NOTE: translated from English
On 8 October 2025, the Act amending the Act of 25 February 1964 – Family and Guardianship Code and the Act of 17 October 2008 on the change of name and surname (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1528) entered into force, with regard to the deadline for submitting a declaration of return to the surname used before marriage.
Pursuant to the amendment, the deadline for submitting a declaration of restitution to the name from before the marriage has been extended from three months to one year from the date on which the divorce decision becomes final. This statement, in accordance with the applicable law, must be submitted in person before the head of the Registry Office or
, in the case of staying abroad, before the consul, respectively.
The previous three-month deadline was a mandatory deadline, which meant that exceeding it resulted in the definitive loss of the possibility of using the simplified procedure of returning to the surname without the need to conduct administrative proceedings under the Act on the Change of Name and Surname.
The justification to the bill indicates that the short, three-month deadline in practice made it impossible for many divorced people to effectively exercise their right. The reasons were, among m.in, lack of knowledge about the date, emotional state related to
the termination of the marriage, illness, random situations, as well as delays in the transmission of divorce decisions by the courts to the Registry Office.
In accordance with Article 2 of the Amending Act, the transitional provision provides that in the case of persons for whom the three-month deadline has not expired before the date of entry into force of the amendment, a new, one-year deadline will apply. This means that in a situation where the divorce decree became final after 8 July 2025, the interested person may benefit
from an extended period of 12 months.
To submit the declaration, you will need: an identity document, proof of payment of stamp duty, information about the place where the marriage certificate was drawn up and the date on which the divorce decree became final. If you are making a statement abroad before a consul, you must additionally submit a copy of the final divorce judgment.
The aim of the amendment is to provide divorced spouses with a real opportunity to make a well-thought-out and informed decision regarding their name, without the need to engage
in more formalized administrative proceedings.