Administrative change of name
The possibility of changing the name by administrative means may be requested for certain reasons regulated by law.
By way of example, under the law, a change of name can be requested when:
- the name is made up of indecent, ridiculous expressions or transformed by translation;
- where the person concerned has used, in the exercise of his profession, the name he wishes to obtain, and has provided proof of this and of the fact that he is known in society by that name;
- when, due to the carelessness of civil status officers or as a result of ignorance of the relevant legal regulations, incorrect entries have been made in the civil status registers or civil status certificates have been issued with incorrect names, based on which other documents have been issued;
- where the spouses agreed at the time of the marriage to use the surname together and both request an administrative change, opting either for the surname acquired at birth by one of them or for each of them to return to the name they had before the marriage. [1]
A person applying for an administrative change of name must apply to the Community public service for the registration of persons in whose territorial area he/she is resident.
