Zamboanga City - Change your Name

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Procedure

This procedure explains various ways to Change your Name in Zamboanga City.


Under Zamboanga City laws, a name has two parts as first name, and last name (surname). The middle name, which in the Zamboanga City are traditionally the mother’s maiden surname, are not required but are often necessary for verifying your identity or in distinguishing you from others who have the same first and last names. Different rule apply to changing your first name and last name. Please follow the steps below to change your name:

Change the first name

You are at least 18 years old and the name change is necessary for any of the following reasons:

• The current first name is ridiculous, tainted with dishonour or extremely difficult to write or pronounce
  
• The new first name has been habitually and continuously used by you and you have been publicly known by that first name in the community
  
• Or that the change will avoid confusion
  

1. Prepare the requirements:
   
   • An affidavit that spelled out the reason of change the first name
     
   • The certified machine copy of the certificate containing the current first name
     
   • At least two public or private documents upon which the new first name should be.
     Examples are: baptismal certificate, voter’s affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, school record, business record, driver’s license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry record of ascendants, and others.
     
   • Notice and Certificate of Posting
     
   • Certified machine copy of the Official Receipt of the filing fee
     
   • Clearance from authorities such as clearance from employer, if employed; the National Bureau of Investigation; the Zamboanga City National Police; and other clearances as may be required by the concerned City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR).
     
   • Proof of Publication. An affidavit of publication from the publisher and copy of the newspaper clippings should be attached.
     
   • Other documents as may be required by C/MCR.
     
     
2. Apply for change your first name.
   

You may have your first name legally changed to the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) Map that has the documents bearing your original name. This often means the place where your birth certificate was issued. But if you currently reside in a different place, you may apply for a name change at the LCRO in your present area as a migrant petitioner or at a Philippine Consulate Directory if you filed your petition with the Consul General (CG). At an above suitable office, please present the required documents and filing your application. You typically need to wait about one to four months for the petition to be granted, depending on the office that you filed the application.

Change the last name

1. Change your last name after marriage.
   If you are a woman recently got married and want to officially adopt your husband’s surname on your official IDs, you will only need to comply with the “change of status” requirements and do not need a court order for that. Note that changing your last name when you get married is not a legal requirement, so for IDs like your driver’s license or passport, you might want to wait until they are u for renewal so you can accomplish both changes of status and renewal in one go.
   
   
2. Change your child’s last name.
   Before the enactment of Republic Act 9255, the Family Code specifically stated that an illegitimate child may only carry the surname (last name) of the mother. But RA 9255 now allows illegitimate children to use the father’s surname if the child’s paternity is recognized. For this case, the mother, father, guardian or the child (if 18 or over) can follow the below guiding to change the child’s last name from the mother’s last name to the father’s last name:
   
   
   1. Prepare the requirements:
      
      • Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) – an affidavit to be executed by the father of the child, acknowledging paternity and allowing the child to use his last name
        
      • Affidavit of Admission of Paternity or the Affidavit of Acknowledgment, executed by the father, admitting and acknowledging paternity over the child
        
      • Certified True Copy of the Certificate of Live Birth of the child
        
      • Valid identification for both parents
        
        
   2. Apply for change the child’s name.
      
      • The AUSF, together with the other documents, shall be filed at the LCRO where the child was born, if the birth occurred within the Philippines. If the child was born outside the Philippines, the AUSF shall be filed at the LCRO of Manila. The LCRO will register the documents (AUSF and the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity), and annotate them on the Certificate of Live Birth. Afterwards, the Birth Certificate will now bear the annotation “The surname of the child is hereby changed from (original name) to (new surname), pursuant to RA 9255”. Pay the applicable fees at the LCRO. The processing at the PSA after it has been forwarded to them by the LCRO can take up to two months at the most.
        
        
3. Change your last name for the remain cases.
   
   • Under Filipino law, a person’s surname is considered to be fixed, and it can be changed only for good reason and in a court of law. You are must at least 18 years old and the name change is necessary for any of the following reasons:
     
   • When the name is ridiculous, dishonourable or difficult to write or pronounce
     
   • When the change is a result of legal proceedings, such as legitimation
     
   • When the change avoids confusion
     
   • When you have used and been known by a Filipino name since birth and was unaware of alien (non-Filipino) parentage
     
   • When you sincerely want to adopt a Filipino name in good faith to erase signs of alienage
     
   • When the name causes embarrassment and the change is not against public interest.
     
     
   1. Prepare the requirements:
      
      • National Bureau of Investigation clearance
        
      • Police clearance
        
      • Baptismal certificate
        
      • Birth certificate
        
      • School records or employment certificate and valid forms of identification
        
        
   2. Apply for change your last name
      To change your last name, you need a court order from the Regional Trial Court of your municipality or city Map. Please file a petition explaining why you want to change your last name and including all the required documents. The court will set a date for a hearing, which anyone can attend (and potentially oppose your change of last name).

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Required Documents

Change the first name:

• An affidavit that spelled out the reason of change the first name
• The certified machine copy of the certificate containing the current first name
• At least two public or private documents upon which the new first name should be. Examples are: baptismal certificate, voter’s affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, school record, business record, driver’s license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry record of ascendants, and others.
• Notice and Certificate of Posting
• Certified machine copy of the Official Receipt of the filing fee
• Clearance from authorities such as clearance from employer, if employed; the National Bureau of Investigation; the Philippines National Police; and other clearances as may be required by the concerned City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR).
• Proof of Publication. An affidavit of publication from the publisher and copy of the newspaper clippings should be attached.
• Other documents as may be required by C/MCR
  
  

Change the last name:

• Change your child’s last name:
  • Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) – an affidavit to be executed by the father of the child, acknowledging paternity and allowing the child to use his last name
  • Affidavit of Admission of Paternity or the Affidavit of Acknowledgment, executed by the father, admitting and acknowledging paternity over the child
  • Certified True Copy of the Certificate of Live Birth of the child
  • Valid identification for both parents
• Change your last name for the remain cases (applicant is 18 years old or over):
  • National Bureau of Investigation clearance
  • Police clearance
  • Baptismal certificate
  • Birth certificate
  • School records or employment certificate and valid forms of identification

Office Locations & Contacts

National Statistics Office
Civil Registration Department
Vibal Building, EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines

Census Serbilis Centers

Eligibility

Change the first name:
You are at least 18 years old and the name change is necessary for any of the following reasons:

• The current first name is ridiculous, tainted with dishonour or extremely difficult to write or pronounce
• The new first name has been habitually and continuously used by you and you have been publicly known by that first name in the community
• Or that the change will avoid confusion
  
  

Change the last name:

• A woman recently got married and want to officially adopt your husband’s surname on your official IDs
• An illegitimate child carried the surname (last name) of his/her mother
• You are must at least 18 years old and the name change is necessary for any of the following reasons:
  • When the name is ridiculous, dishonourable or difficult to write or pronounce
  • When the change is a result of legal proceedings, such as legitimation
  • When the change avoids confusion
  • When you have used and been known by a Filipino name since birth and was unaware of alien (non-Filipino) parentage
  • When you sincerely want to adopt a Filipino name in good faith to erase signs of alienage
  • When the name causes embarrassment and the change is not against public interest.

Fees

Change the first name

• Case of the petition filed with the LCRO: Php3000 for the change of first name
• Case of the petition filed with the CG: $150 for the change of first name
• Additional fee for a migrant petitioner to the Petition Receiving Civil Registrar (PRCR) Php1000 for change of first name
  
  

Change the last name:

• Around Php1000 – Php1500 for change the child’s last name
• Vary on each court, each own situation for the remain cases of changing the last name (applicant is 18 years old or over)

Validity

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

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

• One to four months for change the first name
• Two months for change the child’s last name
• Depend on each own situation for change the last name of the remain cases (applicant is 18 or over)

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

Corrections can be made by RA 9048 RA 9048 allows these corrections:

• Correction of clerical or typographical errors in an entry in civil registry documents, except corrections involving the change in sex, age, nationality and status of a person.
• (A clerical or typographical error refers to an obvious mistake committed in clerical work, either in writing, copying, transcribing, or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as a misspelled name or misspelled place of birth and the like, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing record or records.)
• Change of a person's first name in his/her civil registry document under certain grounds specified under the law through administrative process.

Conditions under RA 9048 that the petitioner needs to comply with

• The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;
• The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has been publicly known by that first name or nickname in the community; or,
• The change will avoid confusion.

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

Basically, the petition must contain the following facts or information:

• Merits of the petition
• Competency of the petitioner
• Erroneous entry to be corrected and proposed correction; first name to be changed and the proposed new first name

Need for the Document

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Information which might help

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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

psa.gov.ph

Others

More information which might help people in Zamboanga City can be listed here.