Births and Deaths Registration Act 18. Zimbabwe Change of name in register (1) In this section— “responsible parent” means— (2) (a) if the father of the child is dead or the mother has been given custody of the child by virtue of a law relating to the guardianship of children or the child is born out of wedlock, the mother of the child; (b) in any other case, the father of the child. Where the birth of a person has been registered in any register of births and— (a) the forename which was registered is changed otherwise than by adoption; or (b) the registration was effected before the person concerned received a forename; the person concerned or, if he has not attained the age of eighteen years, his responsible parent or legal guardian, may apply to the Registrar-General for the registration of the forename in the appropriate register of births and, on payment of the prescribed fee and on the production of such evidence as the Registrar-General may consider necessary, the Registrar-General may register the changed forename or the forename received by the person concerned. (3) Where the birth of a person has been registered in any register for births and the surname of the person is changed, otherwise than by adoption, the person concerned or, if he has not attained the age of eighteen years, his responsible parent or legal guardian, may apply to the Registrar-General for the registration of the surname, and the Registrar-General shall, on payment of the prescribed fee and on being satisfied that— (a) a notarial deed, as defined in the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05], setting forth the change of surname has been registered in the Deeds Registry; and (b) the change of surname has been advertised in the Gazette; register the change of surname in the appropriate register for births but without deleting the original surname. (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the Registrar-General may register a change of surname in the appropriate register for births but without deleting the original surname even where a notarial deed has not been registered, if he is satisfied— (a) that the change of surname is for a lawful purpose; and (b) that the change of surname is not being effected for purposes of fraud or misrepresentation; and (c) in the case of an application to change the surname of a person under the age of eighteen years, that the responsible parent or legal guardian of the person has the right to represent or assist him in changing his surname; and if he considers it necessary and desirable to do so, the Registrar-General may give notice of such change in the Gazette. (5) After the registration of a change of name under this Act every certified copy of the entry concerned shall omit the original surname unless otherwise requested by the applicant. (6) Notwithstanding this section, no change of name of a person who has been adopted and whose name has been registered in the Adopted Children Register shall be made in terms of this section but any such change shall be effected in terms of section 71 of the Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06]. [subsection as amended by section 34 of Act 6 of 2005] By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 6