How to Legally Change Your Name in Nunavut
In Nunavut you change your name by applying to the Nunavut Court of Justice under the Change of Name Act. You need one year of residence, age 19, a $10 filing fee, an affidavit, and a Sheriff's certificate.
How to Legally Change Your Name in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan legal name changes run through eHealth Saskatchewan's Vital Statistics Registry under The Change of Name Act, 1995. Most changes are published in the Saskatchewan Gazette, and children under 15 are not published.
Applies in: Saskatchewan
The short answer
In Saskatchewan, a legal name change is an application to eHealth Saskatchewan's Vital Statistics Registry under The Change of Name Act, 1995, there is no registry agent and no online self-serve form. The eHealth Saskatchewan change of name page is short, and its main points are about the edges of the process: when a legal change is not needed at all, the certificate you receive on approval, publication in the Saskatchewan Gazette, and the organizations to update afterwards.
This guide covers the process only. It does not give legal advice, and it does not decide whether an application should be approved, that decision sits with the Registrar.
When you do not need a legal change
You do not need a legal change of name if you are changing your surname because of marriage, annulment, divorce, or the death of your spouse. In those four situations you can start using the new last name by updating it with the organizations that hold your records:
- eHealth Saskatchewan, for your health card
- Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI)
- your employer
- your bank
- the Canada Revenue Agency
Some organizations may ask to see a legal marriage certificate before they update the name. A surname change for any other reason, and any change to a given name, goes through the legal change of name application instead.
How to apply
Contact eHealth Saskatchewan to start. The Registry supplies the change of name application forms and provides help with the process, and the application is submitted to eHealth Saskatchewan with the consents, supporting documents, and fee the Registry requires for your situation.
Build the package in this order:
- Get the current application form from the Registry rather than reusing a form from an earlier attempt, and confirm the current fee and document list at the same time, because the public page does not publish them.
- Collect the consents your situation requires. Changes that involve a spouse or a child can require another person's consent; the Registry's forms set out who must consent in your case.
- Complete the application in full, for every person whose name is changing, and include the supporting documents the Registry asks for.
- Submit the package to eHealth Saskatchewan with payment, using the submission route the Registry gives you with the forms.
If your application is approved, you receive a legal change of name certificate. That certificate is the proof document for every record update that follows, so contact eHealth Saskatchewan for extra copies if the organizations you deal with need to keep one.
Publication in the Saskatchewan Gazette
By law, legal name changes in Saskatchewan are published in the Saskatchewan Gazette, a weekly government publication. Two limits apply:
- Name changes are not published for children under 15.
- In special cases, you may request an exemption from publication.
If publication is a concern, raise the exemption request with the Registry when you apply, not after the application has been processed.
After your name is changed
A new birth certificate is separate. If you want a new birth certificate with your new name, you must order it separately, approval of the name change does not send one automatically.
Then update the name on your identification and accounts. eHealth Saskatchewan lists these contacts:
- Service Canada, Social Insurance Number
- Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), driver's licence or photo identification card
- your employer
- your bank
- the Canada Revenue Agency
Your Saskatchewan health card record sits with eHealth Saskatchewan itself, the same office that processed the change.
What the opened pages do not state
The eHealth Saskatchewan page states the marriage, annulment, divorce, and death-of-spouse exceptions, the certificate on approval, the separate birth certificate order, and the Saskatchewan Gazette publication rule with its under-15 limit. It does not publish the application fee, an age or residency threshold for applying, a criminal record check requirement, or a processing time, so this guide states none of those figures or rules. Confirm the fee, the document list, and any check that applies to your case with the Registry when you request the application.
Related guides:
- How to Start Changing Your Legal Name in Canada — the national overview of provincial vital statistics processes, publication, and record checks.
- How to Get a Saskatchewan Health Card — the eHealth Saskatchewan health card record that carries your name.
- How to Start Getting a Birth Certificate in Canada — ordering the new Saskatchewan birth certificate separately after the change.
- How to Start Applying for a Canadian Passport in Canada — updating your passport once your provincial documents carry the new name.
- How to Change Your Address in Canada — the address updates that usually travel with a name change.
- Getting Married in Canada Checklist — the marriage steps behind a surname you may use without a legal change.
Changing your legal name in Saskatchewan, in four steps
- Contact eHealth Saskatchewan for the applicationThe Registry supplies the change of name forms and help with the process.
- Assemble the application packageThe package carries the required consents, the supporting documents eHealth Saskatchewan asks for, and the fee.
- Submit the application to eHealth SaskatchewanAn approved application produces a legal change of name certificate, and extra copies come from eHealth.
- Order a new birth certificate separately if you want oneA new birth certificate showing the new name is not automatic; it is ordered on its own, and the change is published in the Saskatchewan Gazette unless an exemption applies.
Questions people ask
Who runs legal name changes in Saskatchewan?
eHealth Saskatchewan runs the process. The framework is The Change of Name Act, 1995. You must contact eHealth Saskatchewan to apply; it supplies the forms and further assistance.
Will my Saskatchewan name change be published?
By law, legal name changes in Saskatchewan are published in the Saskatchewan Gazette, a weekly government publication. Name changes are not published for children under 15, and in special cases you may request an exemption from publication.
Do I need a legal name change to change my surname after marriage in Saskatchewan?
No. You do not need a legal change if you are changing your surname because of marriage, annulment, divorce, or the death of your spouse. In those situations you start using the new last name by updating it with organizations such as eHealth Saskatchewan for your health card, Saskatchewan Government Insurance, your employer, your bank, and the Canada Revenue Agency, and some organizations may ask to see a legal marriage certificate.
What do I receive when a Saskatchewan name change is approved?
A legal change of name certificate. Contact eHealth Saskatchewan if you need extra copies. If you want a new birth certificate with your new name, you must order it separately, it is not issued automatically with the certificate.
Which records do I update after a Saskatchewan name change?
eHealth Saskatchewan lists Service Canada for your Social Insurance Number record, Saskatchewan Government Insurance for your driver's licence or photo identification card, your employer, your bank, and the Canada Revenue Agency.
How much does a Saskatchewan legal name change cost?
The eHealth Saskatchewan name change page does not publish the application fee, so confirm the current fee with the Registry when you request the application. This guide states no fee figure rather than carrying one from a non-government source.
Sources
- eHealth Saskatchewan, Change your name — the four situations that do not need a legal change (marriage, annulment, divorce, death of a spouse), the organizations to update in those cases, the legal change of name certificate on approval, the separate order for a new birth certificate, publication in the Saskatchewan Gazette with no publication for children under 15 and exemption requests in special cases, and the post-change update list covering Service Canada, SGI, employers, banks, and the Canada Revenue Agency.
- Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan, Name Changes — The Change of Name Act, 1995 framework and the direction to contact eHealth Saskatchewan for the application forms and assistance.