Do you want to change the name on your ID and other official documents? Changing your legal name in Quebec involves many steps and can take a long time. But it could be right for you if your name doesn’t reflect your identity or is causing you problems. Parents can also sometimes make this request on behalf of their children.
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Acceptable reasons for legally changing your name
In Quebec, you can only change your legal name in certain situations. The law specifically mentions some of these situations. Otherwise, it says you need a “serious reason”.
The government or a court decides what counts as a serious reason. Here’s more information about some situations that allow you to request a legal name change.
Regularly using a different name
Do you consistently go by a different name? If you’ve been using a different name for at least five years, you can apply to make it your legal name.
Do you want to make one of your middle names your first name? You can use a different application that’s simpler and doesn’t require you to wait five years. It’s called substituting your usual given name.
Legal name causing problems
Does your name make your life difficult in some way? Here are some examples of problems that allow you to apply for a legal name change.
Do people regularly make fun of your name or discriminate against you because of it? One man legally changed his name because he was being mocked and losing out on job opportunities because of it.
Is using your name having a negative impact on your mental health? One man legally changed his name because his old one brought up memories and feelings related to his traumatic childhood. Using his old name was very upsetting and contributed to his anxiety and depression.
Do people have difficulty pronouncing or spelling your name to the point that you would prefer to use something else? One man changed his last name to something shorter and simpler that still maintained his connection with his family.
Is your name “infamous”? This is for exceptional cases where someone’s name is widely associated with something that gives them a bad reputation. It’s rare that this reason will be accepted.
For example, one woman wasn’t allowed to legally change her name even though she believed a bad reference was keeping her from getting another job. She couldn’t prove this was why potential employers were rejecting her, or that her name was infamous.
Affirming familial or cultural identity
Do you want to add your last name to your child’s? If you didn’t include both parents’ last names on your child’s act of birth, you can ask to change this later.
Or do you want to change your name in some other way to affirm your cultural or familial identity? One father legally changed his daughter’s last name to a feminized form of his own. This respected the Russian practice of gendered last names and affirmed his daughter’s connection to her grandmother and aunt.
Are you or is one of your ancestors a residential school survivor whose name was changed while at a residential school? You can change back to your Indigenous name. The application is free in this situation.
Affirming your gender identity
Are you trans, non-binary or genderqueer? You can use a different application to change your gender marker and your name at the same time.
Taking your spouse’s last name
Do you want to use your spouse’s name because you got married? In Quebec, your name usually doesn’t change when you get married.
Like for any other name change, you need a serious reason to take your spouse’s name. Here are some reasons that courts have accepted in the past:
- It goes against your religious beliefs to keep your old name.
- You need to take your spouse’s name to be recognized as their spouse in another country.
- You have regularly used your spouse’s name for at least five years.
Who can apply for a legal name change
As of the age 14, you can apply for your own name change. If you’re the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18, you can also apply to change their name on their behalf. If you change your last name as a parent, the change will also apply to any of your children who are under 18 and share your last name.
Rules that apply to everyone
Whether you want to change your own name or your child’s name, the acceptable reasons for a legal name change stay the same.
The person whose name will change needs to have been living in Quebec for at least one year, unless they’re a baby who was born in Quebec. If you’re a parent and your baby has lived in Quebec their whole life, you don’t need to wait until they turn one to apply.
Rules for youth between the ages of 14 and 17
You can file an application yourself as soon as you turn 14. But the government usually needs your parents’ permission to change your name.
You don’t need your parents’ permission if you want to change your name to match your gender identity. You can legally change your name for this reason even if they disagree.
If you’re the parent of a child between the ages of 14 and 17, you can apply to change their name on their behalf. Your child needs to agree with the name change at this age.
The other parent or legal guardian also needs to agree with the name change in most situations. But you don’t need their agreement if the reason is to add a parent’s last name with your child’s consent.
Rules for children 13 and under
If you’re the parent or legal guardian of a child who’s 13 or younger, you can apply to change your child’s name on their behalf. The other parent or legal guardian needs to agree with the change.
You don’t need your child’s agreement at this age. But it may be a good idea to talk to them about the change in a way that’s appropriate for their maturity level.
How to apply for a legal name change
In most situations, the Quebec government will handle your request for a legal name change. Courts handle name changes for someone under 18 when a parent or the child disagrees with the change. They also handle name changes related to family law cases, like an adoption.
Asking the government to change your name
Quebec’s registrar of civil status is responsible for legal name changes. Their official French name is the Directeur de l’état civil.
If the legal name change is for someone who was born outside Quebec, you need to start with an extra step. You need to submit an “Application for Insertion of an Act Made Outside Québec into the Québec Register of Civil Status” together with the required documents. You will need a certified French translation of any official documents, like birth certificates, that are written in another language.
The first step is to complete and send a form called “Application for Preliminary Analysis for a Change of Name“. You will need to fill out some basic information about the person requesting the name change and their reasons. If the name change is for someone under 18, you will also need to include information about the family members who have the right to say no.
A public servant will use this information to confirm whether a legal name change is the right type of application for your situation. If it is, they will send you an application package tailored to your specific situation.
Read the application package and fill everything out carefully. Make sure you include any required documents and pay the application fee.
When the government receives your completed application, they usually need to publish a notice online and leave it up for 15 days. The government will let you know if the process is different in your case.
Anyone can comment on your application. They have 20 days to submit their comments to the government, starting from the end of the 15-day public notice period.
If the name change is for someone under 18, any family members who have the right to say no also need to receive a copy of the application. These people have 20 days to tell the government they disagree with the request, starting from when they receive a copy of the application. This is called “objecting”.
Once the 20 days for comments and objections run out, the government will process your application. They will evaluate your reason for wanting to change your name and consider any proof you submitted. They will also give you a chance to respond to any comments or objections they received.
Quebec’s registrar of civil status, the Directeur de l’état civil, will send you their official decision by registered mail. It will explain their reasons for accepting or refusing the name change. If they approve your legal name change, you will get an official certificate as proof.
If the government rejects your application, you can ask the Superior Court to review the government’s decision. You have 30 days from the time you receive the decision to open a case in court. The court will review your file, and you can submit new proof.
Going to court for a legal name change
The government will usually reject a name change request for someone under 18 if the other parent or the child exercises their right to say no. To avoid unwelcome surprises, you can discuss your request with these people before you apply. If someone is planning to say no, you can go to court instead of applying to the government. A judge will decide what’s in the child’s best interests.
Other times, a name change is related to a family law case, like adoption. Adoptions need to be approved by a judge. The judge will ask the adoptive parents to choose their child’s new name, unless the child wants to keep their old name.
Here are some other family law cases that may justify changing a child’s last name:
- Do you want to be recognized as your biological child’s legal parent? Or do you want to contest a legal parent’s status?
- Do you want your child’s other legal parent to lose their parental authority?
- Do you want to become the legal guardian of a child whose parents died?
These cases need to be decided by a judge. If you want the child’s last name to reflect the outcome, you need to ask the judge for this too. The judge will change the child’s last name if it’s in their best interests.
If you need to go to court, legal professionals can help you with next steps.
Next steps after legally changing your name
Once you have your legal name change certificate or a court judgement, it’s time to update your name everywhere.
If you went through Quebec’s registrar of civil status, they will change your act of birth and act of marriage or civil union automatically. They will also send your new name to Quebec’s health insurance board, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, and Quebec’s pension board, Retraite Québec.
In your application form, you can give them permission to contact some other provincial government bodies about the change. The application form has a list of who they can contact on your behalf.
You’re responsible for informing everyone else about your name change. You will also need to request new copies of your ID, including your health insurance card, driver’s licence and passport. You may need to show a copy of your name change certificate as proof.
Legal documents you signed using your old name are still valid. But you can ask to update them with your new name if you want to. You may need to pay a fee to change certain legal documents.