France: a now simpler process for changing your name

The procedure for changing the name is now simplified.

© Flickr CC BY 2.0 Rémi Vincent

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

It took an average of six years, until now, to change one's name in the civil status in France.

As of this Friday, the procedure is simplified: a form to be submitted to the town hall and a period of one month.

But what is the way forward?

And who is affected by this new law?

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This text opens up the possibility for any adult to ask, once in their life, to take or add the name of their other parent by a simple procedure at the town hall, without having to formulate any justification.

The change is automatic once you have declared your choice to your town hall of residence or place of birth.

This request is free and allowed only once in a lifetime.

But it does not concern people who wish to change the spelling, the origin of their name, for example, or adopt a different one from that of their parents.

We stay with family.

This is a

compared to the long and uncertain one that existed until now.

It went through a decision of the Ministry of Justice and had to be motivated: discredited or pejorative-sounding surname, desire to Frenchify his name or prevent the extinction of a rare surname.

Make life easier for single-parent families

For minors, adding another user name – that is to say the name that appears on the identity card – also becomes possible, and at the simple request of the parent concerned.

If the child is 13 or older, a signed agreement from him is required.

This development is eagerly awaited, especially in single-parent families where the parent – ​​often the mother – was regularly forced to prove that her child was indeed hers.

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