Kosovo - Change Your Name (Deed Poll)

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Procedure

Procedure for change of the personal name based on a request

• To the request for change of the name, submitter of the request should attach the attestation that shows that he/she is not under investigation.
• For the request, for changing of personal name, decides the competent body according to the dwelling-place, where the request was made.
• The decision for the change of the name is forwarded to the civil status office, where the delivery was registered respectively registration of marriage of respective parties was made.

Change of personal name of the juvenile based on his/her request

• Juvenile citizen can change his/her personal name upon the request of the legal representative. If the change of the name is asked by his/her care body, this should be approved by the competent social center and during this procedure the interest of the child mostly should be respected.
• Change of the name of juvenile citizen above age of 10, can be made only by his approval, except in cases when the child manifests mental retardment.
• If the parents live separately, one of the parents can ask change of personal name of the child, one with whom the child lives, respectively to whom the care and education of child was entrusted, if the other parent agrees for.
• If the other parent does not agree on changing of personal name of the child, to achieve the agreement for changing the name, social center will assist them.

The approval of the other parent is not necessary if his/her habitation is unknown, or if his/her parenthood or the right for action were taken.

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Required Documents

• Certificate of Criminal Record
• Request Addressed to the Minister of Justice
• Application addressed to the Registrar
• Identity Card (original and photocopy)

Office Locations & Contacts

Director of the Registrations and Civil Status
Tel: + 381 (0) 38 200 30 341 & + 381 (0) 38 200 19 114
Fax: + 381 (0) 38 200 30 815
Email: [email protected]
Address: Building Grmia, BD-26 Prishtin

Ministry of Justice
New Government Building (Ex Rilindja building)
VII Floor, Room No. 704
Prishtina, Kosovo

Ministy of Internal Affairs address:
Street: Luan Haradinaj n.n.
10000 Pristina, Republic of Kosovo
Ministry of Internal Affairs Contacts

Municipalities in Kosovo

Eligibility

Citizen has the right to correct and change his/her personal name.

Fees

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

Validity

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

Documents to Use

Correction and Change of the Personal Name

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

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

Related Videos

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". 
	

Instructions

Adult citizen based on his/her request can change personal name.

Change of personal name during the adoption process should be according to the provisions of the Family Law.

Change of the family name after marriage should be in accordance to the provisions of the Family Law.

Change of the family name after the divorce:

• After the divorce, separated spouses can keep the family name that they have chosen during marriage.
• Spouse who, because of marriage has changed his/her family name, after the divorce can take his/her previous family name.

Required Information

• 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

Need for the Document

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.

Information which might help

Obstructions for changing of the personal name:

• Citizen being prosecuted for criminal offence according to the official duty or who has been convicted for such criminal offence, until the conviction is executed, or until legal consequences of conviction last, as well as the person who is ascertained that he/she submitted request only to avoid obligations foreseen by the law, will not be allowed to change personal name.
• If the personal name of citizen, under the criminal procedure, is changed the competent body of civil status within three days, after change approval, should notify the court where the criminal procedure is going on.
• Civil registration office can ask the court and persecution office to verify authenticity of the submitted data by the applicant related to the documents from article 17 of the law.
• If the personal name is changed with the request of the party with administrative procedure of the civil status body, in next 5 years, citizen will not be allowed, according to the same procedure, to re-change the personal name by civil status body.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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

External Links

Government of Kosovo

Ministry of Justice

Institutions of Republic of Kosovo

Department of Registration and Civil Status

Others

Validity and registration of the change of personal name

Change of the personal name which is a result of change in the legal relations in family is valid from the date when the statement was given, respectively from the date when the decision of competent body was made.

Change of the personal name should be registered in the respective civil status registry within 5 days from the moment of announcement on the change approval.