Changing Your Name Through
Marriage
In Australia there are two ways of changing your name
- change of name by marriage, where either one of
the marrying couple can change his/her surname to
the other's. All couples can combine the two names
in various ways, with or without a hyphen.
- legal name change
Before the Marriage Act was changed to allow same sex
couples to marry, the only option available to such
couples was a legal name change, which retrospectively
changes one's surname on one's birth record.
Change of name through marriage does not effect a
legal name change, so it is relatively easy to do, and
pretty much cost free.
If you decide not to change
your name
- You will not need to present any documentation to
keep using the name you used before marriage
- you may be required to present a certified copy of
a marriage certificate issued by an Australian
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry to change your
conjugal status in government and other records from
never validly married, divorced or widowed to
married.
If one of you wishes to change
his/her surname to that of the other
- You will need to obtain an official certified
marriage certificate from the Registry of Births,
Deaths and Marriages in the State in which the
marriage took place
- Many institutions/organisations will accept
a photocopy, certified by a JP or other official,
of the official marriage certificate obtained
from an Australian Births, Deaths and Marriages
Registry, as proof.
- The certificate presented to you on your wedding
day (referred to by Centrelink and other agencies as
the Celebrant or Church-issued certificate) will
generally not
be accepted by many institutions/organisations as it
provides no proof that the marriage has been
registered.
Using a combination or
hyphenated surname upon marrying
If either of you
wants to adopt a combination of both of your
surnames, advice provided by different government
entities is conflicting. According to the Passport
Office, however, no legal name change is required so
perhaps the best option is to change passports first
in order to obtain photo ID in your new name.
Choosing an entirely new name
Did you know
that you can decide to mark the new chapter in
your lives by choosing an entirely new surname
for both of you? I've had one couple who both
changed their surnames to the name of the street
on which they met - luckily it was a perfectly
solid surname-like sounding name. I wouldn't be
too sure about a name like Scenic or Riverfront!
If you decide to go along that route (bad pun)
then you will have to do a legal name change
with Births, Deaths, and Marriages in the state
in which you were born - for which a fee is
charged. If you were born outside of Australia
then you have to have lived here for a certain
period of time (in Queensland it is 12 months)
before you can apply.
What if you got married
outside of Australia?
If married in
another country, your marriage will not be
registered in Australia and there is no
provision to do so. Most institutions
will require an official change of
name. However, Queensland Transport will
accept, as proof of change of name upon
marriage, an official overseas Marriage
Certificate if you also present a
category A document already in the married
name or two category B documents in the
married name. The overseas Marriage
Certificate must show an official crest and be
appropriately registered.
Applying for an official
marriage certificate
Proof of
Identity documentation required when you apply
for an official certificate is at a higher level
than the documentation required to get married.
However, (in Queensland) if you give your
application to your celebrant to attach to the
marriage papers, and the celebrant endorses the
application, you do not have to send copies of
ID documentation I am happy to include
your application for your marriage certificate
together with your bank cheque, money order, or
credit card authorisation.
Please be aware that payment of a priority fee
only guarantees priority treatment of already
registered marriages, and there can be a delay
of a number of weeks between submission of the
marriage papers by the celebrant and actual
registration of the marriage.
The
Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Phone: 1300
366 430 or +61 7 3035 1000 (international
enquiries)
Physical
Address:
Level 32, 180
Ann Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
(Office
hours: 8.30am-4.30pm Monday-Friday)
Postal
address:
PO Box 15188
City East QLD
4002