Difference between revisions of "How Do I Change My Name after Marriage or Divorce?"

The provincial Ministry of Health's [http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca Vital Statistics Agency] is the government organization that keeps track of people's births, their deaths, their wills, and their names. Under s. 3(1) of the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84fk Vital Statistics Act]'', one or both of the parents must file a [http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/forms/vsa404w_fill.pdf Registration of Live Birth] with the agency within 30 days of the birth of a child. This form must be completed before the child's birth certificate can be issued.

The form must state, among other things: the name of the mother; the name of the father (if known and acknowledged); the gender of the child; the date of birth; and, the name given to the child. Under s. 4 of the act, the child's surname can be:

A 2003 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1g6ph Trociuk v. British Columbia]'', 2003 1 S.C.R. 835, held that fathers should have a say in their children's names, contrary to the provisions of the ''Vital Statistics Act'' in force at the time. This decision also affects the right of unacknowledged fathers to be listed on their children's birth certificates. On June 4, 2004, the act was amended to comply with the court's decision, and s. 4.1 of the ''Vital Statistics Act'' now allows the courts of British Columbia to make an order changing a child's surname when it makes a declaration of paternity.

Now, while you're free to name your child as you wish, there are some limits. You've probably heard of Dweezel and Moon Unit Zappa, and you probably know people named Sunshine and Starlight. Under s. 9 of the ''Act'', the agency's chief executive officer has the authority to refuse to register the birth — and consequently to refuse to issue a birth certificate — for children whose names the chief executive officer believes:

On marriage, s. 3 of the ''Name Act'' allows a spouse to: