Change of name or surnames

In the Civil Registry, it is possible to request a change of name or surnames or the order of them, which is a free procedure and will only require meeting some basic requirements that adhere to the logic of such change.

What is the change of name and/or surnames?

It is a procedure that can be carried out in the Civil Registry, through which a citizen can modify their name, their surnames, or simply change the order of them.

Who can request/present it?

The change of name and/or surnames can be requested by any adult citizen, or by legal representatives in the case of a minor or a person with disabilities.

The change of surnames is carried out, prior to a file instructed by the official of the Civil Registry of the residence of the interested party, and the competence to resolve corresponds to the Minister of Justice and, by delegation, to the General Directorate of Registers and Notaries.

The registration of the change of surnames is done in the Civil Registry where the birth registration, or failing that, from the Civil Registry of the interested party's residence and will be forwarded to the one in the place of birth.

How is it requested/submitted?

The request for change can be made both in person and by mail. In both cases, it is necessary to follow the official forms and procedures.

How is the in-person request for the change of name/surnames made?

Regarding the change of surnames:

Written request stating the reason for the change addressed to the Minister of Justice or the General Director of Registers and Notaries.
Literal certification of the birth registration of the affected person.
Evidence (documentary, public or private, and/or testimonial) to prove in each case the use and knowledge, legitimacy, and line from which the surnames originate, or any other circumstance on which the request is based. To prove the legitimacy of the surname, certifications of the birth registrations of the parents must be provided, and if necessary, of previous ancestors. In the absence of these, if possible, their baptismal certificates.
In the case of adapting surnames to other Spanish languages, certificates from the Royal Academies of the corresponding official languages.

Regarding the change of the order of surnames:

Request addressed to the Judge in charge of the corresponding Civil Registry, providing certification of the marriage of the parents, and if it does not exist, certification of their birth.
Declaration of mutual agreement of the parents regarding the inversion of the order of the child's surnames.
If the order change is requested by the adult child, they must provide, along with the request, the certificate of their birth registration.

Regarding the change of name:

Request addressed to the Judge in charge of the corresponding Civil Registry, providing certification of the marriage of the parents, and if it does not exist, certification of their birth.
Declaration of mutual agreement of the parents regarding the inversion of the order of the child's surnames.
If the order change is requested by the adult child, they must provide, along with the request, the certificate of their birth registration.

Where to submit it:

A) Regarding the change of surnames:

In the Civil Registry of the applicant's residence.

B) Regarding the change of the order of surnames:

In the Civil Registry of the residence of any of the interested parties.

C) Regarding the change of name:

In the Civil Registry of birth or in that of the residence.

How is the request for the change of name/surnames made by mail?

Regarding the change of surnames:

Written request stating the reason for the change addressed to the Minister of Justice or the General Director of Registers and Notaries.
Literal certification of the birth registration of the affected person.
Evidence (documentary, public or private, and/or testimonial) to prove in each case the use and knowledge, legitimacy, and line from which the surnames originate, or any other circumstance on which the request is based. To prove the legitimacy of the surname, certifications of the birth registrations of the parents must be provided, and if necessary, of previous ancestors. In the absence of these, if possible, their baptismal certificates.
In the case of adapting surnames to other Spanish languages, certificates from the Royal Academies of the corresponding official languages.

Regarding the change of the order of surnames:

Request addressed to the Judge in charge of the corresponding Civil Registry, providing certification of the marriage of the parents, and if it does not exist, certification of their birth.
Declaration of mutual agreement of the parents regarding the inversion of the order of the child's surnames.
If the order change is requested by the adult child, they must provide, along with the request, the certificate of their birth registration.

Regarding the change of name:

Request addressed, as applicable, to the Civil Registry or to the Minister of Justice or the General Director of Registers and Notaries. It is advisable to address it to the Civil Registry when it concerns changing the registered name to the one that is habitually used.
Literal certification of the birth registration of the affected person.
Documentary evidence that proves, as applicable, the habitual use of the name proposed or any other circumstance on which the request is based.
In general, since there are several scenarios, it is advisable to provide baptismal certificates, propose witnesses, as well as the corresponding certificates from the Royal Academies of the respective Spanish official languages for cases of substitution of the name for its onomastic equivalent in those languages.

Where to submit it:

It can be sent by mail, suitably certified, to the corresponding Civil Registry.

Change of name

Almost any name can be chosen, including those that were formerly only family nicknames such as Pepe, Manolo, Lola, Concha, Quique… all of them can be registered as proper names in the Civil Registry. Only names that violate any prohibition established by law will be rejected.

What are the limitations on changing a name?

No more than two simple names or one compound name can be given. If it is a compound name, the two names will be joined by a hyphen.
The name cannot be offensive or harmful to the person, so it is not possible to register names that, by themselves or in combination with the surnames, are humiliating, derogatory, dishonorable, etc.
Names that may create confusion in identification (for example, a surname turned into a name) or those that together may mislead about sex are not allowed.
A sibling cannot be registered with the same name as another living sibling.

Changes of name upon obtaining Spanish nationality?

In the birth registration the name that appears on the foreign certificate must be recorded, except in cases where it can be proven that a different name is used habitually. If the name registered on the foreign certificate, as well as the one habitually used, are included in any of the limitations established by law for the registration of the name, it must be replaced according to Spanish regulations, which can be chosen by the interested party or their legal representative and, ultimately, one that would be imposed ex officio.

In the event that the name is in a writing system different from ours (Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, etc.), it will be recorded through its transcription or transliteration, trying to achieve a graphic and phonetic adaptation as similar as possible. This writing adaptation can also be made for names written with Latin characters, at the request of the interested party, if it facilitates their writing or phonetics.

Requirements for changing one's name:

It is possible to change one's name:

When requested by the interested party for using a name commonly different from the one recorded at birth or for another just cause.
When the name was initially registered with some infringement of the established rules.
When it directly concerns the translation of a foreign name.
When it concerns the translation or graphic or phonetic adaptation to Spanish languages.
When the registered mention of the citizen's sex is corrected.

On the other hand, insignificant changes in names will not be accepted, such as: Esther for Ester, Débora for Deborah, Cristina for Kristina… as these requests are not considered to be for a just cause. Only a change of this kind would be admissible when the purpose is to correct a spelling error in the name due to a mistake in its original registration.

Common requirements for all name changes:

There must be just cause and no harm caused to third parties.

The name change is carried out, prior to a file, by the official of the Civil Registry of the interested party's residence.

If the reason for the change is due to the common use of a name different from the registered one and habitual use is not proven, the competence lies with the Minister of Justice and, by delegation, with the General Directorate of Registers and Notaries.

The registration of the name change is done in the Civil Registry where it is recorded, birth registration, although it can be requested from the Civil Registry of the interested party's residence to be forwarded to the Civil Registry of the place of birth.

Change of surnames

Change in the order of surnames

The system for imposing surnames dictates that a person must carry the father's first surname as the first surname and the mother's first surname as the second.

This rule can be modified if there is mutual agreement between the parents, and (before the registration of the birth) they decide to reverse the order of the surnames so that the first surname of the mother is registered as first, and the first surname of the father as second. The agreed order for the oldest child must also be followed in the registrations of the subsequent children of the same parents. Independently, once the child reaches the age of majority, they may also request the order of their surnames.

Orthographic regularization in surnames

Surnames can be modified by order of the Judge in charge of the Civil Registry if the registered surnames do not conform to the phonetics and/or grammar of the Spanish language.

Requirements for changing surnames

To authorize such a change, it must be proven:

That the citizen wishing to make the change uses and is known by the surname being requested. This use and knowledge must be real and not created intentionally to achieve the change.
That the new surnames desired legitimately belong to the interested party.
That the desired surnames belong to both lines of parents, one from the paternal side and one from the maternal side.

The previous requirements are general, but there are specific cases stated in the regulations of the Civil Registry where these requirements are not required:

In the case of citizens of the European Union, the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union applies (Judgment of the CJEU of October 2, 2003 – García Abello and Judgment of the CJEU of October 14, 2008 – Grunkin Paul).

It is not necessary to fulfill the first requirement when it comes to a surname that is contrary to decorum or could cause serious inconveniences, or when there is a clear risk that a Spanish surname might disappear at the national level (it is not relevant if the surname is lost within a family).

It is not necessary to meet these requirements if exceptional circumstances occur, in this case if there is a special procedure.

It would also not be necessary to provide the general requirements if the applicant for the change has obtained some type of precautionary judicial protection measure, has been a victim of gender violence, or in urgent situations that require it.