Namensänderung

If you wish to change your surname and/or first name outside the regulations of civil law (e.g. not in the case of marriage or divorce), you must apply for this change of name under public law.

Please note:

• Name changes can only be carried out for Germans within the meaning of the Basic Law, stateless persons, homeless foreigners, foreign refugees or persons entitled to asylum.
• Only important reasons justify the change of name. The reasons must therefore be explained in detail in the application.
• For a person with limited legal capacity, the legal representative (father, mother, guardian, custodian) submits the application; a guardian requires the approval of the family court, a custodian the care court. A person with limited legal capacity who has reached the age of 16 must be heard on the application by the family or guardianship court. The court's approval and proof of the result of the court hearing of the applicant must be attached to the application.
• The application must contain a statement as to whether a change of name has been applied for previously, if so, when and with which authority.
• The applicant must also declare that he/she is aware that the change of name or the rejection or withdrawal of the application is subject to a fee.

Please seek advice from the authorities when completing the application if anything is unclear.

• Proof that the applicant is either German within the meaning of the Basic Law or stateless, homeless foreigner, foreign refugee, asylum seeker (e.g. citizenship card, passport, travel document, identity card, child ID card)
• late repatriate certificate or expellee identity card (for late repatriates and expellees)
• a certified copy of the birth entry for the applicant and for all persons to whom the change of surname is to apply; the documents must be recent
• if the applicant is or was married, the marriage certificate
• In the case of a change of name for family law reasons, the birth and marriage certificates of the family members whose name the applicant wishes to adopt must also be submitted
• for persons who have reached the age of fourteen, a certificate of good conduct in accordance with the Federal Central Register Act (to be applied for at the responsible registration authority; the certificate of good conduct will be sent directly to the name change authority by the issuing authority)

Please note:

The documents should always be submitted in the original. All application documents remain with the authority. The original documents submitted will be returned to you once the copies have been certified.

In individual cases, further documents and evidence may be required to process the application. You can obtain information on this from the relevant name change authority.

The amount of the fee depends on the administrative effort and the significance, economic value or other benefit of the official act for the applicant.

The application is submitted to the name change authority; this is the municipal administration of the municipality not belonging to an association, the association municipality administration and, in cities not belonging to a district or a large district, the city administration.