As a result of the Advisory Opinion issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which established the possibility of regulating the change of name through administrative means, without the intervention of a judge; is that on May 14th, 2018, a reform was approved in the country indicating that any Costa Rican of legal age (18 years old) who wishes to change their name because said name is not in accordance to their gender identity, may do so.

For this reason, the Supreme Election Court, hereinafter “TSE” (due to its initials in Spanish), ordered the creation of a new chapter in the Civil Registry Regulations called “Change of name due to gender identity“. In said regulation the possibility of making the change without formal requirements is established and appointing the mechanisms to do so. Furthermore, a reform to the Regulations of the Identity Card (ID) was ordered, with new characteristics in order to eliminate the indication of the person’s sex from the ID card.

Who will be able to opt for a name change?
All Costa Ricans over 18 years of age may opt for this possibility if they believe that their name does not match their self-perception of gender identity.

How is the name change process?
It is a simple, non-formal process and the TSE intends to make it as expedite as possible, although currently it is not possible to establish an estimated time frame to complete the process. The name change is requested at any of the 32 TSE offices, where the person will be provided with some required forms that must be filled out by them.

Will I be able to change my name as many times as I want?
This will not be a possibility, article 52 of the Regulation states that the change of name due to gender identity can be applied only once and the person who wants to make a change again, must do it through a judicial process.

It is important to emphasize that this possibility is directed to those persons whose name does not match their self-perception of gender identity; therefore, in those cases where the request to change name is not for this reason, the process may be carried out through a different process which is a non-contentious judicial proceeding.

If you require advice to make your name change, ERP Lawyers offers you a team specialized in the matter, do not hesitate to contact us at info@erplawyers.com.