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Change your surname or first name in Moldova

For adults, and for parents acting for a child, who want to officially change their surname and/or first name, for example after a wedding, a divorce or for a spelling in Latin letters.

Apply online ↗Ask about your case

Good to know

  • The standard fee is 600 lei at the counter or 540 lei online, in 20 working days. Faster: 1200 lei (1080 online) in 10 working days; 1800 lei (1620 online) in 5; 2400 lei in 1 working day.
  • It is free on the basis of a court decision (up to 3 working days), and for some Moldovan citizens (see Government Decision 966/2020).
  • You can apply if you are an adult, or a married or emancipated minor aged 16 or older. A child under 18 can have their name changed on the request of both parents, or of one parent when the other is missing, dead, under judicial protection, deprived of parental rights or has not established parentage.
  • If the time for examination runs out, the change is registered even if you are not present.

Want to change your name or surname?

Ask on the site: the answer comes from official documents, with quotes and links to the sources.

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How to apply

  1. You do this

    Submit the application

    Choose where to apply (see “Online or in person” below).

  2. You do this

    Pay the fee

    You can pay online through MPay or the Payments section of EVO, by card at the counter, at a payment terminal or at a bank branch.

  3. You do this

    Get your extract

    If you applied online, the electronic extract of the name-change record appears in your personal cabinet in EVO (in the parents' cabinet for a minor).

    A paper extract can be delivered to an address in Moldova or abroad by MDelivery, or collected at any civil status office or embassy or consulate you name in the application.

Required documents

  • Civil status certificates of the holder
    such as your birth certificate, if the facts they show cannot be confirmed from registered civil status records
  • An explanation of why you want to change the name
  • An ID showing a multiple citizenship and the way the name is written
    for the cases where that applies
  • A CV listing all the facts and events concerning the holder of the name, or a declaration on the person's civil legal status and civil status events

Fees and processing times

TimeFee at the counter / online
20 working days600 lei / 540 lei
10 working days1200 lei / 1080 lei
5 working days1800 lei / 1620 lei
1 working day2400 lei
3 working days
On the basis of a court decision
Free
20 working days
For some Moldovan citizens (disability, war veterans, old-age pensioners and others listed in Government Decision 966/2020)
Free

Online or in person

Online

Press Apply online at the top of this page. This is a pilot service.

At an office in Moldova

Go to any territorial civil status office of ASP in a district (list of offices).

Abroad

Apply at a Moldovan embassy or consulate (list).

On what grounds can you change your name?

  • the name is hard to pronounce, because it is made of indecent, ugly-sounding or ridiculous expressions, or because it was distorted by translation;
  • you want a surname or first name that matches your nationality;
  • you want a simple surname instead of a double one, or a double one instead of a simple one;
  • you want your spouse's surname, or to add it to yours, and did not do it at the wedding;
  • you want to go back to your pre-marriage surname and did not do it at the divorce;
  • you want to carry the surname of a stepfather, stepmother or another person who took part in raising you;
  • your birth certificate or ID shows a different name from the one in your birth record;
  • you want a different surname or first name;
  • you want to take the name of one of your ancestors;
  • you hold another citizenship and want your name transliterated into Latin letters under the spelling rules of a foreign language, so that all your official documents have one form;
  • other reasons, if recognised as well founded and described in detail by the civil status office.

Who can apply, and how?

You apply in person, or through a representative with a notarised power of attorney (or an MPower authorisation), or through a lawyer with a mandate.

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Source. This guide is written by us in plain words, based on the official service page on the government portal evo.gov.md. The amounts and deadlines are the ones on the official page.

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