Surname Change Re-adoption of maiden name

If your marriage or partnership is dissolved, you can change your family name.

If your maiden name or the name used before the marriage or civil partnership was not a surname/civil partnership name during the marriage (married name) or civil partnership, you have the following options after the divorce of the marriage or dissolution of the civil partnership:

• You can revert to your maiden name or the name used until the married name/civil partnership name was determined.
• You can prefix or add the following names to the married name/civil partnership name:
  • your maiden name, or
  • the name used at the time of the declaration of determination of the married name/civil partnership name.

Registry office

Please contact a notary or the registry office.

• passport or identity card,
• in case of an interview at the registry office that maintains the marriage register/civil partnership register, additionally:
  • final divorce decree/decision on the dissolution of the civil partnership
• in case of an interview at another registry office additionally:
  • certified printout from the marriage register/civil partnership register and the final divorce decree/decision on the dissolution of the civil partnership or
  • certified printout from the marriage register/civil partnership register with registered divorce/annulment of the civil partnership.

• divorce or
• Dissolution of civil partnership

You can have the declaration of name certified either by a notary or by a registrar. The declaration becomes effective as soon as it is received by the registry office that certified the marriage.

You will receive a certificate of change of your surname.

The marriage register/civil partnership register and the birth register are updated.

There are no deadlines to be observed.

The fee for the declaration is 23.50 euros if it is submitted to the registry office and the municipality has not set a different fee by statute.