Reclaiming Traditional Indigenous Names

The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services has implemented changes to help Indigenous people reclaim traditional names.

 

For the next five years, the ministry will waive the fees for Indigenous people residing in Ontario who wish to reclaim their traditional names. For those born in Ontario but living elsewhere, we will also waive the fee for one updated birth certificate and one updated certified copy of their birth registration following their name change to a traditional name made outside of Ontario.

 

In addition, recent changes to Ontario laws also allow a birth to be registered with, or a person to have their name changed to, a single name. To be eligible, the single name must be in accordance with the person’s traditional culture. The changes are aimed at helping residential school survivors and their families reclaim traditional names.

The Vital Statistics Act and the Change of Name Act have been changed to allow a child born in Ontario to be registered with, or a person’s name changed to, a single name, if it is in accordance with the person’s traditional culture.

Applying for a legal name change, single name and fee waiver: 

To be eligible to change your name, you must live in Ontario for twelve months before applying for a legal name change.

Separate forms must be filled out and submitted together to:

•  Change a name, whether for adults or children
•  Apply for a name change to a single name
•  Apply for a fee waiver

 

All forms and instructions are available online at ontario.ca/page/change-name

You can also get paper copies of the forms by contacting ServiceOntario.

ServiceOntario is waiving fees until January 2022 for residential school survivors and their families who are reclaiming a traditional Indigenous name, or an Indigenous person changing their name to a single name.

Please be aware that fees can only be waived once. For any changes after that, regular fees will apply.