I have filed for a name change, but things went wrong, I need urgent help.

[BillMoses]

Hello,


I applied for a legal name change around July 31, 2025. On December 8, 2025, I received a letter asking me to keep the original documents and send photocopies back. This was confusing, as I had already informed the ServiceOntario officer that I did not require the originals to be returned.


I have now been advised that the process may take an additional four months. However, I am scheduled to take my citizenship test on January 15, 2026, and I am concerned that my name change will not be completed in time.


I have contacted ServiceOntario by phone several times, but unfortunately no one has been able to assist. I am hoping to find out whether there is any way to expedite the name change process, or if there is an email address or webform through which I can formally request urgent processing due to my upcoming citizenship test.


If anyone has faced a similar situation or knows how to resolve this or request expedited processing, I would greatly appreciate your guidance.
Thank you very much for your help.

 

[armoured]

Hello,


I applied for a legal name change around July 31, 2025. On December 8, 2025, I received a letter asking me to keep the original documents and send photocopies back. This was confusing, as I had already informed the ServiceOntario officer that I did not require the originals to be returned.


I have now been advised that the process may take an additional four months. However, I am scheduled to take my citizenship test on January 15, 2026, and I am concerned that my name change will not be completed in time.


I have contacted ServiceOntario by phone several times, but unfortunately no one has been able to assist. I am hoping to find out whether there is any way to expedite the name change process, or if there is an email address or webform through which I can formally request urgent processing due to my upcoming citizenship test.


If anyone has faced a similar situation or knows how to resolve this or request expedited processing, I would greatly appreciate your guidance.
Thank you very much for your help.

I don't really know what you're trying to achieve, but my suggestion would be:
-just proceed with your citizenship app as currently scheduled.
-if you get your citizenship before it's done, apply for a passort afte ryou get the name change (this will get you passport in new name), and only after you get the passport, then request an updated citizenship certificate (or in fact never do it, because your citizenship certificate + name change docs will be enough for any purpose except your own desire to have all docs in same name - truth is everyone uses passport to demonstrate citizenship anyway, so the citizenship certificates usually reside in a drawer for decades).