After a summer full of weddings, including my own, I am slowly working through what documents and who needs to be notified when changing my surname.
Of course, you don’t have to change your name when you get married, you can also combine or hyphenate surnames but I have made a checklist of what to start thinking about if you are.
As per, govt.nz: If you want to change your last name, you do not usually have to complete any forms or go through a process.
When you get married, you’ll be sent a form to update your details on the electoral roll. Otherwise, you can just start using your new last name.
Different organisations have different rules for proving identification (ID), but you can usually use your marriage certificate if you need proof to show you’ve taken your partner’s surname.
You can choose to legally change your name — it’s up to you.
It includes links to all the important information including government pages and how much it could cost. There are different categories including photo ID, banking, official documents and other. This way you can easily reference where you are up to, any dates and other notes you have made along the way.
Let me know if I’ve missed anything and I can update the spreadsheet for others! Good luck working through the process!
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