South Africa - How To Apply to Change Surnames of Minors

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. To apply for changing a surname of minors in person, the person who wishes to do should pay a visit to the office of Department of Home affairs which is nearest to the applicant’s location.
2. Please click on the following link for the contact details and address of the office of Department of Home affairs: Link Among the list of provinces, click on your province name and get the details accordingly.
3. Go to the office of the DHA and get the Application form for changing surname of minors in the Register (Form BI-193) from the concerned Department at the office. Form BI-193 can also be downloaded by clicking the following link: Link
4. Fill the form with appropriate information. Also the applicant should provide a sufficient reason for change of name.
5. After completing the application form with respect to the need, attach the documents mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page and then submit it at the Department of Home Affairs office for further verification and validation processes.
6. Then, the concerned officials will examine the application form and attached documents and scrutinize the reason provided for change of name.
7. If the authorities find the reason stated is sufficient and valid, the application will be further forwarded to the Director-General who will authorize the change of name.
8. After authorizing, the Director General will amend the change of name and publish the change in the gazette, in a prescribed manner. Then, the Director General shall issue a Certificate from the Population Register on the change of the name.

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Required Documents

• Duly filled and signed Application form
• Written consent by natural father (for a minor in case of mother’s remarriage)
• Written consent by mother’s husband (for a minor in case of mother’s remarriage)
• Written consent by the mother (for a minor)
• Reason for the change of name in written form

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Home Affairs - Head Office
Physical Address : Hallmark Building,
230 Johannes Ramokhoase,
Pretoria,
Gauteng,
0001,
South Africa.
Postal Adress : Private Bag X114,
Pretoria,
0001,
Phone: 012 406 2500
Email: [email protected]
Website ,Link 2

Department Of Home Affairs Offices

Eligibility

• Either of the parents or guardian, who wishes to change the minor’s name, can apply.
• If a child is born out of wedlock and the mother marries a person other than the child's biological father and wishes to change the child’s surname to that of her husband, the mother can apply.
• The person, for whom Deed poll is sought for, should possess a valid Identity Document and should have a sound and sufficient reason to change the name.

Fees

• Application for any change of the forenames or surname of a minor – R70.00
  

Validity

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

Documents to Use

• Application form BI-193: Link
  

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.
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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

• If a mother, after her divorce from or the death of her husband (father of child), wishes to change the child's surname to her maiden surname or to another surname she bore legally or if she has remarried, to the surname of her new husband, can make use of this provision in Birth and Death Registration Act.
• This application process provides facilities if a child is born out of wedlock but registered under the biological father's surname and the mother wishes to change the child's surname to hers or if a minor is under the care of a guardian and the guardian wishes to change the child's surname to his/hers.

Required Information

• Forenames and Surnames of the persons for whom the application is filled
• Particulars of the Parents or guardian (in case of minors)
• Place and date of birth of the persons for whom the application is filled
• Address and contact details of the applicants
• Identity number of the applicants
• New Forenames and Surnames of the persons for whom the application is filled

Need for the Document

• This application is essential to get your change of name notified to the government so that it is authorized officially and get altered in the Population Register.
  

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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