From this Friday, July 1, 2022, changing your surname has never been easier. Now it only takes a few minutes to do so at the town hall. We will explain everything to you.
[Mis à jour le 1er juillet 2022 à 17h36] What if we told you that you could now change surname in a few minutes ? We are sure that it might interest you (20% of French people are according to Ifop). Since this Friday, July 1, all French people over the age of 18 can change their name more easily. In addition, this process is completely free. So if you want change name, all you have to do is go to the town hall of your birth, with your identity document, and complete a form that you can find on the following link: https://www.formulaires.service-public.fr/ gf/cerfa_16229.do. Keep in mind that this change is offered to you only once. Once the request has been filed at the town hall, you have one month to withdraw.
Change of name, okay, but what can I choose instead? Because yes, if the modification of the change of name has been simplified, it is not however possible to do anything, as reminded by the entourage of the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupont-Moretti, in the columns of the Parisian, Friday July 1: “Attention! You will have to ask for the addition of the name of your mother, your father or else join the two, in the desired order. If, for example, you intend to adopt a name other than that of your parents, if you have an immigrant background and wish to Frenchify your name, the new law will not apply.” The simplest case is to replace your existing name with that of your other parent. In addition, you can also add your other parent’s name to form a compound name. Finally, if you already have a compound name, you can reverse the order of your surnames.
On RTL, the LREM deputy who carried the measure, Patrick Vignal, welcomed this development: “We do not always pass laws that are useful to everyone, but this one shortens the suffering that no one therapy cannot cure. It costs nothing. I also realized that there were people who wanted to honor their mothers, and others who had experienced horrific violence who wanted to change.” Indeed, it is a real change that is operated with this law. previously, the process took an average of 6 years, cost money and was mostly refuted. Only 44% of requests were accepted.
To change your name, it’s very simple, just go to your birth town hall to fill out a form. It takes ten minutes on average. You can then choose to replace your family name with that of your other parent, or decide to join them together, or finally change the order of your first names. This step can only be done once. You will therefore have one month to withdraw and you will have to confirm your change of name at the end of this period.
All French people over the age of 18 can change their name. However, you have to be sure of your choice. You will only be offered to change your surname once for free. Moreover, you will have one month to retract. However, the measure may concern children, all the same. Indeed, if the name on the identity papers does not change, it is possible to modify the usual one. For children from 0 to 13 years old, a parent can add his last name to that of the other parent. From the age of 13, the teenager concerned must give his consent in writing to change his name. Thus, brothers and sisters could have different names.