Minor Change of Name

Change of Name for a Child Below the Age of 21 Years. From 1 June 2007, to effect a change of name of a minor, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) requires one parent to complete a form to declare that the minor’s other parent has also consented to the name change, in addition to producing the Deed Poll. If the other parent is uncontactable or has died, the parent who has signed the Deed Poll must state this information on the Declaration Form accordingly.

It is essential that if the other parent can be found, you should attempt to seek his or her consent prior to applying for a Deed Poll with Loh Eben Ong. During your attendance in our office, if a single parent is signing the Deed Poll for the child, he or she will be required to sign Loh Eben Ong’s Declaration Form for our internal records.

Advisable for Both Parents to Sign for Child’s Deed Poll

We would advise that both parents to sign the Deed Poll for their minor child so that there will be less hurdle when changing the child’s name in his or her NRIC, Passport or at the Registry of Birth.

Occasionally, ICA may require both parents to sign to effect the change of name, which is beyond our control. In the event that you faced such issue, please do not make any allegation against us that we have failed to advise you accordingly, and we take strong objection to any such allegation and reserve all our rights and/or remedies.

Parents made decisions for reasons best known to themseleves to have only 1 parent to sign. Such reasons may include but not limited to one parent too busy to attend at our office, or the other parent is difficult to contact as they are both separated.

Change of Surname for Minor

Based on our experence, ICA wil be very slow to change a child’s surname without both parents’ consent (unless one of them has died). Even when you wish to adopt the surname of the natural father of the child, whose name does not appear in the child’s birth certificate, ICA may require a DNA to confirm that he is the natural father of the child.

[Caution: this is strictly general information and not legal advice, and all change of name is subject to ICA’s current policies and procedures]

Singapore Permanent Resident

For Singapore Permanent Resident (Blue IC), please check with Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and/or your national immigration authority on your change of name in Singapore Blue Identity Card and/or your foreign Passport before you apply for a change of name via our Deed Poll (Online or Offline) services.

National Servicemen

For National Servicemen (Active) holding Singapore Green Identity Card, please check with the relevant authority in Mindef on your proposed change of name if you are in doubt.

Name Change is Subject to ICA’s Policies

Your Chosen New Name(s) may be rejected by ICA based on their current policies or regulations, and if in doubt, please verify with ICA directly. We are unable to advise you on your choice of name(s) as it is very personal to every individual. Notwithstanding there is a Deed Poll, we are unablet to warrant that ICA will accept the proposed change due to their governing policies.

Other Modes of Name Change

Deed Poll is only one of the ways to change the names in your Identity Card, and there are other methods [such as Baptism Certificate (for Baptism Name) or Marriage Certificate (for Married Name) refer to our FAQs].

Post Deed Poll

Deed Poll is one of the documents relied on by ICA to enable you to change your name in your Identity Card (IC), and by itself does not automatically change your name in your IC. You will still have to apply to ICA with the Deed Poll to change your name in your IC and pay the relevant fee(s) charged by ICA. For more information, please visit ICA’s website.