A notice of change of name in Form C of the First Schedule shall be advertised in the Taimi o Tonga, or such other publication as the Registrar General may, by notice, specify.

After the application is submitted and upon proof of such advertisement and upon payment of the prescribed fee in the Second Schedule, the Registrar General shall deliver to the applicant a certificate of registration of name in Form D in the First Schedule.

As evidence of Tongan nationality the applicant shall produce

• his Tongan birth certificate; or
• a certificate of citizenship by naturalization.

In addition to the documents set out above;

• a married woman shall produce her marriage certificate, and shall, unless good cause is shown to the contrary, obtain the written consent of her husband to her change of name. Such consent shall be endorsed on the deed and shall be witnessed by a Magistrate or a Registrar of the Supreme Court;
• an applicant whose spouse has died shall produce the marriage certificate and the death certificate of the deceased spouse; or
• a divorced woman who has not remarried shall produce the decree absolute of divorce.

Ministry of Justice
Secretary of Justice
Postal Address: P.O Box 130, Nuku'alofa
Fax: (676) 23 098
Email: amafi@justice.gov.to
Website URL: http://www.justice.gov.to

Vital Statistics Office (Ofisi o e ngaahi lekooti mahu'inga- Fale Tohita'u)
Location: Opposite Talamahu Market,
Nuku'alofa, TONGA.
Ph: +676 23599
Fax: +676 22380

Supreme Court Office ('Ofisi Fakamaau'anga Lahi)
Registry (Fale Lesisita Fa'ele, Pekia, Mali)
Location: Nuku'alofa
P.O Box 11 Nukualofa, Tonga.
Ph: +676 23599
Fax: +676 22380

Divisions and contacts of Ministry of Justice

An application for a change of name may only be made by a Tongan subject.

If the applicant is under 18 years of age the application shall be made by a parent or legal guardian of the applicant.

Where the applicant is under 18 but over 16 years of age his signed consent shall be endorsed on the deed and duly witnessed.

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Application Notice (Form A), Deed (Form B), Notice of Change of Name (Form C), Certificate of Name Registration (Form D)

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Registrar General's (Change of Name) Regulations 2011

The application shall be made by application notice in Form A in the First Schedule accompanied by an affidavit setting out and fully explaining the grounds for the application.

The application shall be accompanied by a deed in Form B of the First Schedule which shall be registered and enrolled in the Supreme Court on payment of the prescribed fees in the Second Schedule.

A person wishing to register an alias (a.k.a.) shall apply for a change of name under the provisions of these Regulations and upon grant of the application shall be issued with a certificate of registration of name in Form D of the First Schedule.

Provided that regulations 3(3) and 10 shall not apply to an application made under the regulation.

• Your name as listed on birth certificate or immigration or citizenship documents.
• The full name you are applying to change to (if you are changing your name).
• Date and place of birth
• Marital status and details
• Places of residence for last three months
• Address for Correspondence

If you are using, or wish to use, a name other than your registered name, there is no legal requirement that you formally change your name. It is, however, recommended that you change your name officially, both for identification and as evidence of your name change.

Name change generally refers to the legal act by a person of adopting a name different from their name at birth, marriage or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions.

Restrictions of Change of Names

The new name (or combination of names) may not be accepted for registration if, in the opinion of the Registrar General;

• it might cause offence to a reasonable person;
• it is unreasonably long;
• without adequate justification it is, includes, or resembles, an official title or rank;
• it is a name that cannot meaningfully be expressed in language;
• the grounds for the application are frivolous; or
• the change is not for bona fide use.

You may want to change your name because:

• You have just gotten married
• You have divorced
• You just want a change
• In case of adoption

Ministries of Tonga

Ministry of Justice

Tonga Portal

Attorney General's Office

How you should go about changing your name will depend upon which category you fit into. Changing your name after marriage or divorce is quite a simple process, while changing your name 'just because' requires a little more effort, but it is still quite straight forward and a lot easier than it used to be.

To change your name, submit a petition to your local Superior Court that details the reasons you'd like to change your name. After the court approves your request, you'll then need to update your Social Security card, driver's license and passport.