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must complete the process.
To legally change your own name, you must be 16 years of age or older. You must ordinarily be a resident of the province for at least three months; otherwise, you must apply in your province of residence.
The legal change of name process includes a requirement for a certified criminal record check as part of your application. Two police forces can provide it: the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The Commissionaires can also provide a certified criminal record check for this purpose.
The window here is wider than in most provinces. The check must be dated no more than six months prior to the date the application is being made. Under the adult application form, if a record check discloses a conviction for an offence listed in the Change of Name Act, 2009, the application is provided to the Minister to determine whether to grant or refuse the change of name.
The documents required are your birth certificate in the old name, a baptism certificate is acceptable if you were born in Newfoundland and Labrador and do not possess a birth certificate, and the proper applications from each name change package as required. Applications are available at the Division.
Fees are $100 for the name change and $35 or $30 for a new birth certificate as listed on the legal name change page; the Service NL fees page totals a change of surname or a change of given name at $135, broken down as the $100 change of name plus a $35 new birth certificate if you were born in Newfoundland and Labrador. Cheques or money orders are payable to the Newfoundland Exchequer Account. Credit card payment is by Visa or MasterCard only, and requires the cardholder's name, card number, expiry date, and signature.
A completed adult application is returned to the Vital Statistics Division, Digital Government and Service NL, P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 4J6.
All name changes must be published in the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette. The exceptions are:
The adult form also carries a request for exemption from publication under section 14(2) of the Change of Name Act, 2009, so raise the exemption inside the application rather than as an afterthought.
A change of name is reflected on the birth registration if the event occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador, and within Canada in most cases, but it is reflected on the marriage registration only if requested. Once granted, use the change of name certificate to update your Newfoundland and Labrador driver's licence and MCP health card, your Social Insurance Number record with Service Canada, your passport, and your bank, employer, and Canada Revenue Agency records.
Marriage sits outside this process: the application is not required if the name change is due to marriage, because you can assume your partner's surname by submitting your marriage certificate to the places where you are changing your surname.
The Service NL pages state the $100 name change fee, the six-month limit on the criminal record check, the three-month residence rule, and the Gazette publication rule with its three exceptions. The two official pages give the new birth certificate price differently, $35 or $30 on the legal name change page, and $35 in the fees page breakdown of the $135 total, so this guide reports both figures as the pages state them rather than picking one. The pages do not state a processing time for a legal name change, so this guide gives none.
The name change fee is $100. A new birth certificate costs $35 on the Service NL fees page, which breaks a surname or given name change down as $100 for the change of name plus $35 for a new birth certificate if you were born in Newfoundland and Labrador; the legal name change page lists a new birth certificate at $35 or $30. Payment by cheque or money order is made payable to the Newfoundland Exchequer Account, and Visa and MasterCard are accepted.
You must be 16 years of age or older to legally change your own name, and you must ordinarily be a resident of the province for at least three months. Otherwise, you apply in your province of residence. If you are under 16, a parent or legal guardian must complete the process.
Adult surname (with or without given name), adult given name only, child surname (with or without given name), and child given name only. The type decides which application package you use.
A certified criminal record check must be dated no more than six months prior to the date the application for legal name change is being made. It can be obtained from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or the Commissionaires, which are also approved to provide one.
Yes, by default: all name changes must be published in the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette. Exceptions apply when the applicant would be unduly prejudiced or embarrassed by the publication, give reasons in a sealed envelope for the Registrar's review, when the change of surname applied for is of a minor character, and when the applicant has been commonly known under the surname applied for, supported by copies of identification showing usage of the new name.
No. The Application for Change of Name is not required if the name change is due to marriage. You can assume your partner's surname by submitting your marriage certificate to the places where you are changing your surname.