How To Change Your Name On The Birth Certificate

Your birth certificate is an extremely important certified document. It’s one of the most important ones you’ll ever obtain. It’s used to prove your age, your citizenship, your location of birth – your identity. Your birth certificate is required in order to get a variety of legal documents, such as passports, for example. The birth certificate is also used as a type of ID when you’re hired at a new job, or signed up for a military division, or even enrolled in school.

What’s also common, unfortunately, is for you to see your birth certificate for the first time, and realize that there’s an error in your name’s spelling. In this case, you’ll want to change name on birth certificate, in order for it to accurately reflect any details that reflect who you are. 

Common reasons to change, or modify your birth certificate include your age, your date, or your name. While you may think that things are really complicated since it is a legal document, it’s actually a bit simpler than you think. All you need to do is contact the department of vital records that issued the certificate, and they will give you all the information you need in order to proceed.

Under what circumstances can you change a birth certificate?

Since the birth certificate is a historical record, there are very few circumstances that actually allow you to change it. In most situations, people want to change their name, legally, but all you can do here is apply for a Deed Poll. Even if you are required to show your birth certificate at a later date, you will just provide your Deed Poll as well, and it is the name on the Deed Poll that will override your birth certificate’s name.

When you want to change your, or your child’s name amended in the birth register, you will consequently get a new birth certificate that shows the new, or amended details. In this case, you don’t need a Deed Poll, because it is the new birth certificate that is universally accepted as evidence of the name change. 

The only circumstances that allow for a correction to be made, is when you have wrong information on the certificate. Therefore, the only correction you can make to a name is if it has been spelled, or copied down, wrongly. And even in that situation, you’ll need to be able to prove that the name on the record was wrong, not just what you wanted to call your child at that time.

Are there any limitations to how many changes you can make?

Yes, there are. However, note that they’re all pretty reasonable, and they shouldn’t cause you any issues. For a child that is under 16 years of age, you can record only one change of forename(s) and one change of surname. If there are records of a change of forename(s) in infancy, you may not record any further changes of forename until the child is 16 years old.

When you have a person that’s 16 years old, or over, you can have one change of forename(s), and up to three changes of the surname. Note, however, that you must have at least five years between any successive changes of the surname.

How do you change your name on the birth certificate?

The first thing you’ll want to do is contact the Vital Records office. This is a division of the Department of Health, and they’re responsible for issuing the birth certificate. In most situations, correcting the spelling doesn’t require any kind of court order when you’re changing your child’s name. If you’re an adult changing your name, things are different. The laws may vary in the specific area where you live, so make sure to clarify the entire process before you begin.

When you’re changing your name as an adult, you must file a name change petition with the court. If and when your petition is approved, you can request a new birth certificate through the Vital Records office. Note that this does come with some fees, so be prepared to pay them. Oh, and also keep in mind that if you change your name with a Deed Poll as an adult, you aren’t legally required to change the name on the birth certificate as well.

Wrapping things up

In most situations, changing your name on the birth certificate isn’t really required. It’s only a good idea if your name, or your child’s name, has been spelled wrong, and you’d like to correct it. In most other situations, a Deed Poll is quite sufficient and will get the job done.