How to Legally Change Your Name in British Columbia

In British Columbia, you legally change your name through the Vital Statistics Agency under the Name Act, provided you have reached BC's age of majority (19) or apply as a parent, and have lived in BC for at least three months immediately before applying.

Name Changes Under BC's Name Act

British Columbia's legal name change process runs under the Name Act, RSBC 1996, c. 328, administered by the Vital Statistics Agency (VSA), part of the Ministry of Health. The Act covers changing a first, middle, or last name for yourself or, in the right circumstances, for a minor child in your care.

The Act also carves several situations out of its own process entirely, so you never file a Name Act application for them: a spouse assuming the other spouse's surname, a name change made through an Adoption Act order, a name shown on a citizenship or naturalization certificate, a correction made under the Vital Statistics Act such as fixing a birth record, and a court-ordered name change tied to a divorce or annulment. Each of those follows its own separate rule, and the marriage-surname and divorce rules are covered in detail below.

Who Can Apply, and BC's Three-Month Residency Rule

To apply on your own behalf, you must have reached BC's age of majority, 19, and have been domiciled in BC, or resident in BC, for at least three months immediately before you apply. The ministry can waive the residency requirement if it decides doing so is in the public interest, but that is a discretionary exception, not something to plan around.

A parent with guardianship or custody of a child can apply to change that child's name even if the parent is themselves under 19. A parent under 19 who has custody of their own child can also apply for their own name change, or their child's, without needing their own parent's consent.

Changing a child's name (18 or younger) needs the consent of every other parent listed on the birth record or immigration documents, plus any court-named guardian, and also the applicant's spouse's consent if the child is taking a stepparent's surname. A child 12 or older must personally consent to their own name change and provide a short handwritten, signed letter explaining why. Consent can be waived, with the registrar general's approval, if a required party has died, cannot be located after a diligent search, is mentally unable to consent, is unreasonably withholding consent, or in exceptional circumstances such as safety concerns.

The Name Act also bars certain people from changing their own name: anyone convicted of an offence prescribed by regulation, anyone found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder for such an offence, and anyone designated a dangerous offender or long-term offender under the Criminal Code, subject to a youth-justice exception.

How the Application Process Works

1. Complete the application form: the Adult Application for Change of Name, or the combined form if a child's name is changing in the same application. Print in black or blue ink and avoid white-out corrections.
2. Gather your documents: proof of birth or status (an original Canadian birth certificate, or certified immigration or citizenship documents if you were born outside Canada); proof of BC residency such as a valid BC driver's licence, BCID, or BC Services Card, plus a recent utility bill or government correspondence if your ID does not show your current address; and your criminal record check receipt, described below.
3. Include payment for the application fee, described below.
4. Submit your application in person at a designated Service BC location (Surrey and Vancouver Service BC locations do not accept name change applications), or by mail to the Vital Statistics Agency in Victoria.
5. Wait for processing, which the agency states takes about 24 weeks once it receives a complete application.
6. After approval, you receive a Change of Name Certificate by mail. Your BC birth and current BC marriage records are updated automatically, but any original certificates you submitted are not returned; replacement certificates must be ordered separately.

Changing a child's name follows the same general shape, with a parallel application form, a child's own birth certificate (or a $27 BC birth-search fee if it is unavailable), the required consents described above, and, for a child 12 to 18, the child's own criminal record check and handwritten letter.

Fees and Processing Times

As BC's Vital Statistics Agency states on its own fee pages, current costs and timelines are:

The criminal record check itself is a separate cost the agency does not set or standardize; you pay the police agency or CRC provider directly, and fees vary. Having a signature witnessed is also not included in the application fee, though it is free at a Service BC office when you submit in person.

BC's Vital Statistics Agency also references fee waivers for residential-school survivors and their families, people affected by the Sixties Scoop, and people reclaiming an Indigenous name. The exact eligibility rules for each waiver sit on a separate page this article does not cover in detail; contact the Vital Statistics Agency directly if one of these may apply to you.

Criminal Record Check and Fingerprinting

Everyone 12 or older whose name is changing needs a criminal record check (CRC) completed with electronic fingerprints, dated within 30 days before the Vital Statistics Agency receives the application. You book this yourself through your local RCMP detachment, a police department, or an accredited CRC agency; results go directly to the agency rather than to you, so you include only the payment receipt with your application. If the person whose name is changing is under 12 on the date 30 days before filing, the CRC requirement does not apply.

Marriage and Divorce: Using a Surname vs. Legally Changing It

BC treats using a different surname after marriage or divorce very differently from a legal name change, and the two should not be confused.

Using a surname needs no legal process. After marriage or divorce, you can use, without applying for anything: your spouse's surname, your birth surname, a surname from a previous marriage, or a combination of your birth and married surnames in either order, hyphenated or spaced. This is called assuming a surname, and it does not change the name on your birth record; you can switch back to your birth surname at any time. A married person under 19 who wants to use a surname from their marriage can also assume it without a legal name change. To update ID under an assumed name, you show linking documents connecting your birth name to your current name, most often your official registered marriage certificate. BC's own guidance is explicit that the Statement of Marriage signed at the ceremony is not valid ID for this purpose; you need the certificate issued afterward.

When you do need a legal name change. The usage right above only covers using a full existing surname tied to marriage. You need a formal Name Act application if you want a genuinely new last name not linked by marriage, want to change a first or middle name, want to use only part of a surname, want to move a surname into the first- or middle-name position, want the change reflected on your underlying Canadian birth record, or simply want the change formally registered as a legal event rather than just used day to day.

Divorce through the Supreme Court. Separately from the no-process usage right, a former spouse can ask the BC Supreme Court to order a name change to the name they want, at the time of or after a divorce or nullity judgment. This route can also cover minor children of the marriage, with the other parent's written consent. It is a distinct path from both the ordinary Vital Statistics Agency application and the simple right to resume a birth surname.

Publication and Privacy

Under the current Name Act, the registrar general must publish a person's new and former names, date of birth, municipality of residence, and the date the certificate took effect, but the Act gives the registrar general broad control over how that happens. Publication may take any form "accessible to qualified applicants," which can include electronic publication, and it is not required to be a public database or public notice. Publication is skipped entirely if the change is solely to give a minor the applicant's own surname, or if the registrar general decides publication is not in the public interest.

In practical terms, this means BC's current law does not put your name change in a public Gazette. Records connected to your application also stay confidential except to you, a government officer, someone the minister authorizes in writing, or under a Supreme Court order. If the registrar general withholds publication because it is not in the public interest, they can also refuse to issue a search certificate or share information about the change with someone else who asks. If you have a specific safety concern, such as fleeing violence, raise it directly with the Vital Statistics Agency as part of your application.

After Your Name Is Changed

Once the Vital Statistics Agency registers your name change, your BC birth and current BC marriage records are updated automatically, through what the Act calls a marginal notation on the original record. A later certificate of that birth or marriage is then issued in your changed name. The agency does not automatically return or replace the certificates you submitted; if you need updated documents, you order and pay for them separately.

If you were not born in BC, the Name Act only reaches BC-held birth and marriage records, so you are responsible for separately updating your birth record with your birth jurisdiction. Either way, you are responsible for updating your BC driver's licence, BCID, or BC Services Card through ICBC, your passport through Passport Canada, your CRA and Social Insurance Number records, and your bank, insurance, school, employer, and medical records.

Whether a BC name change is automatically recognized in another province, or needs a separate process there, is not something BC's own published guidance addresses directly. If you are moving to, or already live in, another province, check with that province's vital statistics office. For how other provinces handle name changes, see name changes across Canada and the Canadian family law hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old do I need to be to change my name in British Columbia?

You must be 19, BC's age of majority, to apply on your own behalf. A parent with guardianship or custody of a child can apply to change that child's name, or their own, even if the parent is under 19.

How long do I need to have lived in BC before applying?

You must have been domiciled or resident in BC for at least three months immediately before applying. The ministry can waive this requirement if it decides that is in the public interest.

Do I need fingerprints to change my name in BC?

Yes, if you are 12 or older. You need a criminal record check completed with electronic fingerprints, dated within 30 days before the Vital Statistics Agency receives your application. Applicants under 12 are exempt.

How much does a BC name change cost?

The adult application fee is $137, plus $27 for each additional dependent child on the same application and $27 for each BC birth or marriage record search you need. The criminal record check itself costs extra and varies by provider.

How long does a BC name change take to process?

BC's Vital Statistics Agency states processing takes about 24 weeks once it receives a complete application. This is a current estimate that can shift, so confirm it before applying.

Do I need a legal name change to take my spouse's surname after marriage?

No. You can assume your spouse's surname, your birth surname, or a combination of the two without a legal name change, using your marriage certificate to update ID. This does not change your underlying birth record.

Will my BC name change be made public?

Current BC law does not require publication in a public Gazette. The registrar general can disclose a change only to "qualified applicants" in a form they choose, and can withhold publication entirely if it decides that is not in the public interest.