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Changing your name? You will need to get a criminal record check

Amendments have been made to the regulations for The Change of Name Act, 1995
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(Pixabay.com)

A criminal record check could prevent you from legally changing your name.

Amendments have been made to the regulations for The Change of Name Act, 1995. As a result, the province of Saskatchewan now requires a criminal record check for anyone over 18 who is applying to change their name. 

More than 20 different offences could prevent you from successfully changing your name. These offences are those that require registration in the National Sex Offender Registry.  

Saskatchewan is the first province that may reject name change requests because of certain criminal offences.

“These changes are about helping to protect the most vulnerable in our society,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan said in a press release. “We don’t believe sexual offenders should be able to change their name to avoid public disclosure and scrutiny.”

Change of name requests will be processed, providing no criminal record is present. 

If the person does have a criminal record, of if the check is inconclusive, the person making the request will need to be fingerprinted and provide the Registrar of Vital Statistics with a further criminal record check.

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