3. Apply for a fee waiver and tell your partner

When applying to reclaim your traditional name in Ontario, you can get the fees waived. This means that you do not have to pay the application fee.

You're eligible to have your fees waived if you're:

• a residential school survivor,
• a direct descendant of a residential school survivor, for example, their child or grandchild,
• a spouse of a residential school survivor or a spouse of a direct descendant of a residential school survivor, or
• an Indigenous person applying to change their name to a single name.

You can apply for a fee waiver if you want to:

• reclaim your or your child's Indigenous name – you get one change of name certificate and one updated birth certificate
• change a child's birth registration to reflect a parent's reclaimed indigenous name – you get an updated birth certificate for the child and one updated birth registration
• change the Ontario marriage registration – you get an updated marriage certificate and marriage registration

You get only one fee waiver for each type of document you need changed.

For example, you can have the fee waived to reclaim your name and change the name on your birth and marriage certificates. But if you want to change the name on any of them again you have to pay the fee.

To make the fee waiver process go more smoothly, you should try and submit all your applications at the same time.

Publishing in the Ontario Gazette

Usually, all name changes must be published in the Ontario Gazette. This is an official government of Ontario publication. But if you're reclaiming your or your child's Indigenous name, it does not have to be announced in the Ontario Gazette.

If you do not want the change to be published, you must fill out Form 007-111320e: Request for Non-Publication in The Ontario Gazette and submit it with the rest of your application.

If you’re married or living common-law

You must prove that you've informed your partner that you're reclaiming your traditional name if:

• you're married, or
• you've signed a joint declaration of conjugal relationship that tells the Ontario government you're in a common law relationship.

This is called giving notice.

If you're in a common-law relationship but have not signed a joint declaration of conjugal relationship, you do not have to inform your partner.

Part 2 of the application has the notice that you must give your partner. Fill out the notice form and give it to your partner along with a copy of your application form.

You can give both forms to them in person. If you do not live together, you have to send the forms by certified mail to the last address they were living at.

If you send it by certified mail, keep the receipt and include it with your application when you submit it.

Your partner has to sign the notice and return it to you. If they do not sign the form, the mail receipt will show that you gave notice.

You must inform your partner at least 30 days before you submit your application.