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Legal Name
This 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.
All students are registered under their legal name as it appears in one of the following documents:
- Canadian birth certificate or citizenship certificate.
- Canadian Immigration Record of Landing, (IMM 1000 or IMM 5292 or IMM 5688 and Permanent Residence card.)
- Canadian Immigration Study or Work Permit.
- Certificate of Acceptance of Quebec (CAQ.)
- International passport (Note: If you possess Canadian citizenship, a Canadian citizenship card or certificate is required as a Canadian passport is not acceptable.)
- 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 that Quebec marriage certificates are only acceptable if issued prior to 1984.
- Certificate of Name Change issued by the Quebec Directeur de l’état civil or applicable force in any Canadian Province.
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 about, both or all sides of the document must be copied and presented.
Preferred First Name
Preferred First Name
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 may be used on all unofficial university documents and tools, such as:
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
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 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 a change to Network and Communications Services (NCS) via the tool. For further details, see www.mcgill.ca/student-records/personal-information/address, 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 (www.mcgill.ca/minerva). To do this, go to Personal Menu > Name 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 www.mcgill.ca/student-records/personal-information/address.
Note that you cannot change your legal name via Minerva. Requests for such changes must be made by presenting official documents (see Legal Name and Preferred First Name) in person at Service Point, 3415 McTavish Street, Montreal QC H3A 0C8.
