Registering a change of surname and/or forename

Surname and forename are the basic attributes by which a person is identified and which are obligatorily entered in the civil status documents and other official documents according to national legislation.

The change of the surname is not an absolute right of the natural person, as it is strictly regulated by the provisions of Articles 49 and 50 of the Law no. 100-XV of 26.04.2001 on civil status documents and points 99-127 of the Instruction on how to register civil status documents, approved by Order of the Department of Information Technologies no. 4 of 21.01.2004 (hereinafter the Instruction).

A person who has reached the age of 16 has the right to change his/her surname and/or forename.

Surnames and/or forenames may be changed only for the following good reasons:

difficult pronunciation, if they consist of indecent, non-euphonious, ridiculous expressions, as well as if they have been transformed (changed) by translation;
the wish to have the surname and/or forename corresponding to the applicant's nationality;
the request for a simple surname instead of a double surname;
the wish of the person to have the same surname as his/her spouse's surname or to add his/her spouse's surname to his/her surname if he/she did not do so at the time of marriage;
the wish to revert to his or her surname before the marriage if he or she did not do so at the time of divorce;
the wish to take the surname of the stepfather (stepmother) or other person, who participated in the upbringing of the applicant;
other reasons, if they are recognized as well-founded, justified by the presentation of official documentary evidence.

Attention! The document of change of surname is a personal document and must be registered in the presence of the applicant within the legal deadline of one month, calculated from the last day of the term of service provision. In the event of failure to be present within the time limit set for registration of the document of change,

the conclusion of the change shall become invalid and the document of change shall not be drawn up. A possible return to the issue of the change of surname and/or forename will only be possible after the expiry of the 1 year deadline.

Any justified impossibility to appear for the registration of the document of change must be brought to the attention of the civil status body, with documentary evidence, in order to be able to re-enter the period for the registration of the document of change of surname and/or forename.

Pre-scheduling for requesting services in the territorial subdivisions of the PSA is available by accessing the link: https://re.asp.gov.md/

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Step 1. Submitting the application
The application for the change of surname and/or forename shall be submitted:
- in the country, at the civil status service according to the place of residence, including within the Multifunctional Centre of the Public Services Agency;
- abroad, at the Diplomatic Missions or Consular Offices (DMCO) of the Republic of Moldova. If there is no DMCO in the applicant's state of residence, the application may be submitted to any DMCO.
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Step 2. Paying for the service
Payment of the tariff for the requested service through the Government Electronic Payment Service MPay.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 3 letter b) of the Law no. 213/2023 on the state tax, upon the change of surname the state tax is charged, except in cases of exemption from the state tax (persons who benefit from free public civil status services in the manner established by GD no. 966/2020 on the services provided by the PSA).
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Step 3. Processing and Examination
Receipt of the application and relevant documents for the registration of the document of change of surname and/or forename.
Identifying the civil status documents in the civil status registers' archival fonds.
Constituting the file on the change of surname and/or forename and forwarding it.
Issuing the decision to approve or reject the file.
Forwarding the file to the competent subdivision of the Civil Status Department for examination.
Approval or rejection of the CSS Conclusion on the change of surname and/or forename.
Registration of the document of change of surname and/or forename in the information resources.
Issuance of the document of change of surname and/or forename and the certificate of change of surname and/or forename.
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Step 4. Completing and issuing the certificate
Signing the document of change of surname and/or forename and handing over the certificate of change of surname and/or forename (where the order was placed): at the CSS counter, including within the Multifunctional Centre of the PSA, and abroad, at the DMCO of the Republic of Moldova.

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In accordance with the provisions of point 1, section 1 of Annex no. 3 to Government Decision no. 966/2020 on the services provided by the Public Services Agency, the service is provided free of charge to the following categories of persons, citizens of the Republic of Moldova:
1. persons with severe, accentuated or moderate disability;
2. persons who, according to the normative framework, have the status of war veteran;
3. pensioners receiving old-age pensions under Law no. 156 /1998 on the public pension system;
4. participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident;
5. victims of trafficking in human beings, on the basis of the approach issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection or by the territorial social assistance structures or by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, when receiving services for the issuance of certificates or extracts from civil status records in their own name, necessary for obtaining an ID card or a provisional ID card.
6. persons who are in the care of the state, placed in a residential placement service or in a specialized medical and sanitary social institution;
7. children left without parental care and children temporarily left without parental care;
8. major persons up to the age of 25 who do not have an identity card or an ID card and who, at the age of 18, had the status of children left without parental care,for the purpose of obtaining a birth certificate (subsequent registration, reconstitution, transcription and amendment of the birth certificate in their own name and by issuing a duplicate birth certificate).
Application for the service of issuing the certificate/duplicate of the certificate of civil status document free of charge shall be examined within the maximum time limit set for the provision of the service concerned.
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Re-registering the document changing the surname and/or forename within the deadline
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Change of surname and/or forename
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Change of surname and/or forename
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Change of surname and/or forename
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Change of surname and/or forename

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