If you want to use a different name from what is on legal or official records, you do not have to formally change your name. However, you might be committing an offence if you use another name to avoid your legal responsibilities or for dishonest purposes.
If you want to use a different name, it is recommended that you officially register your change of name. This will make it easier to prove your identity and provide evidence of your name change.
Legal Aid WA does not provide help in this area.
You can find information about changing the names of children on our webpage Changing the names of children.
You can apply to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to change your name if:
To apply, you need to complete an Application to Register a Change of Name (Adult), pay the correct fee and provide documents to support your application. Unless there are exceptional reasons, such as personal safety, you cannot change your name more than once in any 12-month period.
The fee to change your name may be waived in some circumstances, including if you are changing your name because of severe family violence. This fee waiver is not automatic. Contact the Registry on 1300 305 021 to find out the information you must provide in support of asking for the fee to be waived.
If you were born in Western Australia, your original name will remain on your birth certificate and your new name will be added as a notation. If you have changed your name and it isn't noted on your WA birth certificate, you can apply to the Registry for that name to be added to your birth record. No fee is charged for this process.
Once your birth certificate has been updated to show your new name as a notation, you can get a copy by paying an additional fee.
You are not legally required to change your family name (surname) when you get married.
If you were married in Australia and want to change your name, you can:
without needing to register a formal change of name.
If you have separated or divorced from your husband or wife, you can:
You do not need to register a formal change of name in these circumstances either.
Formally changing your name after marriage or as a de facto partner can make it easier to prove your identity. You can also change the family name of your children at the same time.
Married or de facto couples, and their children under 18 years old, can apply together as a family to register a change of name. Each person wanting to change their name must complete an Application to Register a Change of Name form and provide the necessary supporting evidence or documents.
Only adults who are applying as part of a family are charged the application fee. It is free for children to apply to change their name as part of a family change.
If you are changing your legal name after marriage, you will be given a certificate as evidence of your new name, but it will not be recorded on your marriage certificate.
The Department of Communities provides historical family and personal information to Aboriginal people, former state wards, and British and Maltese child migrants. Information is released through freedom of information applications. Information about FOI applications is available from the Department's website or by calling (08) 614 3344 .
The WA government publication Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920 has information to help people find documents related to their time in residential out-of-home care or supported accommodation.
You may be able to access your family history online through the Norman Tindale Collection. It contains genealogical information, recorded in 50 Aboriginal communities across Western Australia between 1935 and 1966. To access these records, you can select the ‘Request more information’ option when browsing the online index, or you can complete a family history application form available through the Aboriginal History Research Service (AHRS).
The AHRS helps people to locate historical records about themselves and their Aboriginal ancestors.
The State Library of Western Australia also has resources that may help you explore your family history.