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Change Your Name

How to change your name in Israel

Israeli law changes nobody's name on its own. On marriage or when a marriage ends you may keep, take, add or return to a surname by giving notice to the Population and Immigration Authority, free the first time; for any other change you give notice of a change of name, pay a fee, explain the reason, and may not change it again for seven years. The Authority records the name in the Population Registry and replaces your teudat zehut and passport; everything else copies them. This guide starts where most people start, a marriage, then covers a marriage that ends, a change for any other reason, and a marriage celebrated abroad, with the offices in the order they ask for each other's paperwork.

After marriage

If you married in Israel, your surname was settled at the wedding. Section 6 of the Names Law 5716-1956 lets a person who marries, at any time, keep or return to a previous surname, take the spouse's surname, add the spouse's surname to their own, choose a new surname identical to the one the spouse chose, or add a surname the spouse chose to add; section 6(b) has the couple tell the marriage registrar the surname each will bear, and a change so chosen takes effect with the marriage. Since the Authority began taking registrations digitally, a marriage registered by the Rabbinate or a Sharia court updates the Population Registry on its own, and the updated identity-card appendix (ספח) is sent to the couple.

The name itself never moves without a choice. A marriage certificate on its own changes nothing in the Registry, and there is no default: if you said nothing to the registrar, you kept your surname. The same six options stay open afterwards, by a notice of choice of surname (הודעה בדבר בחירת שם, form MR4a) given in person at a bureau of the Authority or at an Israeli mission abroad; the first notice after a change in marital status is free, and each further notice is ILS 130 (Names Regulations fee schedule, 2025). A choice that both spouses make together, a new surname or a shared addition, needs both of you at the counter. The law allows at most two surnames, so a joined name is two names and no more.

What the notice does is change the Registry, and the Registry is what every Israeli record reads. The Authority replaces your teudat zehut (תעודת זהות) and, if it has more than a year left, your passport without charge; a biometric card means a fresh enrolment of your face and fingerprints. A notice given at a mission abroad takes effect only once the Authority in Israel approves it, and then the mission issues a passport in the new name, while the identity card is issued only in Israel.

A surname chosen under section 6 is not a change under section 10, so the seven-year rule below does not touch it: a person who changed a first name by choice five years ago may still take a spouse's surname on marriage, and a person who took a spouse's surname may still change a first name. Decide the Hebrew and the Latin spelling together, because the passport and every foreign record will copy the Latin one for years.

After divorce

Nothing comes back on its own. Section 7 of the Names Law says that when a marriage ends each spouse may return to a previous surname, and the Authority's notice of choice of surname has a section for exactly that: return to your former surname, or add your maiden surname to the surname you carry now. It is the same free notice as on marriage, in person at a bureau of the Authority or at an Israeli mission, with your teudat zehut, your passport and the original divorce certificate; each further notice after the first is ILS 130 (2025). Keeping the married surname needs no paper at all.

The divorce itself reaches the Registry from the court. For a Jewish couple the divorce is the get given through the rabbinical court, which reports its decisions to the chief registration officer under section 16 of the Population Registry Law; the other recognised religious communities' courts do the same, and the civil family court reports its judgments. So a divorce granted in Israel needs no notice from you: the marital status changes, and only the surname choice is yours to make.

A divorce granted abroad is reported by you, on the notice of change in marital status, with the original foreign divorce certificate, apostilled by the competent authority of the country or state that issued it and translated into Hebrew by a notary unless it is in English or Arabic. The Authority registers what the certificate shows and section 3 of the Population Registry Law makes the entry prima facie evidence of it, no more; whether a foreign civil divorce ends a marriage for the purposes of remarrying in Israel is a question for the court that would marry you, and for a Jewish couple that is the rabbinical court. Order two certified copies of the decree with their apostilles, because the one you hand the Authority is kept.

For any other reason

An adult may change a first name and a surname for any reason, under section 10 of the Names Law, by giving notice of change of name (הודעה על שינוי שם, form MR4) in person at a bureau of the Population and Immigration Authority, or at an Israeli mission if you live abroad. You bring your teudat zehut and your passport, write the new name in Hebrew and in Latin letters, and set out the reason for the change at length on the form or in an attached letter; the fee is ILS 130 per adult, paid by card at the counter, half that for conscripts, reservists and national-service volunteers (Names Regulations fee schedule, 2025), and it is not refunded if the notice is refused or withdrawn. One notice can cover a spouse and children under 18, each present in person; a child of 10 or more must consent before the registration officer, and a court order is needed to change a minor's surname.

The Minister of the Interior, through the Authority, may refuse a name that could mislead or offend public policy or public feeling (section 16), and the form says in terms that the change depends on a check that you have not been convicted of a sex offence. A notice that is not refused is certified within a month of its receipt and takes effect from the day it was given (section 17); the first certificate of change of name is free, and each further copy is ILS 20 (2025). The change is entered in a public register of name changes (section 19), and the former name stays printed in your identity-card appendix and your passport for seven years.

The seven-year rule is section 20: a person who changed a name under section 10 may not change it again under that section within seven years of the earlier change taking effect, except with the Minister's approval. It runs from the day the notice took effect, it is per section, so a surname taken on marriage or dropped on divorce is neither counted nor blocked, and the Authority asks you to confirm on the form that you know it. If you are inside the seven years, the notice becomes an application for the Minister's approval, with the reason carrying the whole weight; a change already approved by a court is outside sections 16 and 17 altogether (section 18).

If you married outside Israel

This section is for a marriage celebrated OUTSIDE Israel. If you married here, it is not your path: the registrar already sent the marriage to the Registry, and the section above is the one to read.

Israel has no civil marriage, so a civil ceremony abroad is how many Israeli couples marry at all, and the Population Registry is where it is recorded. The route is the notice of change in marital status (הודעה על שינוי מצב אישי, form MR6) under section 17 of the Population Registry Law 5725-1965, which gives a resident thirty days to report a change in a registered detail; it is free, in person at a bureau of the Authority or at an Israeli mission, and both spouses appear if both are Israeli, the Israeli spouse alone if the other is not. You bring both passports, your teudat zehut, and the original marriage certificate, apostilled by the competent authority of the country or state that issued it and translated into Hebrew by a notary unless it is in English or Arabic; in the United States the apostille comes from the Secretary of State of the issuing state, and the missions ask for the forms by email first so they can check them before your appointment. If the certificate does not state your previous marital status, a separate authenticated certificate of it is asked for; a foreign spouse with no such certificate available signs a declaration before the consul.

Registering the marriage changes no name. The Authority records the marital status, and section 3 of the Population Registry Law makes the entry prima facie evidence of the details and nothing more: it is not a ruling that the marriage is valid, which is why the Registry can record a civil marriage Israel could not have celebrated. Your surname stays as it was until you give the notice of choice of surname, which can be handed in at the same appointment; keeping your name needs nothing.

One case is genuinely unsettled: an online ceremony run by an officiant in another country while both of you were physically in Israel. The question has reached the Israeli courts, the Authority has resisted registering such marriages, and an entry, where it is made, is prima facie evidence and no more; the certificate, its apostille and its translation are what the counter reads, and where each of you was standing during the ceremony is the question a challenger would raise. If one of you was physically in the country whose certificate you hold, the ordinary rule fits without strain.

What to bring

  • Your teudat zehut (identity card) with its appendix, and your Israeli passport: every notice below is given in person against both, and both are replaced after a change of name
  • If you married in Israel: nothing more for the marriage itself; the registrar's report reached the Registry, and the updated appendix was sent to you
  • If you want a surname changed after a marriage or a divorce: the notice of choice of surname (form MR4a), completed by hand, and the original marriage or divorce certificate
  • For a change of name by choice: the notice of change of name (form MR4), completed by hand, with the reason set out at length on the form or in a letter, and the fee paid by card
  • After a marriage ends: the original divorce certificate; from an Israeli court the Registry already has it, from abroad it needs an apostille and, unless it is in English or Arabic, a notarised Hebrew translation
  • If you married OUTSIDE Israel, these as well: the notice of change in marital status (form MR6), both spouses' passports, and the original marriage certificate with an apostille from the competent authority of the country or state that issued it (in the United States, the Secretary of State of the issuing state) and a notarised Hebrew translation unless it is in English or Arabic
  • If you give a notice at an Israeli mission: your teudat zehut to deposit with the declaration on the delivery of an identity card, two 5 x 5 cm photographs for the passport, and a card for the consular fee
  • For a child under 18 named in a notice: both parents present with their identity cards, the child's consent before the registration officer from age 10, and a court order for a change of the child's surname

Steps, in order

  1. Step 1

    If you married outside Israel: have the certificate apostilled and translated

    The competent authority of the country or state that issued it, then a notary for the translation

    Israel has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 August 1978, so an apostille replaces consular legalisation for a certificate from another member country. Order a certified copy of the marriage or divorce certificate from the office that issued it where the event happened, then have that copy apostilled by that place's competent authority; in the United States that is the Secretary of State of the issuing state, and the Israeli missions say so in terms. The Authority wants the original with a notarised Hebrew translation unless the certificate is in English or Arabic, so a US certificate needs no translation. Order two certified copies, because the one you hand over is kept.

    Fee
    Set by the authority that issues it; a US state charges per document, and a notary sets the translation fee where one is needed (2026)
    Official page
    https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41

  2. Step 2

    Report the marriage or divorce to the Population and Immigration Authority

    Your nearest bureau (לשכה) of the Population and Immigration Authority

    Section 17 of the Population Registry Law gives a resident thirty days to report a change in a registered detail, so report it within a month of the event: a marriage or divorce abroad is reported by you on the notice of change in marital status, printed and completed by hand. For a marriage both of you appear if both are Israeli, the Israeli spouse alone if the other is not, with your identity cards, both passports and the apostilled original certificate; for a divorce, your identity card and the apostilled original divorce certificate. The service is free, and the Authority registers the status and sends the updated appendix. It changes no name: if you want a surname changed, hand in the notice of choice of surname at the same visit, and book the appointment in advance, because a name change means replacing your card and passport on the spot.

    Form
    Notice of change in marital status (hoda'a al shinui matzav ishi), form MR6
    Fee
    Free (2026)
    Official page
    https://www.gov.il/he/service/change_personal_status

  3. Step 3

    Report the marriage or divorce at your Israeli mission

    The Israeli Embassy or Consulate General for where you live

    The same notice, given abroad: the missions take the notice of change in marital status from an Israeli citizen living in their district, free of charge, at an appointment booked in advance, and ask that the form and the documents be emailed first for a preliminary check. Both spouses appear if both are Israeli, the Israeli spouse alone if the other is not, with both passports and the original certificate, apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued it. If the certificate does not state your previous marital status the mission asks for an authenticated certificate of it, and a foreign spouse who cannot get one signs a declaration before the consul. The form is in Hebrew. The thirty-day rule of section 17 of the Population Registry Law is the same one a resident has; the mission registers a late notice the same way.

    Form
    Notice of change in marital status (hoda'a al shinui matzav ishi), form MR6
    Fee
    Free (2026)
    Official page
    https://embassies.gov.il/los-angeles/en/services/israeli-citizens/notice-change-marital-status-marriage-divorce

  4. Step 4

    Nothing happens to your name until you choose: marriage leaves your surname as it is

    The Population Registry

    A marriage certificate changes nothing in the Population Registry. Section 6 of the Names Law gives each spouse six choices, keeping the surname among them, and the one you make is the one the Registry records: at the wedding through the marriage registrar if you married in Israel, or by the notice below at any time afterwards. If you keep your surname there is nothing to file, no fee and no deadline, and your teudat zehut and passport stay as they are.

    Fee
    No fee (2026)

  5. Step 5

    Only if you want a different surname: give notice of your choice at the Authority

    Your nearest bureau of the Population and Immigration Authority

    Print the notice of choice of surname, complete it by hand, and hand it in in person with your teudat zehut, your passport, your spouse's appendix and the original marriage certificate, or after a divorce the original divorce certificate. The form has the six section 6 choices for a person who has married and the two section 7 choices for a person whose marriage has ended; a choice you make together, a new surname or a shared addition, needs both of you at the counter, and no more than two surnames can be entered. The first notice after the change in status is free and each further one is ILS 130. The Authority replaces your identity card at the same visit, with a fresh biometric enrolment, and your passport without charge if it has more than a year left, so book the appointment in advance.

    Form
    Notice of choice of surname (hoda'a bidvar bechirat shem), form MR4a
    Fee
    Free for the first notice after the marriage or divorce; ILS 130 for each further notice (2025 fee schedule)
    Official page
    https://www.gov.il/he/service/choosing_last_name_for_a_married_person

  6. Step 6

    Only if you want a different surname: give notice of your choice at your Israeli mission

    The Israeli Embassy or Consulate General for where you live

    The missions take the same notice of choice of surname from an Israeli citizen living abroad whose marital status has changed, in person at an appointment, with your Israeli passport, the notice of change in marital status if the marriage or divorce is not yet registered, and the original apostilled certificate. The change comes into force only once the Population and Immigration Authority in Israel approves it; the mission then issues a passport in the new name, and the identity card is issued only in Israel, so you deposit yours with the declaration on the delivery of an identity card and collect a new one on your next visit. The mission charges the consular fee for the notice.

    Form
    Notice of choice of surname (hoda'a bidvar bechirat shem), form MR4a
    Fee
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular fee table sets the charge, paid at the mission in local currency (2026)
    Official page
    https://embassies.gov.il/los-angeles/en/services/israeli-citizens/choice-last-name-following-change-marital-status

  7. Step 7

    For any other change: give notice of a change of name at the Authority

    Your nearest bureau of the Population and Immigration Authority

    Section 10 of the Names Law lets an adult change a first name and a surname by notice. Print the notice of change of name, complete it by hand in Hebrew and in Latin letters, set out the reason at length on the form or in a letter, and hand it in in person with your teudat zehut and your passport; a spouse or child included in the notice appears too. The Minister may refuse a name that could mislead or offend public policy, the notice is checked against the sex-offender register, and you confirm on the form that you know section 20: a name changed this way cannot be changed again under section 10 within seven years of the change taking effect, except with the Minister's approval, and the former name is printed in your identity-card appendix and passport for those seven years. A notice not refused is certified within a month and takes effect from the day you gave it. The fee is paid at the counter and is not refunded if the notice is refused.

    Form
    Notice of change of name (hoda'a al shinui shem), form MR4
    Fee
    ILS 130 per adult; 50% for conscripts, reservists and national-service volunteers (2025 fee schedule)
    Time
    A certificate within a month of the notice; the change takes effect from the day it is given
    Official page
    https://www.gov.il/he/service/changing_last_name

  8. Step 8

    For any other change: give notice of a change of name at your Israeli mission

    The Israeli Embassy or Consulate General for where you live

    The missions take the notice of change of first name or surname from an Israeli citizen or resident abroad, in person at an appointment, with your identifying document and your teudat zehut, which you deposit against the declaration on the delivery of an identity card; the notice must explain the reason at length, and a child of 16 or more included in it signs a consent. The Authority in Israel decides, under the same sections 16 and 20 as at home, so the seven-year rule and the reason line apply exactly as they would at a bureau, and once it approves, the mission issues a non-biometric passport in the new name valid for up to five years; a new identity card waits for a visit to Israel. A foreign court order changing your name is the reason you give, not an instrument the Registry acts on by itself, so bring it with the notice.

    Form
    Notice of change of name (hoda'a al shinui shem), form MR4
    Fee
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular fee table sets the charge, paid at the mission in local currency (2026)
    Official page
    https://embassies.gov.il/los-angeles/en/services/israeli-citizens-foreign-citizens/notice-change-first-name-or-last-name

  9. Step 9

    Get your new teudat zehut and passport

    The bureau of the Population and Immigration Authority that took your notice

    A change of name means a new identity card and a new passport, which is why the Authority asks for an appointment before the notice: the card is re-issued with a fresh biometric enrolment, your face and fingerprints, and the passport is replaced without charge if the one you hold has more than a year left. The former name stays printed in the card's appendix and in the passport for seven years after a change under section 10. These two documents are what every office after this one reads, so nothing else moves until you hold them.

    Fee
    The Authority's pages list no charge for the replacement card; the passport is replaced free when it has more than a year left, otherwise the passport fee from the Authority's fee table applies (2026)
    Official page
    https://www.gov.il/he/service/application-for-biometric-passport-or-idcard

  10. Step 10

    Get a passport in the new name at your Israeli mission

    The Israeli Embassy or Consulate General for where you live

    Once the Authority approves the notice, the mission that took it issues a passport in the new name: a non-biometric travel document, valid for up to five years, on the passport application with two 5 x 5 cm photographs against a white background and the passport you hold. A first passport or one after loss needs an appointment; a renewal can be posted where the mission's own page allows it. A biometric passport, and the identity card, are issued only in Israel, and the former name appears in the new passport for seven years after a change by choice.

    Fee
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular fee table sets the charge, paid at the mission in local currency (2026)
    Time
    About three weeks by post at the Los Angeles consulate (2026)
    Official page
    https://embassies.gov.il/los-angeles/en/services/israeli-citizens/issuance-travel-documents-passport-citizens-and-residents-israel

  11. Step 11

    Order a certificate of the change of name

    Any bureau of the Population and Immigration Authority

    The certificate of change of name (תעודה המעידה על שינוי שם) is the paper that ties the old name to the new one for a bank, an employer or a foreign office that will not read the appendix. The first one, issued with the change, is free; a further copy is ILS 20 at the bureau, with your teudat zehut and any earlier certificate, and no appointment is needed. Where the change is not yet in the Registry file you appear in person.

    Form
    Application for a certificate of change of name, form MR16
    Fee
    The first certificate, issued with the change, is free; ILS 20 for each further copy (2025 fee schedule)
    Official page
    https://www.gov.il/he/service/changenamecertificate

  12. Step 12

    Check your driving licence, your health fund and National Insurance

    Misrad HaRishui (the Licensing Authority), your kupat holim, and Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute)

    Each of these identifies you by your identity number, which never changes, and reads its details from the Population Registry; none publishes a form or a charge for a change of name. Once you hold the new teudat zehut, ask each whether the new name has reached its record, and show the card or the certificate of change of name where it has not. The licence is the one you will be asked for most, so start there.

    Fee
    No fee (2026)

  13. Step 13

    Tell your bank, your employer and the records that name you

    Each institution

    Banks, employers, pension and provident funds, insurers, the municipality for the arnona account, and schools each keep their own record. A copy of the new teudat zehut with its appendix, or the certificate of change of name, is what they ask for; do these last, because they copy the card you have just replaced.

    Fee
    No fee (2026)

Questions people ask

We married here in Israel. What do we have to do?

For the marriage, nothing: the Rabbinate or the religious court that registered it reports it to the Population Registry, your marital status changes on its own and the updated appendix is sent to you. Your surname is whatever you told the marriage registrar before the wedding; if you said nothing, you kept it. To change it later, or to change your mind, give the notice of choice of surname at any bureau of the Authority, free the first time.

Do I have to change my name after marriage?

No. Section 6 of the Names Law lists keeping your surname among the choices, and a marriage certificate changes nothing in the Registry by itself. Keeping your name needs no notice, no fee and no new documents.

What can I choose, and what does it cost?

Keep or return to a previous surname, take your spouse's, add your spouse's to yours, choose a new surname the two of you share, or add a surname the two of you chose together; at most two surnames in all. The first notice after the marriage is free; each further notice is ILS 130 (2025). A shared choice needs both of you at the counter.

Does the seven-year rule stop me taking my spouse's surname?

No. Section 20 of the Names Law applies to a change under section 10, a change of name by choice, and only to another change under that same section. A surname chosen on marriage or given up on divorce is a section 6 or 7 choice, so it is neither counted against you nor blocked. What the seven years do apply to is a change by choice after an earlier change by choice; inside that window the notice needs the Minister's approval.

How do I change my first name, or take a surname nobody in the family has?

By a notice of change of name under section 10, in person at a bureau of the Authority or at an Israeli mission, with the reason set out at length, for ILS 130 per adult (2025). The Minister may refuse a name that could mislead or offend public policy, the notice is checked against the sex-offender register, a notice not refused takes effect from the day it is given and is certified within a month, and your former name stays printed in your appendix and passport for seven years.

We married abroad. Is the marriage recognised in Israel?

It is registered. You report it on the notice of change in marital status, free, at a bureau of the Authority or at an Israeli mission, with the original certificate apostilled where it was issued and a notarised Hebrew translation unless it is in English or Arabic; section 17 of the Population Registry Law gives a resident thirty days. The Registry then shows you as married, and section 3 of that Law makes the entry prima facie evidence of the details, which is registration rather than a ruling on validity. That is how a civil marriage abroad becomes the record of an Israeli couple.

We married online or by video. Does that count?

Nobody can tell you for certain. The question has reached the Israeli courts, the Authority has resisted registering such marriages, and an entry, once made, is prima facie evidence and no more. If one of you was physically in the country whose certificate you hold, the ordinary rule fits; if both of you were in Israel, expect the question wherever the marriage is contested.

My marriage ended. Can I get my maiden name back?

Yes, by the same free notice: section 7 lets each spouse return to a previous surname when the marriage ends, and the notice of choice of surname has a box for returning to your former surname and one for adding your maiden surname to the one you carry. Bring your identity card, your passport and the original divorce certificate. A divorce granted in Israel is already in the Registry from the court; one granted abroad is reported by you first, on the notice of change in marital status, apostilled and translated.

I was divorced in the United States. Is that enough in Israel?

For the Registry, yes: the Authority records a foreign divorce on the original certificate with its apostille and, unless it is in English, a notarised Hebrew translation, and lets you return to your former surname on the strength of it. Whether the foreign divorce frees you to marry again in Israel is a separate question for the court that would marry you, which for a Jewish couple is the rabbinical court.

In what order should I change the records?

The notice first, because nothing moves until the Authority records it; then the teudat zehut and passport, which the Authority replaces at the same visit; then the driving licence, your health fund and National Insurance, which read the Registry; then banks, employer and everyone else, who copy the card. Living abroad, the passport comes from the mission once the Authority approves, and the identity card waits for a visit to Israel.

Does my identity number change?

No. The number on your teudat zehut is for life; only the name recorded against it changes, and the former name stays visible in the appendix and the passport for seven years after a change by choice.

I hold both Israeli and US citizenship. What changes?

Your US records change with the US checklist. Your Israeli records change only by a notice to the Population and Immigration Authority, given at the Israeli mission for where you live: a US marriage certificate or a US court order is the document you bring, not an instrument the Registry acts on by itself. Once the Authority approves, the mission issues your Israeli passport in the new name; the identity card waits for Israel.

Build my checklist for Israel

The steps above become a checklist you can work through and tick off, with the office, the form and the fee on every one. It is free, and it is the whole plan if Israel is where your records are.

Build my checklist for Israel

If you live in the United States

If you are an Israeli citizen living in the United States, your US records change with the US checklist: Social Security, your state licence, banks, and the rest. The Israeli side is separate and runs through the Israeli Embassy or Consulate General for where you live. First the marriage or divorce itself, if it happened in the United States: the notice of change in marital status, free, at an appointment, with both passports and the certificate apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued it, the forms emailed to the mission first; the thirty-day rule of section 17 of the Population Registry Law is the same one a resident has. Then, only if you want it, the name: the notice of choice of surname after a marriage or a divorce, or the notice of change of name for any other reason, in person, with your Israeli passport and your teudat zehut, which you deposit against the declaration on the delivery of an identity card. The mission charges the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular fee for a notice (2026). The change comes into force only once the Population and Immigration Authority in Israel approves it, and then the mission issues a non-biometric passport in the new name valid for up to five years, with the former name printed in it for seven years after a change by choice; a biometric passport and the identity card are issued only in Israel. A US court order changing your name does not change any Israeli record on its own: bring it as the reason on the notice of change of name, and the seven-year rule of section 20 applies to that notice exactly as it would at home.

Your US records, from Social Security to your state license and the everyday accounts, change with the US checklist; it prepares each form and letter in the order the agencies check them.

Start the US checklist

Change Your Name is a self-help form-preparation service, not a law firm; this page is general information about Israel, not legal advice.

Sources