How to Change your Name in New Zealand

People often wish to adopt a new name, whether to signal a change in marital, religious or cultural identity or merely to change the name they were given after birth. Like other developed civil societies, New Zealand has certain laws governing a change of name and here is a brief outline of the process.

Eligibility for changing your name

To register a name change in New Zealand on or after 25 January 2009, the person whose name is being changed should have his/her birth registered in New Zealand or must be a New Zealand citizen or entitled, under the Immigration Act 1987, to be in New Zealand indefinitely.

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In New Zealand, the Department of Internal Affairs has a section known as Births, Deaths and Marriages which maintains records of all the births, deaths and marriages that take place in the country. If you wish to take on a new name here, you need to go through this section since it is responsible for the registration of all official name changes that take place in New Zealand as well as for the upkeep of, and access to those records.

Till September 1995, people in New Zealand had to change their name by executing a Deed Poll, similar to the system in UK. Since September 1995, however, New Zealand has simplified the process so that now its citizens can change their names officially by making a Statutory Declaration on a Name Change form. A Statutory Declaration is an officially witnessed and signed statement used to allow a person to affirm something to be true for the purposes of satisfying some legal requirement or regulation when no other evidence is available. In this sense it is similar to an affidavit but unlike the latter it is not sworn under oath.

Forms for changing your name

The details of the change of name form and required fee depends on the particular situation of the applicant. If you are aged 18 years and over, you need to fill out the BDM 120 form and pay a fee of NZ$127.70. If you are aged under 18 years and are, or have been married, in a civil union or de facto relationship, you need to complete the BDM 120 and pay NZ$127.70. If you are under 18 years and have never been married, in a civil union or de facto relationship, the form for you is the BDM 122 and the relevant fees are NZ$127.70. For kids less than two years of age, the required form for name change would be BDM 36 and the accompanying fees would be NZ$51.10. All these requirements are for persons whose births have already been registered in New Zealand.

However it is possible that you were born overseas and moved to New Zealand later. In that case your birth has not been registered in New Zealand and consequently a change of name would require different forms. If you are under 18 years of age and have never been married, in a civil union or de facto relationship, you need to fill out BDM 122 form. If you are over eighteen years of age or under 18 years and are, or have been, married, in a civil union or de facto relationship, the form would be BDM 120. In all three cases, the required fees would be NZ$127.70.

Complete information on the details of which form to apply for and how much to pay for name change is available at the page of Births, Deaths, Marriages page of Department of Internal Affairs website¹.

Documentation for name change

The documentation that is required to be sent with an application for a name change depends on the form that is being completed. For name change by Statutory Declaration according to form BDM 120 and in case your birth is registered in New Zealand, you do not need to attach any supporting documents to this application. If your birth is registered outside of New Zealand, you must provide a certified true copy or an original of one or more documents providing evidence of the date and place of your birth, and of your status as a New Zealand citizen or person who is entitled, under the Immigration Act 1987, to be in New Zealand indefinitely. You may also have to include an official English translation of any document that is not in the English language. The list of documents which are acceptable for evidence of this purpose in available on the official website ².

After you downloaded the form to your computer from the official website, you can print it, then complete it using a pen and return the form to Births, Deaths and Marriages. Check that you print and submit all pages of application forms obtained from the website. The Births, Deaths and Marriages section of Department of Internal Affairs does not accept payment of fees by cash through mail. In order to submit the fees for your name change, you can pay by credit cards like  Visa, MasterCard, American Express or through Cheque, Bank Draft, New Zealand Post Money Orders, EFTPOS, Prezzy Card or even cash if you visit one of their offices.

When you have changed your name Births, Deaths and Marriages provides a process where you can obtain an official document establishing your new name. You can apply to have any of these documents when you apply for your name change, or they can be obtained later. If a birth certificate or change of name certificate is required once the change of name request has been processed, the additional fee for this document must be included with the name change form and fee. The name change fees also vary according to the product or service. If you wish for a recording of name change on marriage or civil union registration, you need to pay NZ$46.00 whereas for a copy of the name change certificate you have to pay NZ$26.50. A Copy of name change statutory declaration would be available for NZ$20.40 while for a copy of deed poll executed before 1 September 1995, you will have to pay NZ$20.40.

Reference:

1. The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs - Forms, Fees and Information Brochures
    
2. The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs - Changing a Name