1. Legal basis for changing a child’s surname.
The regulations regarding changing a child’s surname are as follows:
- Law on Civil Registration 2014
- Civil Code 2015
- Marriage and Family Law 2014
- Decree 123/2015/ND-CP provides guidance on the Law on Civil Status.
2. Cases where changing a child’s surname is permitted.
According to Clause 2, Article 26 of the 2015 Civil Code , an individual’s surname can be that of either their biological father or mother, depending on the agreement between the parents. If the biological father cannot be identified, the child will bear the mother’s surname.
Furthermore, according to Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP , if a person under 18 years of age wishes to change their surname, middle name, or given name, both parents’ consent is required. This consent must be clearly stated in the application form when carrying out the procedure. In particular, for children aged 9 years and older, the law requires the consent of the child themselves.
Furthermore, according to points a and d of Clause 1, Article 27 of the 2015 Civil Code , individuals have the right to request the competent state agency to allow them to change their surname in certain cases such as:
- Change a child’s surname from the father’s to the mother’s or vice versa;
- Changing a child’s surname can be done at the request of either parent after confirmation of a blood relationship with the child.
In practice, if a child’s birth certificate does not contain information about the father, and the parents are not legally married, then according to regulations, the man is not legally recognized as the biological father. Therefore, before proceeding with the surname change procedure, it is necessary to carry out the paternity recognition procedure as stipulated in Articles 25 and 28 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status .
However, there is an exception: if a child is born before the parents register their marriage, and a birth certificate exists but does not include the father’s name, then when the parents acknowledge paternity in writing, there will be no need to go through the paternity acknowledgment procedure. Instead, it is only necessary to supplement the civil registry, adding the father’s information to the civil registry and the child’s birth certificate as prescribed by law.
3. Conditions for changing a child’s surname.
To change a child’s surname according to current law, certain conditions must be met. Specifically:
- The child must be under 18 years old.
- There was a valid reason for changing the surname.
- If the child is 9 years old or older, written consent from the child is required.
- If the child is already 18 years old, they must apply to change their surname themselves.
