Change of Name

Everyone is entitled to change their name at any time. With certain minor limitations, you can select any name you like. You can print-out an online form available at the Manitoba Vital Statistics website, and fill out that form in the comfort of your home. The form contains an Affidavit which must be sworn in front of a lawyer or Commissioner of Oaths. If you need some help in that regard, please feel free to contact us.

You must also provide a notarized copy of Government issued Photo ID, such as a Canadian Passport or a Driver’s License and also a Manitoba Health Card. You will be fingerprinted to insure that you are not a master criminal seeking to change your name to avoid a criminal record check. Finally you must pay a Change of Name fee of $120.07.

If you can do all of that, then Vital Statistics will issue a “Certificate of Change of Name” within a few weeks and you will accordingly have a new legal name! After that you can apply for a new Birth Certificate or Driver’s License, which will show your new legal name

But there is one downside to this process. Vital Statistics is required by legislation to publish all changes of name in the Manitoba Gazette, a Manitoba Government publication. The Manitoba Gazette is available online.

So if you are transitioning and have secured a new legal name, you may be disappointed to see that a Google search of either your former birth name or your new name may produce an excerpt from the Manitoba Gazette showing your name change. If you are looking for a fresh start, the online publication of your name change does not help.

The Change of Name Act provides that Vital Statistics may waive the publication of your name change in the Manitoba Gazette for any one of three possible reasons:

(a) it would cause undue hardship for the individual; or

(b) it would be contrary to the public interest; or

(c) the applicant has been commonly known under the surname applied for.

It would be interesting to make application to Vital Statistics to request a waiver of the requirement to publish the change of name online when someone is undergoing a gender transition and looking for a fresh start.