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BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT 37

37.(1) The provisions of this Article shall apply only to persons whose births
are registered in Northern Ireland, and, without prejudice to section 25 of
the Adoption Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 relating to the giving or taking of a
new name, to persons in respect of whom there is an entry in the Adopted
Children Register maintained by the Registrar General under section 23 of that
Act.

(2) Where, within two years from the date of the birth of any child, the name
by which it was registered is changed or, if it was registered without a name,
a name is given to the child, the Registrar General upon delivery to him
within two years from the date of birth of the child, of a certificate in the
prescribed form signed

(a)if the name was changed or given in baptism, by the person who performed
the ceremony of baptism or who has custody of the register in which the
baptism is recorded, or

(b)if the name was changed or given otherwise than in baptism, by the
qualified applicant,

(3) Where an application in the prescribed form is made to the Registrar
General by the qualified applicant in respect of the change of name or surname
of a child under eighteen years of age, the Registrar General may record that
change of name or surname by causing an appropriate entry to be made in the
register

(a)if evidence to the satisfaction of the Registrar General is produced that
the name or surname which the qualified applicant wishes to have recorded has
been in use by or in respect of the child to whom the application relates for
a period of not less than two years prior to the date of application; and

(b)if the Registrar General is not satisfied with the evidence so produced,
there is also produced to him a copy of a notice inserted in a newspaper
circulating in the area of the child's usual residence specifying the
qualified applicant's intention to apply to the Registrar General for the
recording of the name or surname proposed and specifying also that such name
or surname has been in use by the child for a period of not less than two
years prior to the date of the insertion of the notice in the newspaper;

(4) Where an application in the prescribed form is made to the Registrar
General in respect of a change of name or surname of a person over eighteen
years of age, the Registrar General may record that change of name or surname
by causing an appropriate entry to be made in the register

(a)if evidence to the satisfaction of the Registrar General is produced that
the name or surname which the applicant wishes to have recorded has been in
use by him for a period of not less than two years prior to the date of the
application; and

(b)if the Registrar General is not satisfied with the evidence so produced,
there is also produced to him a copy of a notice inserted in a newspaper
circulating in the area of the applicant's usual residence specifying the
applicant's intention to apply to the Registrar General for the recording of
the name or surname proposed and specifying also that such name or surname has
been in use by him for a period of not less than two years prior to the date
of the insertion of the notice in the newspaper;

(5) On making an application under any of the provisions of this Article the
applicant shall pay such fees as may be prescribed.

(6) Nothing in this Article shall affect any rule of law as respects change of
name or surname.

(7) In paragraphs (2) and (3) "qualified applicant" means

(a)the father and mother of the child; or

(b)if either of the parents is deceased, the surviving parent; or

(c)in the case of an illegitimate child, the mother of the child; or

(d)if both parents are deceased, the guardian of the child or other person who
has determined that the name, or, as the case may be, the surname, of the
child should be changed or given;

(8) In this Article "change" in relation to a name or surname includes any
change by way of substitution, addition, omission, spelling or hyphenation.

© 1976 Crown Copyright

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