Ontario Name Change Form 11155: Who Signs Each Part, and When

Last updated: October 24, 2026

Ontario Name Change Form 11155: Who Signs Each Part, and When

Quick answer: Ontario's Application to Change an Adult's Name (Form 11155) is signed in two stages. Before your appointment, other people sign their own pages: your guarantor signs the Guarantor's Statement (Part 4); your spouse or partner, if you have one, can sign the Notice Form (Part 2); and if you are 16 or 17 and unmarried, each person with legal custody signs the Consent Form (Part 3). At the appointment, only two people sign: you, at the X on the Statutory Declaration (Part 6), and the notary or commissioner, who completes and seals it. None of the others meets the notary. Fill in every part, collect their signatures, then bring or upload the whole application. At Minute Notary the declaration is from $24.95 plus HST.

The adult name change form is 17 pages long, and the part that trips people up isn't the questions. It's the signatures. One application can carry half a dozen of them, from people who never meet: yours, your guarantor's, your spouse's or your parents', the commissioner's and the cardholder's. Each one goes on a different page, and some have to be done weeks before the others.

This guide walks through the form part by part, says who signs each page and when, and ends with the checklist we ask every client to finish before the appointment. For the wider process (who can apply, the $137 fee, the processing time and what to update afterwards), see our guide to the full name change process in Ontario.

Key Takeaways

The Seven Parts of Form 11155

Download the current form from ServiceOntario's change of name page, or from its Central Forms Repository listing (007-11155). You can also fill it in on our site with the free Form 11155 template and download a ready-to-sign PDF. The version this guide follows is 11155E (2024/09).

The form has seven parts. Not everyone uses all of them, but ServiceOntario's instruction in Part 5 is to send every page, even the ones that don't apply to you.

The form numbers in brackets are printed on the pages themselves, which is why people search for "Form 8" when they mean the guarantor's page, or "Form 6" for the spouse notice.

The Right Order: Other People First, the Notary Last

The order matters because of what you declare in Part 6. The Statutory Declaration says, among other things, that every consent in the application has been obtained, every notice has been given, and the information is true and complete. You can't truthfully declare that while a consent is still unsigned or the notice hasn't gone out.

The form says the same thing in plain steps. Part 6 starts: "Make sure all documents you need are filled in and signed by the necessary people," then "Bring the application and all of the documents to the commissioner. Sign at the X on the next page in front of the commissioner." ServiceOntario's change of name page lists "Gather signatures, identity documents, supporting documents and any required consents, notices or police checks" before "Sign the Statutory Declaration form in the presence of a commissioner of oaths", and it names a notary public among the commissioners.

A workable timeline:

1. Fill in Part 1 completely, and the top sections of Parts 2, 3 and 4.
2. Deal with notice early. If your spouse or partner won't sign, the mailed notice must go out at least 30 days before you file, so start here.
3. Get your guarantor's signature on Part 4.
4. Get each consent on Part 3, if you are 16 or 17.
5. Collect the documents in Part 5, including any translation and, if your answers call for one, the police record check.
6. Book the appointment and upload the whole application, all 17 pages, with Part 6 left blank.
7. Sign Part 6 in front of the notary, who completes and seals it.
8. Fill in the payment page, then mail the package to the Office of the Registrar General in Thunder Bay, or hand it in at ServiceOntario.

Part 1: Information About You

Part 1 is yours alone, and nobody signs it. It asks for your current legal name, your new name, where and when you were born, how long you have lived in Ontario, your marital or relationship status, the parents on your birth registration, why you are changing your name, any earlier name change, and two sets of questions about court proceedings and money.

A few points that come up at the appointment:

• Your current legal name is the one on your birth certificate if you were born in Ontario, or the name recognized where you last lived before Ontario if you weren't. Part 5 explains this, so read it before you fill in the first line.
• Separated but not divorced counts as married. The form tells you to tick "Yes", which brings in Part 2.
• The criminal offence questions (Section D). A "Yes" to question 2, 3, 4 or 5 means you include a current original police record check, so get it before the appointment.
• The financial questions (Section E) cover unpaid judgments, sheriff's writs, liens, registered financing statements such as a car loan, and bankruptcy. A "Yes" doesn't disqualify you; leaving one out is a false statement.

If your answers raise legal questions, speak to a lawyer or paralegal before the appointment. A notary can't advise on them.

Part 2: The Notice Form for Your Spouse or Partner

You fill in Part 2 only if you are married now (including separated) or you signed a Joint Declaration of Conjugal Relationship and sent it to the Registrar General, unless you later revoked it with a Declaration that Conjugal Relationship has Ended. If neither applies, skip to Part 3, but still send the blank pages.

Caption: Your spouse signs to say they were told, not that they agree. You sign the top of the same page first.

You fill in the top half: the name of the person you are notifying, your current and new names exactly as in Part 1, your mailing address, your signature and the date.

Your spouse or partner fills in the bottom half, the "Acknowledgement of Notice of a Name Change": their name and address, which relationship applies, their signature and the date. The form is plain about what that means: "If you sign this form, it does not mean you agree or disagree with the name change. It simply means that you know about it."

There are two ways to give notice, and section 6(7) of the Change of Name Act sets both:

• A signed acknowledgment. Your spouse or partner signs the bottom half and you send it with the application. If you live together and they sign it, you don't have to mail anything to them.
• Registered or certified mail. If they won't sign, or you can't reach them, mail the Notice Form and a copy of your completed application to their last known address at least 30 days before you file. Send the original registered mail receipt, with the name, address and date stamp on it, in your package. If they sign and return the form after all, include that too.

If more than one person is entitled to notice, photocopy the blank Notice Form and give each person their own, with a copy of the application. The person you notify can't stop your name change unless they get a court order.

Part 3: The Consent Form for Applicants Aged 16 or 17

Part 3 applies only if you are 16 or 17 and not married. The Change of Name Act needs the written consent of every person with legal custody of you. That is usually both parents, because parents share custody unless a court order or separation agreement says otherwise, and it can include anyone a court has named.

• You fill in the top of each Consent Form: your current name, your new name, your date of birth and your address.
• Each person with custody fills in and signs the bottom. Photocopy the blank form so each one has their own page.
• Send the custody papers. Include the originals, or court-certified copies, of any court order or separation agreement that names who has custody of you.
• If someone refuses, you can ask the Ontario Court of Justice for an order that lets you apply without that consent, and send a court-certified copy of the order instead.

If you are 16 or 17 and married, you skip Part 3 and send proof of the marriage, such as a copy of your marriage certificate. Changing the name of a child under 16 is a different form, Form 11156, with its own consent rules; our guide to changing a child's name with Form 11156 covers it.

Part 4: The Guarantor's Statement

Every adult applicant needs a guarantor. The guarantor's only job is to confirm that you have been ordinarily resident in Ontario for at least the past 12 months, which is why the form needs this page even if you were born in Ontario.

Caption: A guarantor from the listed professions signs on personal knowledge. No commissioner is needed for this page.

Who qualifies. The guarantor must know you and know how long you have lived in Ontario, and must be one of these (from Regulation 68 under the Act, repeated on the form):

1. a provincial judge;
2. a justice of the peace;
3. a chief of a First Nations band located in Ontario;
4. a person authorized under the Marriage Act to solemnize marriages;
5. a legally qualified medical practitioner;
6. a member of the Law Society of Ontario;
7. the head of an Ontario municipal council;
8. a clerk of an Ontario municipality;
9. a principal of an elementary or secondary school;
10. a manager or signing officer of an Ontario branch of a bank, loan corporation, trust corporation, credit union or caisse populaire.

If nobody on that list knows you, the form allows someone other than a relative who has known you for at least five years and knows you have lived in Ontario for the past 12 months.

What about a relative? The form rules out relatives only in that five-year fallback group. Neither the Act nor the form says a relative who is, say, a doctor can't sign, but an application that comes back costs weeks. If a relative is the only listed person who knows you, ask the Office of the Registrar General (1-800-461-2156) before you mail the package.

How the page is filled in. You complete the top: your current name, exactly as in Part 1. The guarantor completes the bottom: their name, mailing address, usual occupation, the month and year they have known you since, the month and year you have lived in Ontario since (to their knowledge), their signature and the date. The form asks you to remove the Guarantor's Statement from the application, hand it to the guarantor, and make sure every section is complete before you submit. Blue or black ink, and no correction fluid; a guarantor who fixes a mistake brackets it and initials it.

Two lists people mix up. The passport guarantor list is a different, federal list, and the passport rules aren't these; see who can be a passport guarantor. And a notary public who isn't a lawyer is not on the name change list. Minute Notary commissions your declaration but doesn't act as your guarantor.

Part 5: The Documents That Go With It

Part 5 is a checklist, not a signature page, but two things in it involve another person's signature.

• Translations. A document that isn't in English or French needs a complete copy of the original, a complete copy of the translation, and an original declaration from the translator. A professional translator's declaration doesn't need to be sworn. A non-professional translator, such as a bilingual friend, must swear it before a commissioner, and that is a separate appointment for the translator, or a separate declaration on the same call. Our guide to the affidavit of translation explains how that works.
• A missing birth certificate from abroad. If you can't get a copy, the form asks for a signed written explanation of why and what you tried.

For the full list of birth, citizenship, immigration and earlier name change documents by place of birth, see the documents section of our Ontario name change guide.

Part 6: The Statutory Declaration, the Only Page Signed Before a Notary

Part 6 is where you declare, solemnly, that the whole application is true. It is the only part of the form that must be signed in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits, and a notary public in Ontario has all the powers of a commissioner. Leave it completely blank until the appointment.

By signing, you declare that:

• you followed the rules and provided all the documents needed;
• every consent specified in the application has been obtained, or dispensed with by a court;
• every notice specified in the application has been given;
• you have been ordinarily resident in Ontario for at least the year before the application;
• you are not applying for an improper purpose;
• the information you gave is true and complete;
• if you were born in Ontario, you are returning every birth certificate and certified copy of your birth registration you hold.

At the appointment, the notary confirms your identity from government photo ID, checks that the pages other people had to sign are there, and takes your solemn declaration. You initial the box and sign at the X while the notary watches. The notary then fills in "Declared before me" with the place and date, signs, and applies their seal or stamp. If you made corrections anywhere in the form, Part 1 included, the notary initials each one too.

Caption: Online, you sign Part 6 on screen while the notary watches. The pages your guarantor and spouse signed are already in the upload.

Just before the declaration, on the page about the certificates you will receive, there is a box to tick if you don't want your sex displayed on the new Ontario birth certificate. Decide on it before the appointment; it doesn't change your birth registration.

Part 7: Payment

The last page authorizes ServiceOntario's fee: $137 for an adult name change, plus $22 for each child whose name changes at the same time on their own Form 11156. You pay by Visa, Mastercard, cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance; ServiceOntario takes no cash.

The cardholder signs this page, and the cardholder doesn't have to be you; a parent or partner can pay. Fill in the page, but don't put the card number on the copy you upload or email to anyone, us included: add the card details to the paper page after the appointment, just before you mail it. If an application is returned, ServiceOntario shreds the card details, so you fill them in again when you resubmit.

Before Your Appointment: the Checklist

This is the list we ask every client to finish before an Ontario name change appointment. Our booking form shows the same note when you upload this application.

• Upload the entire application, all 17 pages, not only the declaration page. The notary needs the whole application in front of them, and ServiceOntario wants every page back anyway.
• Fill in everything first. Every part that applies to you, complete, in blue or black ink if on paper.
• Collect the other signatures first: your guarantor's statement, your spouse's or partner's acknowledgment (or your registered mail receipt), and each parent's consent if you are 16 or 17.
• Leave Part 6 blank. You and the notary sign it during the appointment. A declaration signed beforehand has to be redone; see why a notary refuses a pre-signed document.
• Have valid government photo ID in your current name.
• Leave the card number off the payment page you upload.
• For an online appointment: a camera, a microphone, and a printer for afterwards.

Online or in Person: How the Signatures Come Together

Online, by video. Ontario's O. Reg. 431/20 lets a commissioner take a declaration over live audio and video; our guide to commissioning a statutory declaration online shows how the call runs. Your guarantor, spouse and parents sign their pages on paper as usual. You scan or photograph the complete application and upload it when you book. On the call, the notary checks your ID, you make the declaration and sign Part 6 on screen, and the notary seals it. You receive the sealed PDF by email, print it, and mail it with the originals of every page someone else signed in ink: the form asks for the original signed notice and consent forms, and the original receipt if you mailed notice. The form doesn't say whether the Registrar General prefers one method, and Ontario's guidance for commissioners notes that the office receiving a document decides what it accepts.

In person, on a mobile visit. The notary comes to you anywhere in Ontario with the paper application already signed by the others, and you sign Part 6 in ink. Everything in the envelope is an original. Choose this if you would rather mail wet ink, or your deadline leaves no room for a returned application. See mobile notary visits.

Changing a child's name at the same time? Each application has its own declaration. A parent changing their own name and two children's names makes three declarations, all on one call.

Signature Problems That Send an Application Back

ServiceOntario returns incomplete applications, and the wait starts again when you resubmit. The signature-related gaps we see most:

• Part 6 signed before the appointment, or not signed in front of the commissioner;
• the Guarantor's Statement missing, unsigned, or signed by someone who isn't on the list and hasn't known you five years;
• notice to a spouse required but neither an acknowledgment nor the original mail receipt included, or mailed fewer than 30 days before filing;
• a consent missing for a 16- or 17-year-old, or the custody order not included;
• corrections not initialled by both you and the commissioner, or correction fluid used;
• pages left out because they "didn't apply";
• the payment page unsigned, or the fee missing.

What a Notary Can and Cannot Do

What a notary can and cannot do: A notary public confirms your identity from government photo ID, checks that the application is complete enough to declare, administers the solemn declaration, watches you sign Part 6, completes "Declared before me", initials your corrections, and applies the seal. A notary can also commission a non-professional translator's declaration. A notary does not decide whether you are eligible, fill in your answers, act as your guarantor, sign for your spouse or parents, give notice for you, advise on the court or financial questions, or process the change. The Office of the Registrar General decides the application.

If you need advice on those questions, our page on notary vs lawyer in Ontario explains where the line sits.

Pricing

Online appointments add a card processing fee, shown in full before you pay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who signs the Ontario name change application?

Every adult application has at least three signatures: yours, your guarantor's on the Guarantor's Statement (Part 4), and the commissioner's on the Statutory Declaration (Part 6). If you are married or signed a Joint Declaration of Conjugal Relationship, your spouse or partner can sign the Notice Form (Part 2). If you are 16 or 17 and not married, each person with legal custody of you signs the Consent Form (Part 3). Whoever pays by credit card signs the payment page.

Does my guarantor have to sign before the notary appointment?

Yes. Step 1 of Part 6 tells you to make sure every document is filled in and signed by the necessary people before you sign in front of the commissioner, and ServiceOntario's page lists "gather signatures" before the declaration. The declaration also says every notice has been given and every consent obtained, so those pages must be finished first. Bring or upload the application with the guarantor's statement already signed.

Who can be my guarantor, and can it be a relative?

Your guarantor must know you and know you have lived in Ontario for at least the past 12 months. The form lists provincial judges, justices of the peace, chiefs of First Nations bands in Ontario, marriage officiants, doctors, Law Society members, heads and clerks of Ontario municipalities, school principals, and managers or signing officers of Ontario bank, trust, loan and credit union branches. If none of them knows you, someone who is not a relative and has known you for five years can sign. The form excludes relatives only in that fallback group; if a relative is your only listed option, ask the Office of the Registrar General first.

Does my spouse have to sign my name change form?

No. Your spouse or partner has to be told, not to agree. They can sign the acknowledgment at the bottom of the Notice Form, which you send with the application. If they will not sign, you mail the notice and a copy of the completed application by registered or certified mail at least 30 days before you file, and include the original mail receipt. Signing does not mean they agree, and they cannot stop the change without a court order.

I am separated but not divorced. Do I still give notice?

Yes. The form says to answer "Yes" to "Are you married now?" if you are separated but not divorced, so Part 2 applies. Your spouse does not have to sign anything: send the notice and a copy of the completed application by registered or certified mail to their last known address at least 30 days before you file, and include the original receipt with the name, address and date stamp.

Does a 16- or 17-year-old need both parents to sign?

An unmarried applicant aged 16 or 17 needs the written consent of every person with legal custody, on a separate Consent Form for each. Parents share custody unless a court order or separation agreement says otherwise, and those documents go in the envelope. If someone refuses, the Ontario Court of Justice can make an order allowing the application without that consent. A married 16- or 17-year-old sends proof of marriage instead.

Do my guarantor, spouse or parents need to meet the notary?

No. Their parts are signed, not sworn, so none of them needs a commissioner, and none of them joins your appointment. Only Part 6, your Statutory Declaration, is signed in front of a commissioner such as a notary public. The notary does check that the pages they signed are in the application before taking your declaration.

Can I sign the Ontario name change form online?

You can fill in the application online, but ServiceOntario still wants it printed and mailed, and the other people sign their pages on paper. The Statutory Declaration can be taken over live video under Ontario's O. Reg. 431/20: you upload the whole completed application, sign Part 6 on screen while the notary watches, and receive the sealed PDF to print and mail with the ink-signed originals. A mobile visit is the all-ink option.

How much does it cost to get the name change form commissioned?

At Minute Notary the declaration is one stamp: $24.95 plus HST online, and a mobile visit adds a $60 travel fee. The guarantor's, spouse's and parents' signatures need no notary, so they cost nothing. A non-professional translator's sworn declaration is a separate declaration at the same rate. ServiceOntario's own fee for an adult name change is $137, paid with the application.

What if I make a mistake on the name change form?

Do not use correction fluid. Put brackets around the wrong information, write the correct information, and initial beside the change. The commissioner must also initial every change before the declaration is sworn, including changes in Part 1. A guarantor, spouse or parent who corrects their own page initials the change on that page.

Final Recommendation

Treat Form 11155 as two jobs. The first is yours and other people's: fill in Part 1 and the tops of Parts 2 to 4, start the spouse notice early if it has to be mailed, get the guarantor's statement and any consents signed, and gather your documents. The second is one short appointment with a notary: Part 6, signed in front of us, sealed, and ready to mail. Do the first job completely before you book the second, and upload all 17 pages so nothing is missing on the call.

Book Your Appointment

Ready to swear the declaration on your Ontario name change application? Minute Notary commissions it by secure video from anywhere in Ontario, or in ink on a mobile visit: from $24.95 plus HST.

• Request an appointment: Contact us
• Call: (613) 434-5555
• Service page: Statutory declarations, commissioned online
• Free template: Form 11155, Application to Change an Adult's Name
• Related guide: Name change in Ontario: fees, timing and what to update after
• Related guide: Name change affidavits for banks and institutions
• Hours: Every day, Saturday and Sunday included, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Ottawa time)

This article is general information about a published Ontario form, not legal advice. The Office of the Registrar General decides whether an application is complete and whether the name change is granted.

Sources

• ServiceOntario: Change your name (adult and child name change, updated July 2, 2026)
• Central Forms Repository: Application to Change an Adult's Name (007-11155)
• ServiceOntario: Send a request to the Office of the Registrar General (processing notice)
• Change of Name Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.7, ss. 4 and 6
• R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 68: General, under the Change of Name Act, s. 4 (guarantor classes)
• O. Reg. 431/20: Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely
• Ontario: Information for notaries public in Ontario