• Their guardian submits the application on their behalf.
• An official determines the opinion of the person if the person’s capacity to understand allows for it.
• The application can only be submitted physically at the office of an appropriate authority.

Citizens of Estonia and persons with undetermined citizenship staying in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit can apply for a new name.

A new given name and surname shall not be given to a person who has been convicted of an offence provided for in § 141 (2) 1), § 141.1 (2) 1), § 142 (2) 1), § 143 (2) (valid until 15.07.2006) or (2) 1) (valid 16.07.2006- 22.12.2013), § 143.1 (2) 1), § 143.2 (1) or § 144–146 of the Penal Code. Applications submitted by such persons are not processed.

The application can be submitted in the e-population register or physically at the office of the appropriate authority. Applications can be submitted to:

Jõhvi Rural Municipality Government, address: 2 Kooli Street, Jõhvi
Pärnu City Government, address: 16 Suur-Sepa Street, Pärnu
Tartu City Government, address: 12 Tiigi Street, Tartu
Tallinn Vital Statistics Department, address: 67 Pärnu Road, Tallinn

Citizens of Estonia and persons with undetermined citizenship staying in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit can apply for a new name.
An online application cannot be submitted for changing the name of an adult with restricted active legal capacity.
When submitting an online application, you must pay the state fee during the process. If the state fee does not have to be paid for the name change procedure, the application should be submitted physically to the appropriate authority.

The state fee is not required when the applicant:

• wishes to bear a surname which is different from the personal name entered in the population register due to writing of the name as one or several words or due to single characters (the Names Act, clause § 17¹ (1) 5));
• wishes to use, in the case of a surname consisting of two names in brackets, one of these names without brackets (the Names Act, clause § 17¹ (1) 6));
• wishes to bear the surname in the form which is entered in the population register but which differs from the name form entered in the document serving as the basis for assignment of the name to the person due to application of the transcription rules (the Names Act, clause § 17¹ (1) 7));
• wishes to give his or her minor child the surname which the person took after marrying the other parent of the child (if the child received his or her surname from the parent at birth who is going to assume the other parent’s surname as a joint surname when registering the marriage; clause § 17¹ (1) 8)).

The following state fees are paid for the name change procedure: 150 euros for changing the given name, 150 euros for changing the surname, 300 euros for changing the personal name (given name and last name together). The state fee is not compensated if the processing of the application ends with a refusal.

When submitting the application physically at the office of the appropriate authority, the state fee must be paid to the bank account of the Ministry of Finance:

• SEB Pank — EE891010220034796011 (SWIFT: EEUHEE2X)
• Swedbank — EE932200221023778606 (SWIFT: HABAEE2X)
• Luminor Bank — EE701700017001577198 (SWIFT: NDEAEE2X)

The reference number of the authority to whom the application is submitted is added to the payment order. The reference numbers of the authorities are:

• Jõhvi Rural Municipality Government — Jõhvi Rural Municipality — 10294002000024
• Pärnu City Government — City of Pärnu — 10294002000105
• Tallinn Vital Statistics Department — Tallinn — 10294002000011
• Tartu City Government — City of Tartu — 10294002000134

The state fee is not required when the applicant:

• wishes to bear a surname which is different from the personal name entered in the population register due to writing of the name as one or several words or due to single characters (the Names Act, clause 17 (1) 5));
• wishes to use, in the case of a surname consisting of two names in brackets, one of these names without brackets (the Names Act, clause 17 (1) 6));
• wishes to bear the surname in the form which is entered in the population register but which differs from the name form entered in the document serving as the basis for assignment of the name to the person due to application of the transcription rules (the Names Act, clause 17 (1) 7));
• wishes to give his or her minor child the surname which the person took after marrying the other parent of the child (if the child received his or her surname from the parent at birth who is going to assume the other parent’s surname as a joint surname when registering the marriage; clause 17 (1) 8)).

A decision can be made based on the data in the population register if the Names Act does not require a reason or the use of discretion (for example, applying for the surname of a parent if the population register documents the familial connection and the parent bears or has borne the desired surname). Once the online application has been submitted and its compliance with the requirements stipulated in the Names Act has passed an automatic check in the population register and the requirements for making the decision have been met, the Ministry of the Interior makes an automatic decision regarding the name change.

If the Names Act requires a good reason and the use of discretion (for example, a freely chosen surname has been selected or there have been prior name changes), an official will assess the validity of the reason and the possibility of granting the desired name. If necessary, the applicant must submit further evidence or provide clarifications.

When it is possible to make an automated decision, the person changing their name is warned in the e-service that the decision to change the name is made when the state fee is paid and the new name is entered into the population register immediately.

The time for making the decision depends on the complexity of the decision (need for evidence, clarification of circumstances) as well as the organisation of work of the official, the procedures of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Personal Names Committee.