“Married Name”- declaration

Status: April 2015
“Married Name”- declaration
The name of a German national does not change automatically by marriage alone. In Germany the
spouses can opt for one of their last names to become a so-called „married name“ (Ehename) when they
get married (or later) by name declaration. The spouse whose name does not become the married name
can add his or her previous name with a hyphen in front of or behind the married name.
If you got married outside of Germany and have made a name declaration at the time of your wedding and
your marriage certificate shows evidence of this, please contact the Embassy or the Consulate General in
order to find out whether this name change is recognised by German law.
If no name declaration is made (as is the case with all marriages in the U.K.) the name has not changed
and each spouse still bears the same name as before the marriage – even if one spouse has already been
using the other spouse’s name in everyday life. Please also note that a name change per deed poll is not
valid for a German citizen. To officially declare a married name by German law you will have to formally
submit a name declaration at the Embassy or the Consulate General.
If you live in England (excluding England north of Scarborough), Wales or Northern Ireland, please book an
appointment for the name declaration online via:
appointment system London
If you live in Scotland or Northern England (north of Scarborough), please book an appointment online via
appointment system Edinburgh
If you are not sure whether a name declaration is needed in your case, or if you want to do the name
declaration with one of the Honorary Consuls in the UK, please contact:
ne@lond.diplo.de
Both spouses must come in person, as both their signatures have to be certified in order for the name
declaration to become valid.
The following documents are required as originals with two photocopies each:
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Valid passports for both spouses (or German Personalausweis/ID card)
Birth certificates of both spouses
Marriage certificate
Divorce decree absolute for divorcees
Naturalization certificate for naturalized German nationals or „Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis“ (if you
have one).
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Proof of residence (for example council tax bill or utility bill) for the UK
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A deregistration certificate (“Abmeldebescheinigung”) from your last German residence or a current
registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) from your (last) place of residence in Germany
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translations of foreign documents in German or English (not required with “international” documents).
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Birth certificates (full version – stating the parents) for all children the spouses have together (whether
born before the marriage or during). If the child was born in the UK, please bring along the very first
birth certificate you were issued, not a reregistration.
Please turn over
Depending on the case more documents may become necessary or can be requested by the competent
Standesamt (Registrar) at a later date.
The fee for the name declaration is around 20,00 GBP, please note that the German Missions in the United
Kingdom can only accept payments by cash or by credit card (MasterCard and VISA) and would kindly ask
you to provide an exact amount. However, due to exchange rate fluctuations the fee may change slightly
without further notice. In addition the German Mission has to charge a fee of 8,00 GBP for the certification
of the photocopies required by the Registrar.
In case a German spouse was not divorced in Germany, please let the German Mission know in advance
in which country the divorce took place and when the petition for the divorce was filed.
Please note that, as a rule, applicants who are late or do not have the required documentation cannot
be seen to that day and will have to make a new appointment.
Your name declaration will then be forwarded to the competent Registrar (Standesamt), where it
will be processed. As soon as the Registrar confirms the name and issues a name confirmation
certificate, this will be send to your address and you can then apply for a new passport. The confirmation
certificate will only be issued on your request and the Registrar will charge a fee for this – you will
need the certificate for the passport application. The fee is about 10,00 €.
Please note that the German Mission cannot tell you how long this process will take. Processing times may
vary considerably depending on the complexity of the case and the individual Registrar’s Office.
This leaflet provides information for most routine cases presented to the German Missions in the United Kingdom. Due to the
complexity of the German name law and the multitude of conceivable case scenarios each individual case may have to be treated
differently. This leaflet is therefore meant only as an orientation and neither substitutes legal advice based on a detailed case nor does
it foreclose the decision of the registrar, which remains reserved in all cases. Should your case not be covered please contact the
German Missions via the above mentioned email-address.