When you get married you don’t have to legally change your last name (surname). You have 3 options if you would like to change your name.
You can:
• change your last name to your spouse’s last name
• combine both of your last names with a space in-between
• combine both of your last names with a hyphen
To change your last name, you will need:
• your marriage certificate *
• your current photo health card and/or driver’s license
• if you do not have a photo health card, you must also bring three original documents to prove your Canadian citizenship, that you are an Ontario resident and to prove your personal identity
* A marriage certificate is a record of a marriage. It lists the date and place of the marriage, and names of the people who were married. A record of solemnization of marriage (the bottom half of your marriage license that the officiant gives you) is not the same as a marriage certificate.
Before you can get a marriage certificate, a marriage needs to be registered.
You can order a marriage certificate about 6-8 weeks after your wedding at the Service Ontario website.
The cost of a file-size marriage certificate is $15.
There is no charge to change your name (assume your spouse’s last name). Your name remains the same on your birth certificate.