How to legally change your name or surname

The Demographic Registry keeps the records of births occurring in Puerto Rico. When someone wants to change, add or modify the name or surname they were registered under, they follow the procedure in Act No. 24 of 1931, the Demographic Registry Act. Before the court it is a voluntary-jurisdiction matter: you file a petition and submit to the court’s authority without suing anyone, which is why it is called ex parte. The surname change this procedure covers refers to corrections of the order of surnames, when there is more than one, or errors made at registration. It is not the route for changing surnames through a filiation process, which is a different thing with its own guides here.

It can be requested by people born in Puerto Rico who were registered in the Demographic Registry. The sworn statement accompanying the petition certifies two things: that everything stated is correct, and that the interest in changing the name is not to evade any civil or criminal liability.

• Having been born in Puerto Rico and being registered in the Demographic Registry.Verified against the official source
• Filing the petition at the court Clerk’s Office with two sets of copies: one for the court and one for the Prosecutor’s Office of the corresponding judicial region.Verified against the official source
• Delivering a copy to the Prosecutor’s Office the same day as filing and evidencing it to the court.Verified against the official source
• Presenting $78.00 in internal revenue stamps.Verified against the official source
• A sworn statement certifying that what is stated is correct and that the change does not seek to evade civil or criminal liability. It can be sworn free at the court Clerk’s Office or before a notary; form OAT 1896 already includes it.Verified against the official source

• The petition, stating your legal name and surnames, the name you are known by and want the registry to match, your postal address, phone and email, and the reasons for the change. Form OAT 1896 can be used.
• Original Birth Certificate.
• A copy of photo identification: one issued by the Government of Puerto Rico, an official passport, or a foreign government-issued ID with photo and signature.
• A CRIM Negative Debt Certification covering all concepts.
• Criminal Record Certificate. If you lived outside Puerto Rico, also one from the jurisdiction where you lived.
• ASUME Compliance Certification.
• Negative Debt Certification from the Department of the Treasury.

1. 1

   Step 1: Decide: court or notary

   The name change can be done before a Superior Courtroom of the Court of First Instance, or before a notary attorney as a non-contentious matter under Act 282-1999, which expressly covers the change, substitution, addition, deletion, correction or modification of names or surnames in the Demographic Registry. This guide describes the judicial route; the notarial one carries fees the Judiciary does not publish.

2. 2

   Step 2: Assemble the file: five agencies

   This is the real work. You need the original birth certificate, the CRIM negative-debt certification, the criminal record certificate, the ASUME compliance certification and the Hacienda negative-debt certification. Each comes from a different agency and several have their own guide here. If you lived outside Puerto Rico, add that jurisdiction’s criminal record certificate. The court warns the list is not closed: the judge can request additional documentation.

3. 3

   Step 3: File in duplicate the same day

   Everything is filed at the court Clerk’s Office, and that same day you must send or deliver a copy of everything to the Prosecutor’s Office of your judicial region, and evidence it to the court. Form OAT 1896 has a space to record that delivery. Bring $78.00 in stamps.

4. 4

   Step 4: The prosecutor’s 10 days

   The Prosecutor’s Office has 10 days from notification to object. If it does not object or does not answer, the case is submitted and the judge evaluates. They can rule on the documents — the usual course, and it is usually granted — or set a hearing. If there is an objection, the court notifies you and generally orders a hearing.

5. 5

   Step 5: If there is a hearing, bring two witnesses

   On the hearing day you must appear with at least two people who know you and can attest that you are known by the name you propose. After the hearing, the judge issues the resolution granting or denying the change.

6. 6

   Step 6: What remains after winning

   The resolution does not change your documents by itself. Return to the Clerk’s Office for a certified copy ($6.00 for the search and first page, $0.60 per additional page, plus $1.00 for certification). Take that certified copy to the Demographic Registry so it changes the name on your birth certificate. With the corrected certificate and the resolution, update your IDs at the Social Security Office, DTOP, the State Elections Commission and any other agency where you have a record under the old name.

At the Clerk’s Office of a Superior Courtroom of the Court of First Instance, with a same-day copy to the Prosecutor’s Office of your judicial region. The alternative is before a notary attorney, as a non-contentious matter.

• Confusing it with a surname change through filiation, which is a different process.
• Filing at the court and forgetting to deliver a copy to the Prosecutor’s Office the same day.
• Arriving with a single set of documents: two are needed, one for each destination.
• Requesting the certifications and finding at the counter that they show debt: they must be negative.
• Believing the resolution changes the birth certificate on its own: it must be taken to the Demographic Registry.
• Stopping there and not updating Social Security, DTOP and the CEE with the corrected certificate.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Petition for Change of Name or Surname — OAT 1896

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Legislative Record (SUTRA) — Act 282-1999, Non-Contentious Matters Before a Notary Act

  Oficina de Servicios Legislativos

  sutra.oslpr.org