Quick Answer: After a divorce, neither parent can change a child's surname alone, and in Israel even two parents who agree cannot do it at the Interior Ministry counter. Section 13(d) of the Names Law 5716-1956 lets parents change a minor's surname only with the approval of the court, after the child has had a chance to say what they want. A parent who returns to a pre-marriage name does not take the child's name along. Once the Family Court approves, the Population and Immigration Authority updates the registry, and that changes Israeli documents only.

The question usually comes up in one of two ways. A mother goes back to her maiden name after the divorce, or remarries, and finds that she and her child now carry different surnames on every school form and at every border. Or a father discovers that the school has started using a different name for his child and wants to know whether that is allowed.

Israeli law treats the two parents the same way: a minor's surname is not something either of them can change alone, and the registry clerk cannot change it for them. The decision belongs to the Family Court (Beit Mishpat LeInyanei Mishpacha). This guide explains the rule, what the court looks at, and how to handle it if you or the other parent live outside Israel.

The Names Law 5716-1956 (Chok HaShemot) is short, and five of its sections answer most questions parents ask.

  • Section 3, the name at birth. A child takes the parents' surname. If the parents have different surnames, the child takes the father's unless the parents agreed on the mother's or on both. A child born to an unmarried mother takes her surname, with exceptions where both parents want otherwise.
  • Section 7, after the marriage ends. Each spouse may go back to a previous surname. This is the parent's right alone and needs nobody's consent.
  • Section 12, when a child's name follows automatically. A minor's surname changes by itself only if both parents change theirs, or if one parent changes to the other parent's surname. A divorced parent reverting to a former name fits neither case, so the child's name stays as it was.
  • Section 13(d), changing a minor's surname. The parents may change it "with the approval of the court", provided the child, if able to form a view, was given the chance to express their position, wishes and feelings, and these were given proper weight for the child's age and maturity.
  • Section 27, who is covered. The law applies only to people registered in the Israeli Population Registry.

First names work differently, and the two are often confused. Under Section 13(a), parents can change the first name of a child under ten at the registry office. From age ten, the child must consent in front of the registration clerk, and without that consent the change needs a court. There is no equivalent age line for surnames. A surname change goes to court whatever the child's age.

2. When Both Parents Agree

Agreement makes the case easier. It does not remove the court. The Population and Immigration Authority (Rashut HaOchlusin VeHaHagira) will ask for a declaratory judgment of the Family Court before it changes a minor's surname, and it has a dedicated procedure for name changes of minors.

In an agreed case the parents file a joint application explaining what the new name is, why they want it, and how the child sees it. A judge can approve it on the papers or call a short hearing. The court is not bound by the parents' agreement, though. Its job under Section 13(d) is to check that the child was heard and that the change is good for the child, and it may ask for more before deciding.

In Practice: A clause in a divorce agreement saying that one parent "may change the child's surname" is useful evidence of consent, but it is not the approval Section 13(d) requires unless the court that approved the agreement also approved the specific change of name. If the agreement only records consent, you still file the application, and the clause goes in as an exhibit. If you are still negotiating the divorce agreement, put the new name itself in the text and ask the court to approve it expressly.

3. When One Parent Objects

Divorce does not change who the child's guardians are. Under Sections 14 and 15 of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, both parents are the natural guardians of their minor child, and that continues whichever home the child lives in. Section 18 requires the parents to act in agreement on guardianship matters. When they cannot agree, Sections 19 and 25 send the question to the court, which decides according to the best interests of the child.

Having custody therefore does not give a parent the last word on the name. Section 21 of the Names Law does define "parents" as one parent where the care of the child is entrusted to that parent alone, but a surname change still requires the court's approval, and a judge will want to hear from the other parent in any case where that parent can be found.

Israeli judges describe a child's surname as a central part of personal identity, and they are reluctant to cut a child's link to a parent who is present in the child's life. The questions a judge will want answered are practical ones:

  • What name does the child actually use at school and with friends, and for how long?
  • What relationship does the child have with the parent whose name would be dropped?
  • Is the request about the child's daily life, or about one parent's wish to close a chapter?
  • What does the child say, and does that view look like the child's own?
  • Would adding a name solve the problem without removing one?

That last question is where many contested cases end. Reported decisions show courts choosing to add a surname and keep the existing one. In one, a Family Court allowed two daughters to carry their mother's surname first and their father's second, relying on what the girls told the social worker. In a 2024 Be'er Sheva case about a six-year-old raised from birth by a foster family, the court gave the child the foster family's surname and kept his birth surname as a second name, so that he could decide for himself later.

In Practice: Using a different surname informally, at school or at the health fund, before the court has ruled tends to backfire. It does not change the registry, the other parent will put it in front of the judge, and it looks like an attempt to create facts. File first.
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4. The Child's Say

Section 13(d) makes hearing the child a condition of the change, not a courtesy. The statute sets no age at which the child's view becomes decisive. It asks for "proper weight" in light of age and maturity, so a teenager's firm refusal will usually end the matter, while a five-year-old's preference is one consideration among several.

Children are rarely questioned in open court. The usual channel is a report (taskir) from a welfare officer, who meets the child and both parents. A representative of the Attorney General may also take part and give a position on the child's behalf. In the Be'er Sheva foster case the Attorney General's representative opposed an immediate change and asked for a full welfare report first; the judge decided otherwise. Where the conflict between the parents is sharp, the court can appoint a guardian ad litem to speak for the child separately.

A minor can also start proceedings personally in one situation. Under Section 13(c), a child who wants to change their own first name and whose parents refuse may bring a claim under Section 3(d) of the Family Court Law 5755-1995.

5. The Process, Step by Step

  1. Check how the child is registered. Get an extract from the Population Registry showing the child's current name and both parents. If the child was never registered in Israel, the Names Law does not apply and the change is made under the law of the child's own country.
  2. Ask the other parent in writing. A joint application is quicker and cheaper than a contested one. Propose the exact name, including a double surname if that could be common ground.
  3. File in the Family Court. The application sets out the facts, the reasons, the child's position and the other parent's position, with affidavits. In a contested case the other parent is the respondent and must be served.
  4. Welfare report and hearing. Expect the court to consider a welfare report in any disputed case, and to hear both parents.
  5. Judgment. If the court approves, it issues a judgment naming the new surname. Sections 16 and 17 of the Names Law, which let the Interior Minister reject a misleading or offensive name, do not apply to a change the court has approved.
  6. Update the registry. Bring the judgment and identity documents to a Population and Immigration Authority office, by appointment, and file the notice of change of name. The Authority's fee for a surname change is NIS 130 in 2026. It then issues updated documents, including a replacement passport if the child had one.

A Family Court judgment can be appealed to the District Court, so a contested change is not safe to act on abroad until the appeal period has passed.

6. Handling It From Abroad

Many of these cases involve a parent or a child who no longer lives in Israel. Four points come up again and again.

  • You do not have to fly in to file. An Israeli lawyer can file and appear under a power of attorney. A power of attorney or affidavit signed abroad is signed at an Israeli consulate, or before a local notary with an apostille. Foreign documents such as a birth certificate or divorce decree need an apostille and a Hebrew translation. See our guide to powers of attorney for Israel.
  • The other parent must be served properly. If the respondent lives abroad, service goes through the channels Israeli procedure allows, which for most countries means the Hague Service Convention. A WhatsApp message is not service, and a judgment obtained without proper service can be set aside.
  • An Israeli judgment changes Israeli records only. The child's foreign passport and foreign birth record follow the law of that country. The Israeli judgment is good supporting evidence there, but the foreign authority decides for itself.
  • A foreign order does not rewrite the Israeli registry. If a court abroad, or a deed poll, has already changed the child's name, the Israeli record stays as it was until the Israeli side is dealt with. The Names Law has no exception for changes made abroad, so plan on needing a Family Court judgment unless the Authority confirms in writing that it will register the foreign document.
Illustrative Scenario: A mother moves to London with her eight-year-old after an Israeli divorce and changes the child's surname there by deed poll. The British passport now shows the new name, and the Israeli passport the old one. An Israeli citizen has to enter and leave Israel on an Israeli passport, so every visit to the grandparents means travelling on two passports in two names, with airline bookings that match only one of them. The fix is an application to the Israeli Family Court, served on the father, asking it to approve the same surname for the Israeli registry.

If the parents also disagree about where the child should live or about travel, deal with those first. Our guides to travel consent for children and child custody in Israel cover them.

7. Double Surnames

Section 2(b) of the Names Law allows a double surname, and Section 3 lets parents give a child both their surnames from birth. Adding the second parent's surname later is still a change of surname under Section 13(d), so it needs the court's approval. It is usually the easiest change to get, because the child keeps the existing name and the link to both parents.

Two details are worth settling before filing. The first is the order of the names, which becomes the child's everyday name in practice and is a common sticking point between parents. The second is how the child's other country writes compound surnames. Some passport authorities print a hyphen, some drop it, and some treat the second name as a middle name. Check this in advance so the Israeli and foreign documents end up matching.