Change of surname or first name in Bosnia and Herzegovina: procedure, documents and deadlines

Author: Azur Prnjavorac, attorney  |  Last reviewed: 6 September 2026

When a name or surname may be changed

A personal name consists of a first name and a surname, and each of those parts may itself consist of several words. The change may concern the entire personal name, only the first name or only the surname, and the application to the competent authority is formulated accordingly.

The Law on the Personal Name of the Federation of BiH links the right to a change to two groups of situations. The first is a change of family or personal status: adoption, acknowledgement and establishment of paternity or maternity, marriage, termination of marriage by divorce or annulment, death of a spouse or a declaration that a spouse is deceased, and change of sex. The second is a change on personal application, without any link to those events. In practice this means that a special reason does not have to be proved. The application form does contain a field for the reasons, but it is explained in detail only in more complex cases, for example where the authority has doubts about identity or where an unusual form of the name is requested.

The Law on the Personal Name of Republika Srpska adds that a change of one or more letters, or of a hyphen or a dot entered as part of the personal name, also counts as a change of the personal name. Even a seemingly minor change of spelling therefore runs as a regular procedure.

This must be distinguished from a case in which the registrar made a mistake when entering the data. There no procedure for the change of a personal name is initiated, but a correction of the error in the register, which is simpler and cheaper.

In our experience the largest number of applications concerns the restoration of the surname after divorce, where the short period for the statement before the registrar was missed. Next come the alignment of the surname with the surname of the parents or of the rest of the family, the adaptation of the spelling of a name after an entry made from foreign registers, and the change of a name on personal application.

Who decides on the application: the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brcko District

Bosnia and Herzegovina has no single state law on the personal name. The matter is regulated at the level of the entities and of Brcko District, so the competent authority, the second-instance authority and some of the deadlines differ. The first step in every case is therefore to establish where the application is to be filed at all.

The solution adopted in Republika Srpska is particularly important for people living abroad. The rule that the application may also be decided by the body in whose area the register of births is kept opens the way for those who no longer have a registered residence in Republika Srpska, provided they are entered in the registers there. The law of Republika Srpska also provides for an exception under which the change may be granted to a citizen of the Federation of BiH who has had a registered residence in Republika Srpska for one year before filing the application, and who still has it at the time of filing.

In the Federation of BiH, by contrast, jurisdiction is tied to the place of residence. Persons without a registered residence in the Federation should therefore first resolve the residence question, or have it checked whether the matter can be conducted in the entity in which they are entered in the registers. We make that assessment before the application is filed, because a wrongly addressed application means months lost.

Restoring the name held before the marriage after divorce

On entering into marriage, the spouses may agree to take the surname of one of them, that each keeps his or her own, that one adds the surname of the other to his or her own, or that one takes the surname of the other and adds his or her own to it. After the marriage ends, the question arises what happens to the surname taken in the marriage.

In the Federation of BiH a person who changed the surname by entering into marriage may by a statement take back the surname held before the marriage. The statement is filed within six months of the termination of the marriage, before the registrar who keeps the register of births in which the birth of that person is entered, or before the registrar at the place of residence. If that period is missed, the surname can no longer be restored by a simple statement, but only in the full procedure for the change of a personal name, with all the documentation and fees.

In Republika Srpska the period for the statement is one year from the termination of the marriage, and the statement may be given before the registrar, but also drawn up before a notary, a court or another authority empowered to draw up public documents. The same rule applies there: once the period expires, only the procedure for the change of the personal name remains.

The period runs from the termination of the marriage, and a marriage terminates by divorce when the divorce judgment becomes final. In the case of annulment of a marriage, keeping the surname taken in the marriage requires the consent of the spouse who is not responsible for the annulment.

If you were divorced abroad, the first thing to check is whether the foreign judgment has been recognised and entered in the registers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because without that the surname cannot be dealt with at all. We write about this in more detail on the pages recognition of a foreign decision on divorce and registration of marriage and recognition of a foreign court decision, while the divorce proceedings themselves are described on the page divorce in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Documents to be enclosed with the application

The application must state the personal name that is being sought. Under the Law on the Personal Name of the Federation of BiH the documents listed in the table below are enclosed with it. The practice of the cantonal ministries differs in the details, so some authorities also require a separate certificate from the Indirect Taxation Authority, while others accept a certificate of the tax administration covering customs obligations as well.

A special case is provided for persons whose extract from the register of births originates from a foreign authority, so that the first name and surname lack letters which exist in the official languages and scripts of the Federation of BiH, such as c with a caron, dz, dj and s with a caron. In that case an application is filed for the first name and surname to be entered according to the rules of our language and script, together with a certified statement on the change, an extract from the register of births and a certificate of citizenship. This route is considerably simpler than the regular procedure.

The procedure step by step

The sequence of steps is similar in all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina; what differs is the authority before which the procedure is conducted and some of the deadlines.

1. Establishing the competent authority. We check where the applicant has his residence and where he is entered in the register of births, because that determines whether the application goes to the cantonal ministry of the interior, to the body of the unit of local self-government in Republika Srpska, or to the Department for the Public Register of Brcko District.
2. Checking the statutory obstacles. Before the application is filed we check whether any of the obstacles exists for which the change would not be granted, so that no time or money is spent on a procedure that would end in refusal.
3. Obtaining the documents. The extract from the register of births, the certificate of citizenship, the extracts from the registers in which the fact being changed is entered, the certificate of residence, the court certificate and the certificate of the tax authority are obtained.
4. Certification of the power of attorney and of the statement on the name. Clients abroad certify the power of attorney and the statement on the name they will use in legal transactions in the future, at a diplomatic or consular mission of BiH or before a notary with an Apostille.
5. Filing the application. The application with its enclosures is submitted to the competent authority in person or through an authorised representative, together with payment of the prescribed administrative fee.
6. Checks carried out ex officio. The competent authority checks its own registers and those of the prosecutor's offices, and in the Federation of BiH also data through Interpol, in order to establish that there is no obstacle to the change.
7. The decision and its finality. If the conditions are met, a decision on the change of the personal name is issued. An appeal against the decision may be lodged within 15 days, and once the decision becomes final it is forwarded to the registrar.
8. Entry in the registers and replacement of documents. The change is entered in the registers, after which, in the Federation of BiH, an application for the replacement of the identity card, travel document, driving licence and other documents must be filed within 15 days.

When the change of name will not be granted

The Law on the Personal Name of the Federation of BiH provides that the change will not be granted: to a person against whom criminal proceedings are pending; to a person convicted of a criminal offence while the sentence has not been served or while the legal consequences of the conviction last; to a person for whom an international search warrant has been issued; nor to a person for whom it is established that the application was filed in order to evade obligations laid down by an act of the competent authorities. In order to establish those facts, the competent authority checks ex officio its own registers and those of the prosecutor's offices, as well as data through Interpol.

The law of Republika Srpska contains the same obstacles, with several additional ones. The change will not be granted to a person entered in the special register of persons finally convicted of criminal offences of sexual abuse and exploitation of children. It is also provided that the change will not be granted where this is necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of other persons or to protect the rights of public and historical figures, nor where the proposed name is the name of fictional, animated or film characters, of a coin, or a pseudonym.

If the authority refuses the application, legal protection runs through an appeal to the second-instance authority and, after that, through an administrative dispute before the competent court. In such cases it is essential that the appeal is lodged within the deadline and that all the grounds are set out in it, because what is omitted is difficult to make good later.

Deadlines and obligations after the decision

The decision on the change of the personal name is delivered, immediately upon becoming final, to the registrar who keeps the registers for the person who made the change, to the registrar who keeps the registers in which the birth of that person's child is entered, and to the authorities which keep records on citizens. Only upon entry in the registers does the change take full effect.

In the Federation of BiH a period of 15 days runs from the date of the entry for filing the application for the replacement of personal documents: the identity card, the travel document, the driving licence and other documents. The consequence of missing it is serious: the cantonal ministry of the interior which issued the decision annuls ex officio the decision by which the change was granted, and the authority is obliged to warn the applicant of that consequence in the decision itself. Missing the deadline is also an offence for which a fine of 300 to 1,000 KM is prescribed in the Federation of BiH.

In the Federation of BiH a person to whom the change has been granted may not file a new application before five years have passed from the entry of the change, unless a special law provides otherwise. The law of Republika Srpska formulates the same question differently: a person to whom a change was granted on personal application may file a new application within five years of the entry, and at most twice. That provision is not unambiguous, so before filing a new application in Republika Srpska it is worth checking how the particular authority interprets it.

Republika Srpska also provides that, where the person was born abroad, the foreign authority at the place of entry in the register of births is notified of the change, in accordance with international treaties on legal assistance.

Clients abroad: the change without travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina

The greater part of our cases in this field comes from people living in Germany, Austria and Switzerland who need their position in the registers in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be in order. The good news is that the law expressly allows this: the application for the change of a personal name may also be filed through an authorised representative. In that case a statement of the applicant on the name he wishes to use in legal transactions in the future is enclosed with the application, and that statement must be certified by the competent authority.

Check the residence first. In the Federation of BiH jurisdiction is determined according to the applicant's registered residence, so those who have deregistered their residence in BiH must resolve that question before filing. The law of Republika Srpska expressly provides for the jurisdiction of the body in whose area the register of births is kept, which for part of the diaspora is a simpler route.

In practice it works like this: you certify the power of attorney and the statement at the embassy or consulate of BiH in the country where you live, or before a local notary with an Apostille where that is acceptable to the competent authority in the particular case. You send the documents to us by post, and we take over obtaining the extracts and certificates in BiH, filing the application, communicating with the authority, receiving the decision and monitoring the entry in the registers.

Three situations that often arise in diaspora cases deserve particular attention. The first is that the surname was already changed abroad, for example by marriage or by a decision of a foreign authority, and this was never carried through in BiH. The second is that the first name and surname in the foreign extract are not written according to the rules of our language and script, so the matter is resolved through the simplified route provided by the law. The third is that, alongside the change of name, other entries also need to be put in order, for example the registration of a marriage or a divorce, because a change of name without an orderly status in the registers often makes little sense.

Change of a minor child's name

The personal name of a minor child is changed on the application of the parents or of the adopters, and on the application of the guardian with the consent of the guardianship authority. Where the parents do not live in a marriage, one parent may file the application, but with the consent of the other parent. If the other parent does not give consent, the dispute is decided by the competent guardianship authority, and its decision is enclosed with the application.

The consent of the other parent is not required where his place of residence is unknown, where he has been deprived of legal capacity or where he has been deprived of parental care. If the change is sought for a child older than ten years, the consent of the child is also required, and it is given before the registrar.

The law in Republika Srpska contains a similar solution, where in the case of disagreement between the parents the consent of the guardianship authority of the city or municipality in which the application is filed is required. In cases in which the parents do not agree, the procedure tends to last considerably longer and often intertwines with questions of the exercise of parental care. In such situations it makes sense to look at the matter as a whole, rather than as an isolated request to the registry office.

How our office works and what it costs

The law office Prnjavorac has been working since 1993, with its seat in Tuzla, and represents clients before the administrative authorities and the courts throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina: in the Federation of BiH, in Republika Srpska and in Brcko District of BiH. In cases concerning the change of a personal name we take over the whole task: the assessment of jurisdiction and of possible obstacles, drafting the application, obtaining the certificates and extracts, filing and monitoring the case, receiving the decision and checking that the change has actually been entered in the registers.

The cost consists of the administrative fee, which is paid according to the regulations of the canton or entity, the cost of obtaining the documentation and the certifications, and the attorney's fee. The fee is calculated under the Tariff on fees and reimbursement of costs for the work of attorneys, and for diaspora cases we usually agree a lump sum in advance, so that you know where you stand before anything begins.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a change of surname or first name in Bosnia and Herzegovina take?

In practice the procedure usually takes about a month, and not infrequently longer, because the competent authority checks ex officio whether any obstacles to the change exist. The duration is also affected by the time needed to obtain the certificates, by the workload of the authority, and by the fact that the decision must become final before it is entered in the registers.

Can I change my surname in BiH without travelling from abroad?

You can. The Law on the Personal Name of the Federation of BiH expressly provides that the application for a change of personal name may also be filed through an authorised representative, with a mandatory enclosure: the certified statement of the applicant on the name he will use in legal transactions in the future. You can certify the power of attorney and the statement at a diplomatic or consular mission of BiH, and in some cases before a foreign notary with an Apostille.

How much does a change of first name or surname cost?

The cost consists of the administrative fee, which is paid according to the regulations of the canton or entity, the cost of obtaining the certificates and extracts, the cost of certifying the power of attorney and the statement, and the attorney's fee if you engage a representative. We give a concrete estimate once you describe your situation, because the amounts differ from place to place.

How do I restore my maiden name after divorce?

In the Federation of BiH a person who changed the surname by entering into marriage may, by a statement before the registrar, take back the surname held before the marriage, within six months of the termination of the marriage. In Republika Srpska that period is one year. If the period expires, the surname is restored only in the procedure for the change of a personal name before the competent authority.

Is the change of a single letter in a name also a change of the personal name?

It is, where the name was entered in the register as it was reported and you wish to alter it. The Law on the Personal Name of Republika Srpska says so expressly: a change of one or more letters, or of a hyphen or a dot entered as part of the personal name, is also regarded as a change. It is different where the registrar made a mistake when entering the data, because then no change of the personal name is sought but a correction of the error in the register.

Do I have to state the reason for changing my name?

You do not need a special statutory reason, because the change may also be sought on personal application. The application form contains a field for the reasons, but it is explained in detail only in more complex cases. What matters is that no statutory obstacle to granting the change exists.

What if criminal proceedings are pending against me or I have outstanding obligations?

The change will not be granted to a person against whom criminal proceedings are pending, to a person convicted of a criminal offence while the sentence has not been served or while the legal consequences of the conviction last, to a person for whom an international search warrant has been issued, nor to a person for whom it is established that the application is filed in order to evade obligations. That is why certificates of the court and of the tax authority are enclosed with the application.

How many times may a name be changed?

In the Federation of BiH a person to whom a change has been granted may not file a new application before five years have passed from the entry of the change in the registers, unless a special law provides otherwise. The law of Republika Srpska formulates the same question differently: a new application may be filed within five years of the entry, and at most twice, so it is worth checking how the competent authority interprets that provision.

What happens with the identity card, the passport and the driving licence?

In the Federation of BiH, after the change has been entered in the registers, you have 15 days to file an application for the replacement of your personal documents. If you do not, the cantonal ministry of the interior which issued the decision annuls ex officio the decision by which the change was granted, and missing the deadline is also an offence.

Can the first name and surname of a minor child be changed?

They can, on the application of the parents or the adopters, or of the guardian with the consent of the guardianship authority. Where the parents do not live in a marriage, the consent of the other parent is required, and if it is withheld the dispute is decided by the guardianship authority. For a child older than ten years the child's own consent is also required, and it is given before the registrar.