Spanish citizens have the right to opt for the change of name and surnames according to the Law 20/2011 of the Civil Registry. Precisely, a procedure of this organism allows the name of those people who request it not to feel identified with it for different reasons or simply by an error in the birth certificate. However, in order to opt for this change, it is mandatory to meet a series of conditions. Here we explain everything you need to carry out this procedure as the documentation you must provide or the requirements that you must meet.
How much the name change process will be extended, it will depend on the Autonomous Community in which we request it and its workload. Approximately the estimated time ranges between one and three months. Although there are times that this time can be extended until six months. This period of time includes from the presentation of the application to the issuance of the new birth certificate with the already modified name.
How and where to request the change of name
The request to change its name is managed through the Civil Registry either face -to -face or by mail, and is completely free. If you want to go face -to -face, the application must be submitted to the Office of the Civil Registry of Birth or Address where the interested person is registered. It is highly recommended that you request an appointment. To get your previous appointment in the Civil Registry, you can do it in this link. On the other hand, in the case of preferring to perform the process telematically, you can always send a certified mail to the postal address of the corresponding Civil Registry.
According to the platform of trusted electronic services enabled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, once the application has been submitted through any of these two channels, a file that must be approved by a judge will be approved. This must ensure that the change presents all legal requirements in order.
If the judge approves the change of name or surname, an edict will be published in the Official State Gazette to notify the modification. This process can suppose a few weeks of waiting, since there is a term in case third parties present possible objections to the name change. However, when this period is fulfilled, the new name in the Civil Registry will be registered as long as there are no objections.
Limitations and requirements to take into account
The interested person, if they are over 16 years old, or their legal representative if it is less, they must take into account that there are some limitations when requesting the change of name. According to The Civil Registry websitethe following modifications are not allowed:
- The maximum allowed in the change of name is two simple names and one compound.
- Any type of name that is contrary to the dignity of the person will be rejected. In addition, those who make identification confusing will not be allowed either. In order to determine whether the identification is confusing, relevance to the correspondence of the name with the sex or sexual identity of the person will not be granted.
- There cannot be two people who have the same name and surname if they are sisters. However, if the family member has died, the name change identical to his may be made.
As for the requirements, the following characteristics must be met to be able to opt for this procedure:
- The already modified name must be another name different from the birth registration.
- The name should not have spelling offenses.
- The name can be a translation of a foreign name or a graphic or phonetic adaptation to the Spanish language.
- The interested person must justify the usual use of the name by which the change is to be made.
What documentation is needed
Within the documentation that you must submit to the Civil Registry, these are the documents that are mandatory for the change of name according to the portal of the Ministry of Justice:
- The interested person must submit the application addressed to the corresponding Civil Registry. It must justify the reason why change is requested.
- A literal certification of the birth registration of the person affected by change is also essential. You can download the birth certificate in this link.
- The documentary evidence that proves compliance with the requirements required in each case for the assumption on which the petition is based, that is, that demonstrate the usual use of the name or any other circumstance by which the request is made.
- To prove the legitimate belonging of the surname, certifications of the birth inscriptions of the ascendants who will hold the surname intended and, in the absence of these, the baptism games.
- If it is intended to adapt the surnames to other Spanish languages, it is necessary to provide a certificate of the academy corresponding to the official language in question.
Change of the order of surnames
If instead of a modification of the name and surnames, you just want to change the name of the latter you can also do it. Most people born in Spain are assigned the surnames of their parents. In the case of heteroparental families, the paternal name will first appear and secondly the maternal. However, for different reasons you can always alternate the order of them.
Depending on the causes for which you want to request the change in order of the surnames, the procedure of this procedure will be different. If the change is through registration file, the processing of a file and the corresponding government authorization is necessary. On the other hand, the change of surnames through a declaration of will of the interested party will be made before the person in charge of the registration. In this case, the interested person must follow the same procedure that has previously been explained for the change of name.
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