General information

The surname of a German citizen does not change automatically as a result of divorce or the death of the spouse. It is possible, following a divorce recognised in Germany or the death of one’s spouse, to revert to one’s birth name or pre-marital name by means of a name declaration. If you wish to keep your married name from a marriage that has been dissolved due to death or divorce, no name declaration is required.

A unilateral name declaration is also an option if a spouse already uses a married name, but subsequently wishes to add their birth name to their married name with a hyphen and use a compound surname from then on. It is also possible, once only, to remove a surname that has been added to the married name with a hyphen.

Recognition of foreign divorce

If you divorced abroad, the foreign divorce decree first has to be recognised by the competent court in Germany before a name declaration can come into effect. More detailed information on the recognition of foreign divorces can be found here.

Only in exceptional cases can the foreign decision be effective under German law without an application and formal recognition process. For example, divorce decrees from European Union member states - apart from Denmark - do not need to be recognised if the divorce proceedings were started after 1 March 2001 or after the date of accession of the member state, if that came later. In this case, you can apply instead to the court that granted your divorce for a certificate as referred to in Article 39 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 (known in the United Kingdom as Form D180). You can find further guidance here.

The name declaration is filed by the German partner; their divorced spouse does not have to give consent or be present.

A unilateral name declaration does not usually affect the names of any children. If you want your child’s surname to change as well, you can find information about a name declaration here.

What documents are required?

If you want to start preparing what you need for your application, please first read our information about the process involved here.

If you wish to file a unilateral declaration on the use of a name in your marriage, the documents listed below will be required:

• Cover letter
• The form Unilateral Declaration on the Use of a Name in the Marriage, fully and legibly filled in - please write normally (not block capitals) and do not sign the form.
• Valid German passport or identity card and other passports, if applicable (the ID page of the passports is all that is needed) and, for Germans who do not also possess British citizenship, proof of residential status in the United Kingdom
• Certificate of naturalisation or certificate of nationality, if applicable
• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Proof that you have a married name (name certificate from the German registry office, excerpt from the family register/ marriage register or German marriage certificate)
• If you have children, children’s birth certificates – it is the long version that is needed, which also includes the name of the parents
• If the marriage has been registered in Germany, proof of this (e.g. excerpt from the family register or German marriage certificate)
• Proof of residence in the United Kingdom (e.g. council tax bill or utility bill)
• Certificate of deregistration from Germany or an up-to-date registration certificate from your (last) German place of residence, if applicable
• Translations of all foreign-language documents (not usually required in the case of international multilingual or English-language birth and marriage certificates)

Only in the case of a unilateral name declaration following the death of the spouse:

• Partner’s death certificate

Only in the case of a unilateral name declaration following divorce:

• Decree absolute
  • In the case of a divorce in an EU country (with the exception of Denmark) after 1 March 2001, you need to submit a Certificate as referred to in Art. 39 (Annex I) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003. To obtain the certificate you have to apply to the court that granted the divorce. In the United Kingdom the certificate is also known as Form D180.
  • If you were divorced in a third country (i.e. not Germany or a European Union member state), the registry office may, when processing your application, ask for the formal divorce recognition. You only count as divorced in Germany if the divorce has been formally recognised. Therefore you must get the divorce recognised before applying to file a unilateral name declaration.

How do I submit my application?

PLAIN COPIES (not the originals!) of the documents listed must be sent BY POST to the Embassy in London or the Consulate General in Edinburgh before you book an appointment. Click here for details of what the process involves.

The originals of the documents listed above only need to be presented at your appointment.

Additional documents may be required, depending on the case, and the registry office may ask you for them after you have submitted your application. In particular, you may be asked for German translations of documents (including English-language ones). In addition, apostilles are increasingly being required on foreign documents. Click here for information on applying for apostilles on British documents.

You can find further guidance on name declarations (processing time, fees) here.

Other topics:

Divorce information from the Federal Foreign Office Help Desk (in German)

Recognition of a foreign decision in matrimonial matters (in German)