Who May Apply:

The applicant must be:

• 19 (nineteen) years of age or over and;
• either born in the province of Nova Scotia, OR have resided in the province of Nova Scotia for at least one year immediately before the change of name application.

An applicant may be a person changing their own name, spouse's name or, a parent making application to change their minor child's name (under the age of 19).

Applicants are required to publish a notice of intention to change a surname. The advertisement must appear in one issue of the Nova Scotia Royal Gazette. The advertisements must be published within one year prior to the date of the application.

Applications must be accompanied by the required fee.

• Change of Name (one person): $133.00 (no tax charged). This fee includes one change of name certificate showing all name changes.
• Each additional change: $20.00 (no tax charged), such as marriage registration, spouse's name, children's names.
• Notice of intention to change surname: $24.15 payable to the Department of Justice.

Applicants must provide:

• A birth certificate for each person whose name is to be changed if born outside Nova Scotia.
• Immigration documents if born outside Canada (Record of Landing)
• Marriage certificate if the marriage occurred elsewhere in Canada (not in Nova Scotia). The certificate must have been issued by the provincial or territorial Vital Statistics office.
• Detailed birth certificates showing parentage for minor children born outside Nova Scotia.
• All birth certificates issued prior to the change of name

Documents in other languages will need an official translation.

The completion of a consent form is usually required by the other parent when a child's name is changing.

In the absence of a required consent, the applicant must supply an Order of the Court, dispensing with the consent.

The completion of a consent form is usually required  when a married person is changing their surname and consent of their spouse is required.

In the absence of the required consent, the applicant must supply an Order of the Court, dispensing with the consent.

2 (two) weeks, provided all forms are completed properly and all the items (including fees) that must accompany the application have been received.

Application forms can be picked up and dropped off at the following address:

Vital Statistics Office
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Joseph Howe Building, Ground Floor
1690 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS B3J 2M9

Or contact us by mail:

Vital Statistics
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
P.O. Box 157
Halifax, NS B3J 2M9
Tel: (902) 424-4381
Fax: (902) 424-0678
Toll Free Within Nova Scotia: 1-877-848-2578

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (except Holidays)

If the person changing their name was either born or married elsewhere in Canada, the notification of the name change is also sent to the Province/Territories of their birth or marriage and the applicant should apply there for a new certificate.