Legal Name and Sex Designation
Legal Name
Legal Name
Your legal name is the name that will appear on your degree, diploma, or certificate upon graduation, and on your e-bills, tax receipts, and official transcript. It is also used by the Government of Quebec to create a Permanent Code.
After confirming your offer of admission and registering at McGill, the name provided on your admission application is validated and, in the event of a variation, updated to match the legal name appearing on one of the following documents:
Canadian or Permanent Resident Students:
-
Canadian birth certificate, copy of an act of birth, or citizenship card or certificate
(Note: A Canadian passport is not acceptable)
- Canadian Immigration Record of Landing (IMM 1000 or IMM 5292 or IMM 5688 and Permanent Residence card)
-
Marriage certificate issued outside of Quebec—translated into English or French by a sworn officer if in another language
(Note: Quebec marriage certificates are only acceptable if issued prior to 1984)
-
Certificate of Name Change or Certificate of Change of Sex Designation and Name issued by the Quebec Directeur de l’état civil or applicable force in any Canadian province
(Important: must be submitted along with a driver's license or health card indicating the name change)
International Students:
- Canadian Immigration Study or Work Permit
- Certificate of Acceptance of Quebec (CAQ)
- International passport (Note: For students in non-degree programs or programs that are less than 6 months; for name changes acceptable if submitted with a Certificate of Name Change)
- International birth certificate (with an official translation in English or French)
- Letter from international student's consulate or embassy in Canada
- Marriage certificate issued outside of Quebec—translated into English or French by a sworn officer if in another language (Note: Quebec marriage certificates are only acceptable if issued prior to 1984)
-
Certificate of Name Change or Certificate of Change of Sex Designation and Name issued by an official government authority outside of Canada
(Important: must be submitted along with an international passport or driver's license indicating the name change)
In the case of a variation in the spelling of the name among these documents, the University will use the name on the document that appears first on the above list.
Should McGill require a copy of one of the documents listed above, both or all sides of the document must be copied and presented.
In order to update the legal name on your student record you must:
- Complete a Personal Data Change Form
- Provide us with a copy of the appropriate legal document with the updated legal name (if we don't already have a copy); the list of acceptable documents is listed above
- Submit the completed form and copy of the legal document by email attachment (PDF or TIFF format) to permcode [at] mcgill.ca
Legal Sex Designation
To update your legal sex designation, you need to:
- Complete a Personal Data Change Form
- Provide us with a copy of the appropriate legal document with the updated legal sex designation (if we don't already have a copy); the list of acceptable documents is listed in the Legal Name section above
- Submit the completed form and copy of the legal document by email attachment (PDF or TIFF format) to permcode [at] mcgill.ca
Preferred First Name
Preferred First Name
At McGill University, a student is registered under their legal name as it appears on their legal documents,—such as a birth certificate or study permit—that have been provided to the University. This name will be used on documents such as an official transcript and diploma.
Your preferred first name is a name by which you are normally addressed and is different from your legal first name. The Preferred First Name Procedure enables students to use an alternate preferred first name for certain purposes while studying at McGill.
Students who wish to use a preferred first name should enter this information into Minerva as soon as possible in order to ensure that their preferred first name is used as widely as possible.
The preferred first name is displayed on all unofficial university documents and tools, such as:
- McGill ID cards
- Class lists
- Student advising transcripts
- For a complete list of examples, please refer to Student Records
The student's legal name must appear on official university documents, such as:
- Official university transcripts
- Reports to government
- Letters of attestation
- Diplomas and certificates
- Tuition fee e-bills
- For a complete list of examples, please refer to Student Records
It is important to note that making a request to use a preferred first name at McGill does not change a student's legal name in the McGill student record or records with government authorities.
You can provide a preferred first name on your application for admission or, once admitted, on Minerva, under the Personal Menu. From the Personal Menu, select Name and Pronoun Change and then add your preferred first name in the preferred first name field.
You can also request that your preferred first name be part of your McGill email address by submitting an Email Alias form in IT's Service Now. For further details, see Student Records, which includes the Preferred First Name FAQ.
Verification of Name
Verification of Name
You should verify the accuracy of your name on McGill's student records via Minerva (mcgill.ca/minerva). To do this, go to Personal Menu > Name and Pronoun Change, where you can make minor corrections such as changing case (upper/lower), adding accents, and spacing. You can also add a preferred first name that is different from your legal first name, and it will be used internally at McGill. For more information on the Preferred First Name Procedure, see mcgill.ca/student-records/personal-information/name-gender.
You cannot change your legal name via Minerva. To change your legal name, please refer to Student Records. A legal name change request must be submitted along with official documents (see Legal Name and Legal Sex Designation). To add a preferred first name, see Preferred First Name.
