What is this application for?
If there's an error on a change of name certificate, you can apply to have it corrected.
We assess all corrections before making them.
Refer to Evidence required for common changes and the evidence you’ll need to provide.
Who can apply?
This page is for people who:
- Have previously registered a change of name in Victoria
- Need to correct the change of name certificate
- The person (adult or child) whose name was changed was born overseas.
We assess all corrections before making them.
If the person whose name was changed was born in Victoria, visit Correct a birth certificate.
If the name was changed interstate, contact the Registry in that state or territory.
What you'll need
We'll ask you for the following information during the application process.
Details of the person on the certificate
As a minimum, we ask for:
- Given name
- Family name
- Date of birth
- Place of birth.
The original change of name certificate
We ask you to return the original certificate before we can issue a new, corrected version.
Proof of identity
You can prove your identity by providing certified copies of documents.
You can:
- Upload them during your application, where you see the ‘Add documents’ icon
- Upload them after submitting your application
- Post them to us after submitting your application.
Learn more about Identity verification using certified copies of documents.
Identity verification using certified copies of documents
To prove your identity using certified copies of documents you must provide either:
- Two different documents from Category 1, or
- Three documents, each from a different category. (For example: Australian driver licence, Medicare card and recent bank statement.)
You can upload scans or digital photos, but they must be correctly certified by an authorised person.
Evidence required
The evidence we ask for depends on the correction you want to make.
For documents in a language other than English, provide an English translation by a qualified translator. Learn more about translated documents.
The evidence listed below covers most common correction requests. If you can't provide the evidence listed, send the best evidence you have available.
We will let you know if we need more evidence.
| Correction | Acceptable evidence |
|---|---|
| Name on the certificate | Provide evidence of correct name. Overseas or interstate born:
|
| Date or place of birth | Evidence of correct date or place of birth:
|
How long will it take to get my certificate?
When you apply, we email you details of documents you need to provide. Our processing times start when we receive all required documents.
If you didn't receive an email after applying, contact us.
| Type of application | Processing time |
|---|---|
| Correction to a certificate | Up to 28 days (4 weeks) |
Allow extra time for public holidays and postage
Certificate fees and postage
The fees are non-refundable except as set out in our Refunds page. A fee waiver may be available in certain circumstances of financial hardship.
Certificate fees
| Whereabouts of original certificate | Price |
|---|---|
| If you return the original recognised details certificate | $0.00 |
| If you do not return the original recognised details certificate | $57.50 |
Postage fees are additional.
Postage fees
We send legal certificates by express post, for security
| Postage and handling method | Price |
|---|---|
| Express post (within Australia) | $10.40 |
| Express post (International) | $57.10 |
Payment methods
Pay via credit/debit card or BPAY.
After you've submitted your application
You'll receive an email after you've submitted your application.
If you didn't receive an email after applying, first check your spam inbox. If you still don't have the email, read about common causes of delay.
Once we have everything we need, we complete your application within processing timeframes and email to let you know when we've posted your certificate.
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