Declaration on the use of names - Declaration on the use of names by spouses without a domestic marriage or marriage entry

Spouses can choose their own name.

The following name declarations can be considered if the spouses have German personal status:

• Marriage name determination (also after the marriage)
• Adoption of an accompanying name (prefix or suffix)
• Reassumption of the birth name

The corresponding declaration must be made to the registry office The declaration is personal.

Furthermore, the person making the declaration must have legal capacity; for persons with limited legal capacity, the provisions of Section 106 BGB apply; for persons under guardianship, Sections 119ff BGB apply.

Declarations made after the marriage must always be notarized.

In Germany, notaries and any civil registrar appointed in Germany are responsible for notarization. In the case of declarations made abroad, the certification and authentication authority of German consular officials must be observed.

Declarations of name are declarations of intent requiring official receipt and only become effective after receipt by the competent German registry office.

If there is no German marriage or marriage entry for the marriage, the registry office in whose jurisdiction one of the declaring parties has or last had his or her place of residence or habitual abode is responsible for accepting a declaration on the use of the name in the marriage. If there is such a domestic connection, this jurisdiction applies if the marriage was concluded abroad and has not yet been subsequently notarized in a German marriage register. If there is no such domestic connection in the form of a domicile or habitual residence in Germany, the registry office I in Berlin is responsible.