The fees charged by local authorities to those looking to officially change their first name can differ dramatically by Brussels' commune. In some, a large reduction is offered when changing a so-called "foreign-sounding" name.
A record number of 5,104 Belgians decided to change their first name last year. Only Belgian citizens and recognised refugees and stateless people can request to change their first name, and the request must clearly show why the name change is needed. Since 2018, local authorities have been able to set the fees for this administrative process, resulting in the amount varying from one location to the next.
Generally, the cost of changing a first name is set at around €500. It is free, however, for foreign nationals who do not have a first name and who are starting a procedure to obtain Belgian nationality, or if linked to an application for changing sex, for example.
In some municipalities in Brussels, a reduced tariff is offered. In the City of Brussels, for example, the cost of the procedure is €50 per person for the first application and €500 per person for subsequent applications. In Ixelles, the first application costs €150, with subsequent applications costing €490. Saint-Josse-ten-Noode abolished the conditions for granting a reduction and offers a free service for all requests to change a first name.
Subjective and discriminatory
In other municipalities, the reduction is subject to a number of criteria. For example, in Etterbeek, the municipal tax to change a first name is €500. However, the local authority's website notes that this amount can be reduced to €50 if the first name "on its own or taken together with the family name is ridiculous, hateful or clearly old-fashioned" or if it leads to confusion, but also if it "sounds foreign."
Etterbeek councillor Patrick Lenaers (MR) justified this reduction in fees by transcribing the federal law of May 1987 on changes of name and surname. He told RTBF that it has "clearly and precisely transcribed this law and the tariffs," which he noted already provided for a reduction for certain reasons for changing a surname or first name, including so-called "foreign-sounding" first names.
However, there is no recognised list of "foreign-sounding" names, making it subjective, and in some cases even discriminatory, as it is up to the civil servant individually to decide whether or not a given name sounds foreign. This rule has also been adopted by the Brussels communes of Evere and Forest.
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Brussels' minister responsible for local government, Bernard Clerfayt, was questioned on the subject in the Brussels parliamentary committee, but saw no reason to intervene with the municipalities concerned. He argued that municipalities which have decided to levy a fee for changing first names have all complied with these principles, ensuring that the fee is not higher for "foreign-sounding" first names.
Across all municipalities, new first names will not be accepted if they harm the person applying for the change or others due to the ridiculous or scandalous nature, if they are confusing and if they are abbreviations.
