Belgium - Change Your Name (Deed Poll)

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Procedure

• Your request must be made in writing. It cannot be sent by mail or fax or made by phone. These patterns are for information.
• The application must always be given. It should clearly specify the desired change.
• A request regarding a minor must be made by the parents (or guardian). If it is made by only one parent, the other parent will normally be informed.
• If you have children that bear your name, you are asked whether you want them to also change their names.
• If granted, the name change is extended without cost or procedure to children born after the request.

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Required Documents

• A full copy of your birth certificate. If you were born abroad, an equivalent document, possibly legalized External link . If you are a refugee and you are unable to produce a birth certificate, a certificate from the Commissioner for Refugees and Stateless Persons. In the absence of any document acceptable marital status, your identity will be established by a judgment.
• A certificate of Belgian nationality or a certificate proving a refugee or stateless person.
• A recent certificate of residence.
• A criminal record.

Office Locations & Contacts

Federal Public Service Justice
Boulevard de Waterloo 115 1000 Brussels
Tel.: 02 542 67 04 - 02 542 67 61 (name)
Tel.: 02 542 67 64 - 02 542 67 35 (first)
E-mail: [email protected]

Eligibility

People choose to change their name for a variety of reasons. Maybe you just want to change the spelling of your name, you don't like the name your parents gave you, you want to get rid of your middle name, you want to remove any family associations, or maybe you just want a change! You can legally change your first name, middle name or surname, or any combination of those.

Fees

The cost of a name change is 49 Euros per person. You must pay this amount at the end of proceedings on request of an officer of the FPS Finance.

The cost of adding a name to another, of a particle ("van", "of") or replacement of an uppercase letter with a lowercase is 740 Euros per person. However, if the requested name is the one that holds another State whose nationality you have, the cost is 49 Euros.

On the initiative or at your request, the amount of 740 Euros can be reduced to 490 Euros by King if you or one of your ascendants and descendants have made to the nation distinguished service of patriotic, scientific, cultural, economic social or humanitarian.

Finally, in general, if the name change granted also concerns over three of your children or descendants, they will have to pay only 3 / 5th of the cost.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Change name or surname (PDF, 261.53 Kb)

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

The examination period of the application depends on the complexity of each situation and for your cooperation in the proceedings.

Taking into account the publication formalities of recording and transcription, the total duration of the procedure varies from 12 to 18 months. Simple applications are processed faster.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Your file is prepared by the Federal Justice to be submitted to the Minister of Justice who will decide whether or not your proposed name change to the King.

In more complicated cases, an investigation is requested to the Crown Prosecutor in your place of residence. This survey is to hear the persons concerned and to collect documents and opinions. In some rare cases, the Federal Justice may request additional information to other governments (service Nobility, Foreign Affairs, State Security ...).

The name change has no effect on family relationships. This means that to be allowed to wear the name of a person or not wear it can have no effect on the rights and duties that bind you to that person (authority, kinship, alimony, succession ...).

There can therefore be no question of establishing a link for a person or terminate a simple name change. Actions that are within the jurisdiction of the courts should be considered if that is your real goal. Some of these actions result in a change of name as incidental effect.

Required Information

• Your name as listed on birth certificate or immigration or citizenship documents.
• The full name you are applying to change to (if you are changing your name).
• Date and place of birth
• Marital status and details
• Places of residence for last three months
• Address for Correspondence

Need for the Document

If you are using, or wish to use, a name other than your registered name, there is no legal requirement that you formally change your name. It is, however, recommended that you change your name officially, both for identification and as evidence of your name change.

Name change generally refers to the legal act by a person of adopting a name different from their name at birth, marriage or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions.

Information which might help

Your name and first name of an official nature. They are fixed in principle. They allow authorities to your relationships but also to yourself to identify you. Under certain conditions, the law allows the modification of the name, the surname, or both, in accordance with the law of 15 May 1987. In all cases:

• the change must be justified;
• the change is a cost;
• the name and / or requested names can be confusing, you harm or harm to others;
• the duration of the procedure is on average 6 months to 1 year and a half;
• change requires you to renew identity documents.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

You may want to change your name because:

• You have just gotten married
• You have divorced
• You just want a change

External Links

Portal Belgian Government

Addresses and websites

Change of name

Others

The royal decree granting the name change must be published in the Belgian Official Journal to inform the public. Anyone who has an interest may object to the name change for a period of 60 days from publication. If there is an objection, it is decided by the King.

When approval to change its name is final, you must register by the FPS Finance against payment .

After registration, you must send or quickly return authorization from the competent municipality for transcription. This transcript gives effect to the name change.

The municipality or the diplomatic post you depend proceed with the adaptation of your identification documents (identity card, passport ...).