Carlos Felipe B.Managing partner and founder
Un proceedings to a identity already established
Resolution No. 07-2026 of the Central Electoral Board, approved on September 9, 2026 , establishes an administrative procedure for certain citizens whose surnames on their birth certificate differ from those with which they have developed their public, family , professional , or legal identity . Article 1 allows them to request, during the renewal of their national identity card , the recognition of the established use of their maternal , paternal, or married surname , under the specified conditions. It does not grant a general freedom to choose any surname.
Who can apply?
Article 1 includes, among other cases, individuals originally declared as children born out of wedlock who lived using their mother's surname; those later recognized by their father while already using that surname; or those using a paternal surname registered in the National Identity Card Registry for which no documentation of recognition or marriage has been located. It also includes women who adopted their husband 's surname in place of their mother's and individuals whose surname order on their identity card is due to an administrative error or omission. Claims to fall under one of these categories must be verified; recent informal use alone is insufficient.
Form and documents to prove use
According to Article 2, the application is formalized by means of a signed form, submitted to the staff handling the renewal of the National Identity and Electoral Card or Identity Card. The citizen may provide documents that demonstrate their public life with the surname, such as university degrees, contracts, records of descendants, or a passport. The National Directorate of Identification verifies the origin of the application and registers the information in the Registry of Registered Citizens, incorporating the form and its supporting documents. It is advisable to gather coherent documents and precisely explain the origin of the discrepancy.
Recognition does not change parentage or the birth certificate.
Articles 1 and 3 define an essential point: recognizing the established use of a surname does not declare, modify, or attribute parentage, nor does it alter the content of the birth certificate or the rights and obligations arising from the family relationship. Disputes regarding parentage fall under the jurisdiction of the courts through the applicable legal channels. This procedure also does not cover voluntary changes unrelated to the grounds established, nor does it cover birth certificates suspended or invalidated due to falsified information regarding the father. If the goal is to rectify the birth certificate, the appropriate procedure for that issue must be identified.
What does it stipulate regarding births abroad?
Title II, Articles 5 through 9, addresses another situation: birth certificates of Dominicans born abroad when a parent's name or surname changed outside the country. It mandates verification that the birth is the same person without requiring, as a general prerequisite, that the parent change their name to allow the child's birth certificate to be registered. It provides for registry entries and the handling of supporting documents. Article 8 distinguishes between children born abroad, based on the format of the foreign birth certificate, and children born in Dominican territory, for whom the information of the parent in the Dominican Civil Registry prevails.
Validity and individual review of the case
Articles 10 through 12 regulate its entry into force and temporary application. Article 11 excludes, in principle, those who renewed their identity card before its effective date, with an exception for those who have not yet picked up the card after the biometric data capture and fall within its scope. Article 12 links the validity of the renewal procedure to the identity card renewal process itself; Title II receives separate treatment in the official text. Due to its particularities, it is advisable to submit the available records, identity cards, and supporting evidence to the Central Electoral Board (JCE) and consult the entire document before assuming that all discrepancies will be resolved in the same way.