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People change their surname or first name for very different reasons: one person returns to a family surname after a divorce, another brings the spelling into line with their children’s documents, someone else gives up a name they never used, and another adapts a surname to the country where they now live. The procedure looks simple only at first glance: the law sets an age, a list of documents, a review period and several grounds on which a change of name will be refused. Let us look at how this works through DRATS, how the situation becomes more complicated for those who are abroad, and what you will have to do with your documents once the name has already been changed.
Key points
The most common confusion looks like this: a person says “I want to change my surname”, but in fact means one of three different procedures.
The difference is not a formality. The documents, the timeframe and even whether you can act remotely all depend on which procedure it is. If you are not sure which category your situation falls into, sort this out before filing the application: a mistake at this step costs several months.
| Age | Who initiates it | What else is required |
|---|---|---|
| From 16 years | The person themselves | No one’s consent is required |
| From 14 to 16 years | The person themselves | Consent of the parents or of the custodian |
| Under 14 years | The parents | A decision of the guardianship authority, and from the age of 7 also the written consent of the child |
In other words, under the age of 14 this is not a “change of name” in the sense of the general procedure, but a change of the child’s surname by their parents. There is a separate section on it below.
In Ukraine. The application is filed with the office of state registration of civil status acts. Under martial law a simplification applies: you may approach any office regardless of your declared place of residence. This is especially important for internally displaced persons and for those whose city is under occupation or in a combat zone.
Abroad. Citizens of Ukraine who permanently reside outside the state file the application with the diplomatic mission or consular post of Ukraine where they are on the consular register. The materials are sent to Ukraine for checks, so the overall timeframe here is longer than inside the country.
In person, not by power of attorney. This is the main difference between a change of name and most other DRATS services. A duplicate certificate or an extract from the register can perfectly well be obtained by a representative under a notarised power of attorney, but an application for a change of name is filed by the applicant in person, on presentation of a passport. So you will not be able to change your name remotely, staying abroad and not approaching a consulate.
| Document | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Passport of a citizen of Ukraine | Confirms the identity of the applicant and citizenship |
| Birth certificate | The basic document on the civil status record that is being changed |
| Marriage certificate or certificate of dissolution of marriage | Explains the current surname and marital status |
| Birth certificates of children | If there are minor children whose documents will also be affected |
| Certificates of previous changes of name | If the name has already been changed before |
| Photograph | Attached to the application |
| Document confirming payment of the state duty | The amounts of the payments and the exemptions are reviewed from time to time, please confirm at the time of your inquiry |
This is where the most frequent practical problem arises: one of the certificates is not at hand. It has been lost, has stayed behind in an occupied city or has been damaged. In that case the document is restored first, and only then is the application for a change of name filed. We have described how to do this separately: duplicate birth certificate and duplicate marriage certificate.
| Stage | Approximate timeframe |
|---|---|
| Review of the application in Ukraine | Up to three months from the day of filing |
| Extension of the period where there are valid reasons | Up to another three months |
| Review of an application filed through a consular post | Longer, expect a period of up to six months |
| Applying for registration after the permission has been granted | Within three months, otherwise the permission loses force |
| Exchange of the passport after registration of the change of name | Within one month |
Pay attention to the penultimate row. People often receive a positive decision, put off the visit to DRATS “until later” and come back six months on. By that time the permission is no longer valid, and the procedure has to be gone through from the beginning.
The grounds for refusing a change of name are set out directly in the legislation. The main ones are:
What to do after a refusal depends on the ground. If it is a matter of a criminal record, you usually have to wait for it to become spent or to be expunged. If it is a matter of information found to be false, or of formal shortcomings, the decision can be appealed or the application can be filed again with a corrected set of documents. In disputed cases the refusal is challenged in court.
For children under 14 there is a separate procedure, and more often than not it becomes the subject of conflict between the parents.
In practice it is the last point that most often calls for supporting documents: a court decision, a death certificate, an extract from the register. If one of them is missing, preparation for approaching the guardianship authority begins precisely with it.
The certificate of change of name does not by itself re-issue anything. A whole series of steps follows, and for some of them the law sets deadlines.
| Document | What has to be done |
|---|---|
| Passport of a citizen of Ukraine | Exchange within one month. A note on the need for exchange is entered in the old passport. |
| Registration number of the taxpayer record card | The data are updated at the tax office. |
| Foreign travel passport | Issued after the new internal passport has been received. |
| Driving licence | Exchanged within a short period after the new passport has been received. |
| Banks, insurers, sole proprietorship, place of work | The data are updated on application, individual documents are not re-issued but are supplemented with an entry. |
| Education documents | Not changed. The link between the old and the new surname is confirmed by the certificate of change of name. |
For those who are abroad one more step is added: the certificate of change of name has to be legalised for the foreign institution. For countries of the Hague Convention this means an apostille, then a sworn translation in the format that the particular country requires. We have gone through the details in the article on apostille on DRATS documents.
Situation one: not a change of name but a correction of the record. A woman comes to us to “change her surname” because in the Ukrainian certificate it is written one way and in the passport another. In fact this is not about a change of name but about a discrepancy in the civil status record, and it is resolved by a different procedure, often faster and more cheaply. Exactly how is described here: error in the civil status record.
Situation two: transliteration in the foreign travel passport. A person is not happy with the Latin spelling of their surname and plans to change their name. But transliteration is a question of issuing the foreign travel passport, not of the civil status record. Changing the surname entirely for the sake of a different Latin spelling is usually not necessary.
Situation three: the name has been changed, but the documents abroad have stayed the old ones. A Ukrainian woman changed her surname in Ukraine, while her residence permit, her bank and her child’s school abroad are made out in the old one. The foreign institution does not simply accept the new certificate: it needs a document that links the old and the new name, with an apostille and a translation. This is the most frequent reason why people come to us once the procedure has already been completed.
No one will file the application for you, it is a personal application. But around it there is a full body of work that can perfectly well be delegated:
If you are abroad and do not know where to start, take a look at how our service is arranged: turnkey restoration of DRATS documents and apostille.
No. An application for a change of name is filed by the applicant in person, on presentation of a passport. A power of attorney does not replace applying in person here. Accompanying documents, however, in particular duplicate certificates and extracts from the register, can be obtained by a representative under a power of attorney.
The procedure covers changing the surname, the own first name and the patronymic. At the same time the grounds and the procedure for the patronymic have their own particularities, in particular where a change of the father’s name is concerned. It is worth checking your specific situation before filing the application.
The legislation sets no limit on the number of times. But each further change complicates the chain of documents: you have to keep all the previous certificates of change of name, because it is precisely they that confirm the link between the records from different periods of life.
Not automatically. A child’s surname is changed under a separate procedure, with the participation of the guardianship authority, and from the age of seven also with the written consent of the child themselves.
Restore the document first. If the civil status record is in the State Register, a repeat certificate or an extract is issued at any DRATS office, including on the application of a representative. If there is no record in the register, it is reinstated, and where there is no archive the fact is established through a court.
Yes, they do not become invalid. But almost always they have to be accompanied by the certificate of change of name, which proves that the person in the old and in the new document is one and the same. For foreign institutions an apostille and a translation are added to this.
Yes, through a diplomatic mission or consular post of Ukraine where you are on the consular register. Coming to Ukraine is not obligatory, but you will have to approach the consulate in person, and the review period will be longer than when filing inside the country.
Disclaimer: this material is for information purposes and does not replace legal advice. The procedure, the list of documents and the amounts of state payments change from time to time, so please confirm the current requirements at the time of your inquiry.
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