Please find information on the reform of the German naming law here.

Name Declaration for Spouses

The name of a German citizen does not automatically change through marriage.

1. Do we have to submit a name declaration?

If both spouses wish to have the same name, they have to specify a shared name. If the spouses are married in Germany, they can specify which name they will use during the civil wedding ceremony. The shared name is then stated on the marriage certificate.

Starting May 1, 2025, under German law the married couple will be able to specify a joint last name formed from the two last names. However, the name cannot consist of more than two parts. Joint last names can be written with or without a hyphen.

Example: The two German citizens Lisa Becker and Lukas Schmidt are married in Germany, on May 1, 2025. Unlike before, they can now use their combined last names as their shared last name (e.g. “Becker-Schmidt”). Children born in wedlock automatically receive that same last name as their name at birth, as has been the case in the past.

Also as in the past, only one name can be designated as the family name. The spouse whose name does not become the married name can add his or her maiden name or birth name with a hyphen in front or behind the married name.

For spouses who already use a married name, there is a transition rule allowing them to create a hyphenated married name from both last names.

Please find additional information on the website of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

If the spouses do not specify a shared married name, they continue to use the last names they have each been using to date.

For Germans living abroad, there is an important change in private international law regarding the right to bear a name.

Starting May 1, 2025, spouses can choose their future name in accordance with the law of the country

1. to which one of them belongs or

2. in which one of them has their habitual residence

at or after the wedding ceremony by declaration at a registry office.

If your spouse is a U.S. citizen and you choose U.S. law to govern the selection of your married name, you can use any name you wish, as U.S. naming law is subject to common law.

Example: Lisa Becker and Ian Smith live and marry in the U.S. If they marry in the U.S. on or after May 1, 2025, Lisa can select the name “Lisa Becker Smith,” to appear on the marriage certificate.

Previously, this name was not possible under German law, which is why a name declaration was required. With the change in private international law, this is no longer necessary and the married name on the marriage certificate is automatically deemed valid in Germany, if they wedding took place after May 1, 2025. It should be noted that the married name must be stated on the marriage certificate. The subsequent married name on a U.S. driver's license or a U.S. Social Security Card in the case of a US-German dual national can be adopted without a name declaration. For exclusively German nationals, a name declaration is still required if the subsequent married name is to be adopted.

The above also applies to registered same-sex partnerships.

If you wish to submit a declaration of a married name, the documents must be sent to the embassy or consulate general before booking the appointment.

If the German spouse was previously married and divorced abroad, please refer to the information regarding recognition of divorces obtained abroad on the following page: Recognition of foreign rulings in matrimonial matters (divorces obtained abroad).

Name Change by U.S. Court Order

Please note that a name change ordered by a U.S. court is not valid for German citizens.

Which documents do we need to complete?

Download the declaration form here:

Declaration form in German

Please print out the declration form and complete it carefully. Do not use block capital letters because this could result in deviated spelling.

Instead of doing a name declaration, the spouses can alternatively register their marriage in the register of marriages (“Eheregister”) at the competent Registrar’s Office (“Standesamt”) in Germany and a German marriage certificate can be issued. The name declaration is included in the application form for the marriage registration.

General information on registering a marriage

How do we have to submit the declaration?

The Registrar’s Office in Germany that was the last place of residency of one of the spouses is responsible for processing the declaration. If neither of the spouses ever resided in Germany, the Registrar’s Office I in Berlin is the appropriate office for processing the marriage registration.

The German Consular Missions in the U.S. however do not process the declarations, but forward them, upon request, to the appropriate Registrar’s Office in Germany. You however also have the option to send your declaration directly to the appropriate Registrar’s Office. In this case, your signatures would have to be notarized by a U.S. Notary Public.

If you wish to submit your declaration through a German Consular Mission, both spouses need to be present during the appointment, since both of their signatures on the form must be notarized.

What documents do we need?

If you would like to directly submit the declaration to the Registrar’s Office in Germany, please send in one completed declaration form, including the documents mentioned below as notarized copies or in the original. Copies may be notarized by the German Consular Mission or a Notary Public, see information leaflet.

If you would like to submit your application through the German consular mission, please present one completed application form as well as the documents mentioned below in the original. Copies are made at the German mission and then notarized for a fee.

• marriage certificate of the spouses (issued by the“ Registrar/Clerk of the Court”)
• passports of both spouses; for non-U.S. citizens residence permit (visa or Green Card)
• birth certificates of both spouses
• in case of dual citizenship, U.S. Naturalization Certificate with “Beibehaltungsgenehmigung”
• If you have children: birth certificates of your children
• if applicable, German Naturalization Certificate or “Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis”
• if applicable, divorce decree or death certificate
• if applicable, deregistration from Germany (“Abmeldebescheinigung”)

The Registrar’s Offices in Germany have the right to request apostilles and translations of all foreign documents. It is up to the discretion of the competent Registrar’s Office whether the documents are accepted with or without an apostille and translation.

Based on the experiences of the German Missions in the U.S., depending on the individual Registrar’s Office, the requirements for the documents that have to be submitted vary considerably. This applies to how the documents are being certified (notarized by a U.S. Notary Public or a German Consular Officer), as well as to what kind of documents need to be presented (certified copies or originals/with or without an apostille/with or without a translation into German). In order to expedite the processing of your declaration, we recommend that you contact the appropriate Registrar’s Office in Germany prior to submitting your declaration. This would also include inquiring about the possibility of sending the documents directly to the Registrar’s Office without involving the German Missions.

What is the fee for a marriage name declaration?

During your appointment at the Embassy, you initially only pay the fee for notarizing your signature(s) and for notarizing the copies of the supporting documents. You may pay the fee in cash in US-Dollars at the current exchange rate or with credit card (Visa or Mastercard, the amount will be charged in Euros):

A certificate about the validity of the name declaration can be ordered, which is recommended for future passport applications. The fee for the issuance is set by each Registrar’s Office individually and is normally 12.00 EUR each.

The fees cannot be paid at the German Consular Mission, but must be settled with the respective Registrar’s Office. The Registrar’s Office will send you a payment request after it received your declaration.

How long will it take to process the name declaration?

The processing time depends on the Registrar's Office in charge and varies significantly from city to city.

Given the ever increasing number of declerations, please be advised that processing at the Registrar’s Office I in Berlin usually takes two to three months. Once the last name has been confirmed, the German passport with the new name can be issued.

Which German Consular Mission serves my U.S. home state?

To find out which of the nine German Consular Missions in the U.S. serves your U.S. home state, which is the correct mailing address or whether you need to schedule an appointment to submit the declaration in person, please use our interactive consulate finder